Met up with Sophie after all the sessions were over. These are the notes on what she said. I have bolded what I thought was the most important bits..
Sophie currently in the middle of a break. Exams went well etc..
Cricket wise. Just back from LaManga with Irish Performance Squad. Good experience. Found it tough, intense, but good. Tiring. Not surprised but still tough. Enjoyed it. Didn’t get to train with senior players. But disappointed.
Hockey. every Tuesday and Thursday. Going well.
College. Enjoyed the S&C. Learn loads of exercises. More advanced. Has own S&C plan.
The 8 Sessions.. Recap. Met first, decided on bowling. Bowling session and videos. Sat down and analysed. Reduce the bound. Arms pumping. Arm pathways. Knee drive. Lots of drills. Progressed them. Full run up eventually. Video analysis stuck on wall! Found the video very helpful.
Thought it was a success. Loved seeing herself bowl. Knew what to work on.
Bound. Jumped over small cone. Simple. First effort worked. Biggest change, and was made in 20 minutes. Once she understood she changed everything. I agree. Nothing she struggled with for more than a session.
Wanted to establish herself on sides, more overs and more consistent. Main goal was get faster. She thinks she got a little faster, but wants to increase it more. Increase of speed was as good as it gets over an 8 week period.
Disappointed with.. Nothing. Bowled way more and was happy overall. I was disappointed we never got to variations. But in a better place now, technically, to try out variations.
Thinks she bowled a lot more consistently last season. Bowled less wides.
Back in time would she do the same? Happy that she picked bowling over batting. Batting may have suffered a little bit, because of the focus on her batting. Structure was really good. Wouldn’t change anything.
Plan going forward, knowing that this structure worked for her. Continue to work in a similar way. Sessions with Irish girls, and established a few things to work on. Arm Pathways. Aaron’s feedback. Extend front arm.
Won’t leave her stranded, will do a few more sessions.
What made it enjoyable. Never bored. Enjoyed trying to get better. Not just in cricket. Similar to college. Enjoys learning, but feels pressure in exams. Pressure doesn’t mirror with matches, but captaincy added pressure. Sometimes felt more pressure to perform. But was good pressure. Preparation and plans will elevate this pressure. Likes writing things down.
How was my style of coaching? Loved the video. Liked the progression videos. Could see the progress. Liked how everything was broken down. All worked really well. Genuinely! I made a big effort to make the session plans unique to sophie, after the original chat i had with her.
She would have liked more session.
I’m happy your happy. I’m happy you found a structure you like, and you can now go to another coach and tell them how you learn best. Not reliant on the coach.
Thanks etc..
