Prep for BLACKCAPS camp - 10 August

Had my 2nd Covid jab this morning and the place was humming with people so a good sign that people are out getting it done and hopefully as a country that continues.

NZC put out a media release today with the squad and management to travel to Bangladesh and Pakistan so that felt like another important milestone and certainly made it all feel a little more real for me. I have been flooded with messages and wishes which has been emotionally draining in a good way. It bought back lots of memories of the last 20 years and all the coaching experiences I have had both here in NZ and around the world. Humbling too to have people reach out and say well done.

Lots of thoughts of Hilary and our two boys. Hilary is pumped and it is so great to have her backing, support, and guidance. She is the one who is running our family and I love how committed she is to our boys and letting me go for my dreams. She is as much a part of this experience as I am.

Spent a great afternoon with Christian Penney and he grilled me on starting and what that looks like. Tomorrow I am down at the BLACKCAPS camp in Lincoln, so it is a new start or beginning so we discussed how I hoped to start and what I hope the players see. I want the players to see me……So in order for them to see that I have to go to my past and how I started in coaching so they know me, also I want to show them that I’m approachable which I’ll do through body language, I want to show them my identity and that’s my family and importance of them, and lastly show them what type of leader I am so that’s my inclusivity within a group all working towards a common purpose. All sounds like a lot, and it is, but Christian and I did multiple mock sessions of this where I summarised all those points in a 1–2-minute address. Then he would ask more questions and we would have some great discussions about what I want them to see. Very beneficial to firstly be challenged by him as to what I want them to see, and secondly practicing that.

The idea around starting comes from when a new group is formed or when a new member joins the group. This happens a lot in the cricket context and most coaches just start and the new person has no knowledge of what has happened previously and what they are walking into. We introduced this at Wellington two seasons ago and every time we have a new group, or somebody joins the group it is seen as a new beginning so how we start and how that looks like is important for that new person. An example of what this looks like is a new player comes into the group and has not been there for the previous three trainings. He comes into that group not knowing what has been on before he has arrived, what the group dynamics are, and where the group is heading. So, it is important that we start again and take a moment to introduce them and to give them background as to what is going on. I would get different people each time to talk on this summarizing what we have been up to, what have we learnt about each other or what have we learned about the team environment, an experience they have had personally so far and lastly, they welcome them to the group. It is an effective way of starting because it gives the new person joining a great idea of what is going on, where we are at and a personal experience from the person addressing them. Also helps build better understanding of people, brings the group closer and develops leadership within the group.

Key notes I took down after that meeting with Christian were:

• My language is key and important I use the right words
• Slow down to connect people and watch them
• Listen with my eyes
• When talking to individuals say few things then listen intently

I walked away from the meeting clear, happy, and keen to get down to the Lincoln camp and get stuck in.