Coaching - the never ending journey....

I started coaching full time after my playing career with Somerset CCC ended in 1989. I continued playing as much as I could, quite simply because I loved playing the game. I still had so much to learn, even if I hadn't quite realised it at the time.

Initially, as a coach, I found myself in a similar place as I was as a player. Very technical and focusing on key specifics with players, as I had with myself. I don't know when my attention shifted more and more towards the person, rather than the player. Maybe the realisation that 'technique' is a part of the game, not the 'whole' game perhaps?

I would say that my approach has become attuned to helping the person tap into a bank of skills - clarity of thought, emotional management, belief, try new things, self management technique and so on... Maybe I realised that I had been short of some of these aspects during my playing time?

I learned visualisation after my career. How did cricket as a game / sport not realise how incredible a support system this might be for some players? How much is still out there for us to tap into?

I will never stop believing in training and putting the time in. If you don't put in, you're unlikely to get much out. As a coach, I see my key role as facilitating sessions as much as coaching. I'm not there to judge. I'm there to guide and offer opportunity to the player. I'm there to listen, observe and pay full attention to the messages the player is offering. And have fun. If I'm not having fun, what chance is there that the player will?

The aim with Runmaka is the same. We'll offer a host of content for the player to access. Content to develop repetition or variety, core skills or variations, clear plans or exploration and so on.

There is no ceiling. I've never coached a team to focus on anything other than winning, but with the appreciation that losing teaches you more. Everything is a lesson. Everything is information. It just depends on what you do with it.

I genuinely hope Runmaka proves to be a positive support system for the world of cricket. There is no ceiling...