Preparing fast bowlers according to their stage of learning
Over the last 6 years since retiring from professional cricket I’ve spent the majority of my time coaching young fast bowlers, both girls and boys. I've been in a unique position of working with the real novices to the very elite. What I have found really interesting is how each individual learns a new skill irrespective of their level. My passion is teaching bowlers to bowl fast without constraints and refining their technique that allows them to fulfil their physical potential. I’ll be honest I was never a ‘technique’ loving player and thought it was less important than physical preparedness. However the more I’ve researched, learned and experienced over the last 6 years the more its taught me that at the very least technical coaching needs the same amount of focus and care and attention as physical preparation training. ‘There’s no point being physically strong and powerful if your action leaks energy or has energy blockage in the chain and the effort isn’t directed at the target. Likewise there’s no point having the most clinical and ‘clean’ action if you can’t generate enough force to bowl the ball above medium pace.
So that’s why my coaching methods are now more holistic. My methods synergistically combine technical work with physical work with an appreciation of motor learning and how we acquire new skills. With time coaches will realise you need a huge amount of knowledge and understanding that isn't taught in the coach education syllabuses. The body is a complex system and nothing works in isolation. As coaches we need a broad understanding and what governs the dynamics of fast bowling coaching
Unlike other sports, cricket is an individual skilled sport within a team 'event'. It is a unique and challenging sport to coach. It is a highly technical sport with a mixture of closed and open skills. Fast bowling is one of the most coordinative challenging skill any athlete can do. It is a closed skill that has key 'nodes' or 'attractors' that need to be habitual for bowlers to reach their genetic potential. Whatever the view on 'building robots' to bowl the same way the fact and physics demonstrate there is an ideal framework to bowl. Individuality occurs between these 'nodes' and in the art/craft of bowling. Most coaches can identify a flaw but not all can successfully intervene and enhance performance.
Fast bowling is less to do with muscles but more to do with the brain! Motor learning and skill acquisition is a careful process and the understanding and appreciation of the ability for each bowler to acquire these skills is essential. Bowler learn in different ways and at differing rates.
Every athlete possess a unique disposition/temperament and stage of motor skill development. For this reason, all sports preparatory measures, no matter how specific or general, must be appropriated according to the neuro-psychological specifics of the athlete populations with whom one works" -James Smith. 'The Governing Dynamics of Coaching'
To bowl genuinely fast, upward of 90mph you need the right genetics. Unfortunately you cannot choose your parents! If you were lucky enough to be born with a better genetic profile and gifted with faster-firing muscle fibres in the relevant areas of the body then you will probably “naturally” bowl faster than the general population. However that’s not to say that guarantees success and pace can’t be increased for those more ‘normal’ bowlers. Power and speed-strength can still be developed but getting the right coaching intervention methods and training techniques is the difference between pace enhancement and pace consolidation or as Anatoliy Bondarchuk refers to it as positive, negative or neutral transfer of training. As we know the body is a complex system and it doesn't work in isolation. Training in isolation is a reductionist approach and doesn't transfer to performance. Strength, speed and power training is more than just numbers.
'Strength training is coordination training against resistance'- Frans Bosch
It's about transferring those gains into a highly coordinative and unique closed skill of fast bowling. Training in this way, combining technical intervention, skill based drills, power and strength work is the best way to train at all levels. Not only do we need to focus on coordination in strength training, but also we need to bring a variable and ever changing approach to technical training. If we create rigid rules and framework that only apply in certain situations like basic static drills, then bowlers will fail when they encounter something new. I think this is why many bowlers who spend time drilling give up or don't see any improvements in their actions. The new 'rigid changes' that have been made need to be progressed and challenged. Due to the fact fast bowling is a closed skill in a flexible environment it requires a highly specialized and unique training approach. Basic technical drilling is essential but progression into a more 'realistic' environment is key for transfer of performance. The aim of any bowling coach should be to create anti-fragile bowlers and not fragile bowlers. Bowlers who simply specialize and perform strength sessions and bowl in indoor centres all off-season without exposing themselves to other sports become fragile bowlers. They excel when environments are constant like the indoor centres or fitness testing but break down when things are constantly changing. There are also bowlers who are great with the drills but when that new framework is put into a game environment it breaks down. How do we improve technique and movement patterns? The common mantra is that perfect practice makes perfect performance, but in reality movement is improved not by exploring its core (i.e. perfect technique), but by exploring its limits (i.e. where it breaks down). You have to constantly test and push the body to its limits in order to improve. Fast bowlers will fail in this zone, but in the right environment they can also learn to do things better in the process
Improving performance is a fine art and as mentioned earlier understanding how the brain works and how we learn is key. Drills for drills sake won't work. Put those drills into a stressful environment to encourage adaptation, progression and transfer to 'game readiness' will work. However bowlers will learn and improve at differing rates and as coaches we need to respect the stages of motor skill development/learning. The key to building the anti-fragile bowler is to progress through these stages as quickly as possible whilst mastering each stage. Spending too long at the basic unskilled level will fail to transfer to performance and ultimately lead to drop out.
There are 4 stages of learning and skill acquisition
? UNSKILLED [Incompetence]-UNCONSCIOUS
? UNSKILLED [Incompetence]-CONSCIOUS
? SKILLED[ Competence]-CONSCIOUS
? SKILLED [Competence]-UNCONSCIOUS
It’s been clear to me that it takes every individual different overloading methods to move from one to the other.
You have to overload your technique for it to change. Adaptation craves overload. Just doing 10,000 normal bodyweight repetitions won't work or may work at the novice level but won’t, as the bowler gets older, has a higher training age and is more skilled. Firstly boredom will kick in and therefore motivation to perform reps will be low and also the body will not find the need to adapt and change. Remember it’s done thousands of the ‘poor versions’ before. You need to stress the key positions with overload-stability training. It’s more likely that the changes needed are relatively small so doing something similar to what you’ve been doing will have little or no effect. Corrective strength training is the answer and as a bowling performance coach is essential.
Overload your technique and in particular key nodes/positions/key pace indicators/attractors in your bowling action. As discussed in my previous article unless a coach overloads the bowler’s technique and encourages adaptation though stress in some form or another all external queuing intervention methods are worthless. The changes simply don’t stick. The body and the brain has no desire or need to change!
When performing technical intervention work I overload the action in 4 different ways.
A. Density
B. Volume
C. Variability
D. Intensity (weight or speed)
These methods encourage skill adaptation and skill progression. Similarly to learning a new language you would firstly learn the alphabet, then a word, then a sentence, then a paragraph, chapter and finally read a book. Learning to bowl fast is exactly the same. Its skill acquisition and constantly encouraging and challenging the status quo will enhance the learning process. Stagnation and repeated technical work at a level that has already been mastered will ultimately lead to intervention failure or worst still player drop out.
Stress, progress, adapt, challenge and repeat
Too often we see fast bowling coaches trying to change a bowler’s mechanics through the use of visual and audio commands [video and instructing] without first knowing how each bowler learns and processes information. This is based on Neuro-Linguistic Programming [NLP], which describes learners as Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic leaners. It differentiates how humans prefer to take in information.
The reality is that unless the bowler is at such a low level of proficiency the intervention doesn’t normally stick. Unless the movement is either overloaded through intensity [tempo/weight], volume [reps] or density [time] the bowler will have the same action for life. Adding stress to the action when a bowler is young is an ideal intervention method but needs careful planning and understanding. However one could argue that any new intervention method is advance for whatever level the bowler is. All bowler regardless of skill level learn by the way of one or more of the modes of instruction. It is important to note that most athletes, around 80% are primarily visual learners. They like to see what they are doing wrong. The coach’s role is to then prescribe the corrective method that will then allow the bowler to subconsciously drill the right sequence. That is the ultimate aim. To allow the bowler to consciously focus on the completion of the skill with maximum intent whilst a carefully selected exercise does the coaching for them through various constraints. The drill is their subconscious coach.
Even if a bowler has been playing for a long time I would still regard the first intervention session as the stage 1 unconscious unskilled [incompetence] stage. The corrective methods and the complexity of the intervention will dictate the rate of progression which will be dependent on their current actions. If their current action ‘works’ both effectively and safely I wouldn’t introduce them to stage 1 skill stability stage where the drills are static in nature. However there is always something that a bowler can work on. Javelin throwers would always do technical drills in their session so why would a bowler just bowl in the nets to improve? There’s always something that can be improved. There are always drills to be done without bowling a single ball. A bowler doesn’t need to be bowling for 40mins at a batter to get better. Yep they will do at some stage, that’s learning the ART OF BOWLING but the foundations need to be built to enable that 40min session to be more productive. It is important to note here that I would regard a 40min session as a tempo bowling session where the intensity should be around 75% effort. It is impossible for a fast bowler to be working on developing max speed for that long. We need to have a focus for each session and an understanding on the stress we place on the bowlers system. During a 90mins session with me, a bowler would bowl a cricket ball for 20mins max at the end with a good 1 min rest between each max effort ball. Before that they have various drills to do, working on rotational power, delivery stride, the drop step and block, hip-shoulder separation, heel contact, back foot contact drills, upper body power, arm speed work, weighted ball work, skill-stability work, corrective strength work and other key drills.
How bowlers learn and progress through the stages of learning.
UNSKILLED-UNCONSCIOUS- The beginner bowler attempts to do the skill-stability stage 1 exercises and simply go through the motion. Often they ridicule the exercises as a pointless exercise. In my experience these are often the bowlers who have been swayed into thinking all problems are solved in the weight room with a barbell. They can’t get the sequence together but still believe they are doing it right. They are highly inefficient at certain aspects of the bowling action. They are both unaware they are making a mistake and are unable to perform any intervention drill properly.
#Overload skill-stability stage 1 [static stability]
UNSKILLED-CONSCIOUS -After a few sessions and after a few additional practices away from the session, the bowler begins to be aware of the inefficiency in their action. They become conscious of the flaws but haven’t quite mastered the technique to help improve the sequence. They know what they have to do but can’t do it for a number of repetitions. They get frustrated easily. This I feel is an important stage. They understand it but can’t repeat it. This is where the bowler needs to realise that they have to do the drills in their own time away from the structured sessions. Otherwise the new skill will never be automatic and STAGE 4 is just a distant dream! They are now conscious of being unskilled! Frustration, anger, worry and boredom kicks in very quickly.
The key at this stage is keeping them engaged and motivated. You need to maintain the trust they have in your skills as a coach. Giving them a different stimulus keeps them engaged
‘An organism isn't interested in a stimulus it considers mundane. For effective learning to occur all non-reflexive stimuli must clear the RAS [Reticular Activating System]. This is in simple terms is the 'ON' button for the brain and motor learning’.
Doing the same mundane non stimulating drills without progression will never turn on the 'ON' button. This is why a lot of fast bowlers fall out of favour with technical work. To turn the ‘ON’ button to the ‘learning mode’ the bowler needs to be engaged and open to learn. This is where the art of coaching comes in. Finding ways by adding variability to help the bowler progress to the next stage of learning.
# Overload skill-stability stage 2 [dynamic stability]
SKILLED-CONSCIOUS -Having reiterated the point to the bowlers that they must keep doing the drills away from the sessions they begin to consistently repeat the technical sequence. However at this stage they have to remind themselves and cannot subconsciously perform the drill. They have to tell themselves, pre turn, brace front leg, square the hip etc. This is the most important stage of the bowler learning the new technique. At this stage they are aware of what they are doing but don't see it when they bowl at a batter for example. A lot of players get stuck in this phase because they have to ‘think’. They have to mentally control the movement. This stage requires patience from both the coach and the bowler. The easy thing to do here is dismiss the drill as being pointless and ineffective and move back to just bowling in the nets. The key point to remember here is that, ‘you’re/they’re not far away’. Keep believing in the process and the results will come.
This is the stage where many bowlers become very good at drill work and terminating the intervention process here will develop a 'fragile bowler'. They look good with the drill work but it doesn't transfer to on-field performance in an unstable sports environment.
This is the stage most bowlers get to very quickly. To encourage progression and keep the bowler stimulated the bowler will then progress onto stage 3 of the overload skill- stability model where variability and becomes the key addition to the programme. Up until this stage volume, intensity and density have been sufficient overloading mechanisms. It now needs more advanced methods to progress from here.
# Overload skill-stability stage 3 [ballistic stability]
From experience, as a coach and as a player, coaches need to be aware that between stage 3 and 4 the bowler will get very frustrated. Here is the stage where the bowler begins to doubt and blame external factors outside of their control. They start thinking too much. Evidence suggests once a player reaches the SKILLED-UNCONSCIOUS stage, thinking actually interferes with skill execution.
'I've walked millions of steps over time but that doesn't make me an expert walker. Repetition of a skill has to be purposeful and variable'.
When a novice bowler delivers a cricket ball for the first time and executes the highly complex action they consciously talk themselves through it.
Each ball bowled needs to become a habit and performed at the subconscious level. This is why 'corrective strength' produces remarkable changes in a bowling action and is a key addition to my coaching toolbox. Progressing a bowler from skilled -unconscious to skilled conscious depends on the corrective strength methods and shifting the learning process to the subconscious. With corrective strength the drill itself is the coach whilst the conscious mind simply focuses on putting maximum effort into every repetition. Providing external feedback and knowledge of results will also enhance learning. For example; using power monitors to make sure the bowler is aware of how hard they are actually throwing a medicine ball
Telling a young bowler too stop falling away will never work as it's an internal cue and ultimately when they bowl they will think about 'not falling away', which means they are thinking about 'falling way'. Now falling away becomes the goal of the subconscious. This is why everything we do and say as coaches has an impact on our bowlers. We need a large pool of knowledge and understanding on a number physical, technical, tactical and psychological dimensions.
I've often wondered why the cues I give bowlers work. I've recently researched and read a vast amount of books and papers on motor learning which has validated all my methods. Along with 'corrective strength' I use a lot of visual image cues for them to copy [action-intent model] or childish/immature verbal external cues. These methods work at all levels. For example; when drilling there needs to be a focus on dragging the back foot from position 3 to 4. What I tell my bowlers is pretend to scrape mud of the front of the shoes. The subconscious mind is radically different from the conscious mind and the more immature and silly the cues the better.
? P1- Shark fin [Back foot contact]-Mimics the elbow/coil position
? P2- Star fish [Front foot contact]
? P3- Cartwheel [Delivery and follow through]
'Give key positions a simple picture to mimic'.
There is considerable evidence showing that actually ‘thinking too much’ when you bowl is avoidable by initially coaching the bowlers in a specific way so they understand what they are doing in a ‘non-technical’ way. So instead of coaching the young bowler to ‘use his front arm more because it will give you direction and power’ start using techniques that use analogies and descriptive examples. For example I tell my bowler to ‘imagine knocking the batters off bail off with his/her elbow and catching it with your hand in the air!’ So it’s a ‘bend and send’ motion of the arm. They can then picture what they need to do without having to over think the technical reasoning for it. This type of analogy allows ‘many bits of information about a skill to be presented to the learner in one manageable chunk’ [Farrow, et.al]
The subconscious communicates differently. The subconscious mind doesn't talk in words [ever dreamed in words], it talks in emotions and pictures.
SKILLED-UNCONSCIOUS -The final stage of skill acquisition is stage 4. Here, as coaches we will be able to observe a bowler whose mastered the skill! When they go through the kinetic chain sequence they can do it without thinking. This is when as coaches you know you’ve made a technical change and a difference to their game. You have had an impact on that young bowler’s career. At the end of the day that’s why we coach. It’s to have an impact and make an impression on their career. They trust us to help them.
As coaches we need to tailor our sessions to cater for the needs of individuals and where they lie on the satges of learning. Bowlers cannot dwell on a drill if they have already mastered it. Move them along as quickly as possible to stage 4 skilled conscious where transference of training will be more physical, tactically and mentally determined. Bowlers don’t want to be driven by technique so as coaches we need to be smart in what we prescribe and how long they stay with that exercise. The weekly training needs to be specific to their stage of learning. Don't go back to the beginning. 'When you know the alphabet you don't revisit it if you're reading Shakespeare'
There are 3 stages to overload-skill stability training that respects and works synergistically with the bowlers stage of learning
Phase 1-Static Stability
? Basic kinetic sequence static holds in key bowling positions [4 positions]
This is the foundation phase of motor learning and change. The goal is to build strength through isometric contractions in the key bowling positions and develop an awareness of those positions. What does it feel like to brace the front leg? What does it feel like to have your feet land under your hips? What does it feel like to have your hips square on and both feet pointing forward?
Phase 2- Dynamic stability
? Band perturbations static holds
? Force med ball absorption drills [catch and hold]
? Oscillatory bowling arm drills
Take the new understanding and stability in the key position and add variability and chaos. This will develop postural awareness and further engrain the positions by using more challenging and dynamic movement. Medicine balls are introduced at this stage to train the body to absorb force in key positions.
Phase 3-Ballistic training
? Med ball throws
? Level 4 kinetic chain sequencing and constraints drill
? Grooving weighted ball work
? Constraints positive disconnection bowling
? Velocity weighted ball bowling
The final phase is about expressing the force potential developed in key positions into a more specific and ballistic movement. This is the power and speed phase which will transfer directly to game readiness. This phase is about using the stability developed in the first phase and the energy absorption and dynamic/chaos stability in the 2nd phase and using it effectively and efficiently up the kinetic chain form proximal to distal. This phase is about learning to transfer energy up the chain and how to create hip and shoulder separation
I fully appreciate technically drilling a bowling action is both tedious and a long winded process. Both for the player and the coach. Often the coach feels he’s taking the easy option by just standing back and letting the player do the work on their own. If prescribed properly the only coach they will ever need is the constraint drill itself. You are now redundant! What we must realise as coaches is that leaving them learn themselves is actually benefitting them more than we appreciate and just letting them learn by doing is the best thing we could do. Technical reinforcement work has to be done. As coaches we need to sit back, manipulate [add constraints], monitor, observe and only guide them when the sequence isn’t correct.
Coaches need to be aware of the constraints that occur during skill acquisition. 'The challenge for the coach is how to integrate the vast amounts of sport science information, difference of opinion and methods into their training and competition programmes'.
Finally I truly believe that every bowler should be coached in a holistic manner. Both technical work and Physical work are equally as important. Prescribing key stressors based on their learning styles and the stages of motor skill development will ultimately determine the success of the intervention and your reputation as a fast bowling coach.
Once again, thanks for reading and I hope all my articles are making a difference to your way of thinking regarding coaching young fast bowlers.
Steff
Williams, A.M. & Hodges, N.J. (2005). Practice, instruction and skill acquisition: Challenging tradition. Journal of Sport Sciences, 23(6), 637-650.