by sussexpob » Wed May 27, 2015 10:13 am
We used to take it in turns to coach the kid groups at our cricket club, it was really rewarding to be involved with, most are there for fun and well behaved because they are doing something they enjoy.
Essentially, we used to rotate different themes for practice, so at the start of every session you introduce them to a small but fundamental technical element that they focus on. As an example one might be the importance of watching the ball, how to stand, how to catch...nothing heavy. As you have noticed, most of them plant front foot and swing to leg side, so in essence you embrace that by teaching them how to connect with the ball. At that age, all they want to do is smash it, that is a victory if they get caught out 10 meters away from the stumps because they hit it that far.
At the end of them practicing a few drills with the focus element (so if its catching, they just throw balls at each other to catch, etc) they play a game where we put them inside the hall, and the coach would send some underarm throw downs with a wicket setup behind, and mats positioned upright around the outfield within sensible hitting distances. Each mat they hit scored different points, which were positioned in a way that made the cow slog the least profitable, and encouraged them to think how they could position themselves or their bat to find better results. All the other kids fielded, and if someone survived more than 2 overs they were retired to make sure those that inevitably missed the ball and got out had some time to play too.
They seemed to enjoy it, and they seem at that age to really respect you in the belief that you are Ricky Ponting or something.
I would say the most important thing is, make it fun, make it inclusive, but do attempt to teach them something that they can learn from and take away. As stated above, they seem to respect and listen to you, so whatever you say they will take note of.
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