Below is a guide for cricket coaches, explaining simple ways as to how you can become a more effective Head Coach.

Honesty

Any player would far prefer to hear an honest answer.

They may not like it at first but they will respect you far more if you are upfront with them compared to if you hide behind meaningless words and then do something else. If you opt for the latter approach then you will lose their trust forever. Once that is gone, you have lost that player for good.

It is much better to tell a player where you see their game at present, what they need to do to force their way into your plans, and how they can go about doing it with your help. This shows you are willing to help them, and haven't written them off, meaning the player will be hungry and motivated to work with you.

They will also not disrupt the rest of the team by discussing how they are unhappy with the way they have been treated.

Consistency

As cricketers we all have ups and downs, immense highs in form are followed by immense lows. That is the beauty of the game. What is key as a Head Coach is to keep things consistent no matter the form of the player.

Players do not become bad players just because they are experiencing a dip in form, the same way they may not become a world beater because they have three big scores in a row.

Comfort is key in both scenarios, and comfort comes from consistency.

An opening batter in a bit of a low patch needs nothing but consistency, support and a bit of TLC. He needs to be reminded how good he is, the runs he has scored in the past and how you are going to stick with him. What that player doesn't need is to be put under the microscope, watched like a hawk at training and then be replaced by someone scoring runs lower down the order.

That player will return to their former glories, it will just be a matter of time.

You risk ruining their trust in you completely if you take away their normal spot from them.

Similarly if you are moving that player scoring runs up the order, say from nine to opening, you are taking them out of their comfort zone. It is a huge difference, the pressures are different and the way the ball moves is different. You risk ruining two players trust and confidence rather than being patient and helping return your opener to his former self.

Short and sharp

Players have short attention spans. They are all very active people, and would far prefer to be practising their own game, or improving their fitness than spending countless hours in team meetings having discussions.

There is always a need for team meetings and conversations about game plans, but keep it very short.

Be to the point and then let the players go. If the conversation runs to long, players get bored and switch off. Similarly you risk repeating yourself, which means that the meaning behind your words will be lost and not have the desired impact. If you talk for to long, players may begin to think you enjoy the sound of your own voice, and they will start to feel like you are disrespecting their knowledge.

The players would not be in your dressing room if they were not experienced or capable of playing at that level. So don't treat them like children in school, they are good enough and knowledgeable enough to know what to do 95% of the time.

Also leave a lot of the conversation to the Captain, as it is always taken better coming from a peer, a leader of the team who everyone respects.

The other key is to not hide behind words, do not speak for speaking sake. Often after bad performances or bad days, no words are needed. Sports people are motivated enough for defeat to hurt to the point where they are hungry to turn it around. Any long drawn out conversation or analysis can mean that the player feels like you are questioning their knowledge and drive.

On the flip side, after a win can be the time to send the proverbial rocket. Pick out key moments where the team underperformed in the win, and highlight how that could have made the game go the other way. However always finish on a positive and keep the improvement areas short and sweet.

Give confidence

It is very important to gain respect with young players. Make them feel comfortable in the team and allow them to develop into a senior player and top performer.

The key is to not knock them constantly and always tell them how to improve, letting them work that out for themselves is often the best and most effective way of assisting improvement. Young players will make mistakes, but learning from them will make them better.

Let them go away and find the answers for themselves, just reassure them and help them understand they have your full support.

Similarly give them a role and stick to it.

Things will not happen straight away for young players, therefore it is key to stick with them and give them time. Do not mess with their head by moving them around the order and constantly changing their role, all this will do is mentally drain them an make them question where they fit and whether they are actually part of the team.

Finally, never call the young player out in front of the team.

This will ruin their confidence completely and make them feel inferior to the rest of the group. It will make that player shy away in the big moment and become nervous to speak during group conversations. You will find talking to them away from the group will allow that player to grow, feel more confident and settle into a senior role quicker as they will feel more relaxed around their peers.

The majority of these situations are commonplace in a lot of clubs, and often can be the difference between a successful and non-successful era.

This is why following these simple steps can help you crack it at your cricket club as a head coach.

We will all have experienced this from some of our coaches in the past, and the correlation between this atmosphere and not following these steps and losing sides are clear.

This happened at a team I recently played for, with a bunch of very talented players. The coach didn't follow the simple steps above and that club is now struggling big time, losing games at will, not just being beaten, but being thrashed and looking devoid of all confidence.

So stick to the small points and lead your team to glory.

This is a guest article from Jordan Finney, cricket coach and sport psychology degree student.