Coach Sam Lavery talks about post-season planning before you put your gear away for a few months.

As the season comes to an end, regaining evenings and weekends is an attractive prospect. But as the final match passes, is is there still one final push we can give?

Absolutely! The final wrap up of the season is as valuable as those last words before you players take to the field for their first game.

So when the season draws to an end, what can be done?

Assessment: Preparation starts here

In assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the team, as well as its individuals, you can build a profile that is current and that will be relevant moving into winter development.

Using this player assessment, individuals can start thinking about how they can develop before they return for pre-season. If there's need for a club cricketer to improve their fitness, they can start looking at a winter sport, or even a training program.

An effective assessment also allows you as the coach, to plan individual programs that are relevant to the 'in game' improvements that players need to make. These could cover technical, physical, mental or any other aspects of the game.

Recruitment: Time for fresh talent

Once you've outlined winter development plans, you’ll have an idea of where you're strong as a group and where you need to improve. Inevitably there will be targets that your existing players can't meet, and that's when the recruitment drive begins.

While the season is fresh, work out if you can tally up your requirements with players that could become available in the winter. Remember to use the information that out there. Numerous stats are available online, so check out not only who may fit the mould from your division, but also the divisions above and below, as well as neighbouring leagues.

Don't forget, players need more than physical skills to contribute to a team, so doing your homework means getting to know more about a player than just what their stats say.

Now that we have a few processes we can work through in wrapping up the season, it’s key that we understand that are a number of ways in which we can work through them.

Structure: Can it be tweaked?

Think about the leadership style or management structure of your team or club:

Take the lead

If you’re the kind of coach that is the sole decision maker, calls all the shots and tries to stick to your own thoughts and opinions rather than being clouded by others. Then you may carry out your assessments, development planning, and recruitment on your own.

This may seem like a rather old school dictatorial way to approach things, but it can have its merits. Sometimes including others in a decision making process can create more trouble than it's worth if their way of thinking is going to cause conflict and doesn’t fit in with the teams ideals. That leaves you in a position where the team's ideals could change for the worse, or an individual's morale could be dented for having their opinions de-valued.

People power

An alternative option is to let the players lead throughout each process. With each player scrutinising each of their mates performances, deciding why and where they need to improve, as well as working out who hasn't pulled their weight and needs replacing in the side.

Team spirit can be a tricky beast to manage, so players talking frankly about each other in an open forum can be very rewarding in the right group, but can also have a brutal impact on sensitive souls. In saying that, gaining feedback from each player, and getting a different view point on things can be extremely beneficial to you as a coach, so don't discount the value in listening to the masses.

Box clever coach clever

In many scenarios you'll often find that there is no 'black or white' solution. Management has to be done with understanding. Your team, your senior players and your support staff hold useful information, so extracting it in the right way to maximise its value is what is most important.

Use group discussions as well as 1-1 chats. Ask for written feedback on different subject. Different people communicate differently in alternate environments, so don’t expect to be able to ask one question and have all the answers fall at your feet.

One thing is for sure though; if you leave it too long your memory and the player's thoughts will fade. So try and strike while the season is fresh.

A little extra thought and planning now will save some much more difficult conversations and head scratching in the future.