Derbyshire County Cricket Club

When I formulated the plan for my 2 month coaching roadshow, my objective was clear.

I firmly believed that my coaching ability would be enhanced by observing elite coaches. Every coach I have ever met has been forever busy with their own work but my feelings were that if I was making a commitment to excellence, I would have to force myself to regularly watch other professionals working at their craft.

Observing other coaches would allow me to think critically about what is seen and not seen, and I could make mental notes of positive teaching methods and compare and contrast my style to theirs.

Now those nearest and dearest to me will know about my love for coaching; not just within the football setting, but cricket also. Aside from my UEFA B football coaching license, I recently acquired Club Coach status from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which is an award that sits between Level 2 and Level 3 of their ever changing pathway. I therefore sought an opportunity to observe cricket coaching at the highest possible level.

A mentor during my earlier years pulled some great networking skills and I had an invite to spend a few days with Karl Krikken, Head Coach at Derbyshire County Cricket Club.

A pleasant train journey northwards saw increasing amounts of snow adorn the English countryside. I arrived at my hotel to discover that my room overlooked the Derbyshire County Ground which was also covered in the white stuff.

Whilst the best part of my stay at Derbyshire would be spent alongside the first XI with Karl, that evening I was invited to observe an Academy session take place at the indoor cricket centre, where I was warmly welcomed by Howard Dytham (Head of Development) and Andrew (AJ) Harris (ex-Derbyshire CCC bowler and current Second XI Coach). I witnessed a technical bowling session led by AJ, focusing on bowling to both right and left handed batsmen with varying lengths to consider for different playing surfaces that the players would encounter throughout the forthcoming season. Right and left handed batsmen interchanges were distinguished by the placement of a foam target on top of off stump.

For the best part of this session the players were encouraged to bowl from the 'bound' phase of their bowling action rather than from a full length run up, utilising small wooden blocks to aid their 'take off'. This I found particularly useful and have since used these as a coaching tool in my own bowling coaching sessions. AJ explained to me that there were numerous reasons for this set up, such as to increase bowling repetitions, to enable technical fine tuning to be identified more easily and to essentially increase the pace, drive and momentum of their bowlers during the off season, in preparation for the season commencement.

With a big interest in Video Analysis myself, I was fortunate enough to witness some technical fine tuning take place by Luke Storey (Strength and Conditioning Coach) using an iPad. Eager to note the difference between club and academy level cricket analysis, AJ kindly explained to me the type of things he looks to identify and adjust/correct when observing his bowlers. With this, Howard and AJ introduced me to Luke who works closely with the players in developing programmes that facilitate and maximise their bowling potential. Luke explained that he specifically looks into the mechanics of bowling, utilising his knowledge to provide further attention to detail into knee flexion, reflexes and how stride length can provide additional pace. This I found fascinating. For the record Luke used an app called 'coachmyvideo' solely as a means of recording each bowler, but claimed that the app's functions were not great in his opinion.

For the second part of this evening session, a selected group of players from minor county cricket club Staffordshire joined the Academy players in the running of a conventional net practice with a mixture of further bowling, wicketkeeping and batting against bowling machines. During this period, I was fortunate enough to speak to Alan Hill (Emerging Players Programme Head Coach at Staffordshire CCC) and Bob Askey (Development Officer for Club and Performance at Staffordshire CCC). After inquiring about their roles within Staffordshire cricket, they explained that Staffordshire CCC acts as a feeder club to Derbyshire CCC, travelling to the County ground 3-4 times throughout the winter period for three reasons: firstly, to enhance their relationship with Derbyshire, secondly, to provide additional practice for their players and thirdly for Derbyshire's coaches to observe any talent that could potentially represent their county age group sides. 

During this practice I was advised to watch a promising young prospect, wicketkeeper Harvey Hosein who had played Second XI County Cricket in 2010 at the age of 13, and was more recently selected for the ECB U17 England Development Programme. It was easy to see why! Harvey showed excellence in not only his technique but in his attitude, concentration levels and session focus. This was demonstrated superbly during the net practice where he kept wicket for roughly 45 minutes without touching one ball, yet reacted each time should he have been required. A pleasure to watch.

As the evening session drew to a close I returned to my hotel room exhausted after a long day. An early night was on the cards in preparation for a 9am start the following morning.

I arrived at the indoor centre the following day and was greeted by Karl Krikken (Head Coach) and introduced to a selection of the first XI squad, before being run through the day's itinerary. 

With the season due to start in roughly three months’ time, much of the focus was on pre-habilitation exercises (injury prevention), strength and conditioning training and core stability work, along with technical batting, bowling and fielding practices. 

Karl firstly invited me to observe a technical batting session with Derbyshire batsmen Dan Redfern and David Wainwright, both of which were seeking to address and improve specific individual aspects of their game in preparation for the start of the season. This was a fantastic opportunity to witness elite coaching at first hand. Karl made this experience considerably better by constantly taking the time and effort to explain the type of movements he was looking to identify and rectify with each batsman. As expected, the attention to detail at this level was immense and in turn enabled me to eventually identify the things that Karl could. I was loving it!

As this session drew to an end, I was then invited to "the nest" (player's gymnasium that overlooked the five lane indoor centre) to spend time with James Pipe (ex-Worcestershire CCC and Derbyshire CCC wicketkeeper and current DCCC physiotherapist and wicketkeeper coach alongside Karl) and the first XI squad in their pre-habilitation and strength and conditioning training. 

Here I was introduced by Karl to Derbyshire captain Wayne Madsen as well as other squad members: Wes Durston, Paul Borrington, Ben Slater, Jonathon Clare, wicketkeeper Tom Poynton and ex-Essex player Tony Palladino, and I was made to feel extremely welcome by all.

James Pipe or 'Pipey' as he was more commonly referred to, was particularly excellent, not only in his responsiveness to the players' requirements, but his entire character with whomever he came into contact with. Aside from his playing career achievements, Pipey was well respected by all for his evident ability to make everyone feel special with the positive attitude, friendliness, notable eye contact and undivided attention that he gave staff members and players, and I was no exception to such fantastic treatment. Pipey took a great interest in my travels, asking numerous questions about my plans and commending me wherever possible. A real 'people person' with the type of vibrant communication skills that could make even the most downbeat person feel ten feet tall after just five minutes. I once read a quote that has stuck with me during my coaching career so far, and one that I look to implement in my own coaching style. It simply reads: "If your presence doesn't make an impact, then you're absence won't make a difference." Pipey personifies this even more so with his infectious positivity. Being on the receiving end of such uplifting treatment has encouraged me to replicate this with everyone I come into contact with both inside and outside of coaching.. 

Morning session over, Karl invited me to his office where he answered my questions. With the majority of my travels being predominantly academy based, this was a fantastic opportunity to inquire about the workings of coaching at the highest level. Whilst Karl advised me that the focus of Derbyshire's academy is solely on development, he explained that the first XI's focus for the season was to win every game. 

We then discussed the season and match preparations that the staff and players carry out on a monthly, weekly and daily basis. I was shown the types of individual goal setting that occurs between Karl and his players, from technical and physical goals through to season-long targets such as scoring a minimum of 1,000 first class runs amongst others. 

Furthermore, Karl took me through match preparations that usually occur the week leading up to a game which typically involves watching and analysing videos of opposition batsmen in order to depict weaknesses and common themes in their performance. For example, some videos showed certain batsman being dismissed more often than not playing back foot shots, meaning this may be a potential weakness in their performance. This information would then be used by Karl and his team to form a game plan that will hold them in greater stead in winning their upcoming fixture. I found the attention to detail at this level both exemplary and fascinating.

Next on the agenda was observing Karl deliver a wicket keeping session with three keepers focusing on posture and reaction times for off-side and leg-side feeds, predominantly using 'Katchet' boards. What became apparent at this level was that there was very little technical coaching, which Karl explained to me a few reasons for: firstly, all three wicketkeepers were highly technical already, secondly, any technical coaching is only fine tuning and thirdly, on the vast majority of occasions the players would know the reason for their mistakes and could self-correct. Here then, Karl provided challenging drills and offered positive feedback to build player confidence levels whilst repetitively and relentlessly feeding balls for each keeper (a job that's not easy on the shoulders!!!) 

During this session I was joined by AJ Harris who accompanied me in observing Karl at work whilst showing great interest in my coaching background and the reason for my travels. I was also fortunate enough to meet and speak to Ian O'Brien (ex-New Zealand opening bowler) who had arrived at the County Ground to sell a new business product of his to the players; compression pants. Like everyone else at Derbyshire CCC, Ian was very welcoming to me and had a great presence. 

Due to the snowy conditions, after lunch, the entire squad headed to Derby County Football Club's indoor training facility for the afternoon's fielding practice. This consisted of a fielding circuit following a traditional football warm up by the players, during which Karl asked for my assistance on one of the fielding stations; to simulate a batsman playing and missing a ball, for the fielder at first slip to catch. I happily obliged!! How Karl had picked up on my particular skill set of playing and missing the ball was a mystery – I guess that’s what makes him a good coach!

Karl demonstrated each station to the squad, which consisted of a range of fielding practices. After a little moment of embarrassment where I unintentionally edged the ball behind to first slip, only to receive a unanimous appeal and celebration from the entire squad, the tone of the session was set! As the players rotated around each station, what became instantly apparent was the team camaraderie and atmosphere that bonded the group together. The squad were evidently still in high spirits following last season's promotion and were a pleasure to be amongst.

Friday was more of the same. I was invited to join Luke Storey in the nest for further strength and conditioning training. The intensity was high, and I had the opportunity to see Luke work at first hand; this time of year being the most pivotal stage for him to prepare the players for the upcoming season. I must thank the players for making me feel incredibly welcome as even whilst they focused on their preparations, they made the effort to discover more about me and my reason for visiting (along with giving me plenty of stick about being from Essex!) Their kindness extended to them inviting me to join them for lunch where their team spirit and togetherness was very apparent. 

I'd like to thank everyone at Derbyshire County Cricket Club for making my stay so superb. In particular I'd like to thank AJ and Pipey for making me feel incredibly welcome and showing great willingness to provide insight into the workings of a team at the highest level, with a special thanks to Karl Krikken for not only affording me such a fantastic opportunity but also for the hospitality that made my experience at Derbyshire CCC one that I'll remember. 

I Wish the first XI the very best of luck for the season. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for their results! 

Up the Falcons!