Speakers prove a success

Getting elite players to perform under high pressure was a topic that was bound to command attention among top-level coaches attending the ECB coaches association national conference.

But when the speaker was the man who coached Jonny Wilkinson to produce the last-gasp kick that won England the Rugby World Cup final in 2003, the topic proved as riveting as a blockbuster thriller.

For two hours Dr Dave Aldred MBE, the world’s best kicking coach and a leading authority in skills acquisition and mental preparation, kept delegates mesmerised with an inspirational talk on how to get the best performances out of top players.

He spoke of the importance of pride and preparation and recounted the attention paid by the most prolific performers in any sport, including Wilkinson, to routine, motivation and to their team-mates.

The speech kicked off a two-day coaching workshop, entitled ‘Setting the Pace’, held at Warwick University conference park. It was the third ECB coaches association national conference since its successful launch in 2003.

Mark Garaway, the current England assistant coach and analyst gave an insight into the day-to-day responsibility of managing the England team and measuring their performances.

He also shed light on how England plan for Tests and one-day internationals - a subject close to the heart of the final workshop speaker on Sunday, Ashley Giles - the recently retired Test and ODI player and newly-appointed national selector.

Last summer, Giles was forced to retire from all cricket with a recurring hip injury but a few weeks later was appointed director of cricket at Warwickshire where he played most of his cricket.

His talk recounting the dramatic changes in his life since his last Test appearance against Australia in December 2006, proved spellbinding for a captive audience.

But the conference did not revolve just around international sport, with Chris Murphy, a senior lecturer in physical education and sports coaching talking about the support available for league players, drawing on his experience of working with the Boston Red Sox baseball team while on a Lord’s Taverners Trip to America.

The gala dinner on Saturday night saw the crowning of the country’s top rated coaches as the Sky Sports coach awards reached its climax.

John Bown of Derbyshire won the Sky Sports outstanding coaching achievement award for his work within Derbyshire and Brian Walsh, a former cricket development manager in Northern Ireland, won the outstanding contribution and service to cricket coaching award.

The awards were part of the joint ECB and Sky Sports coach education programme which features a local reward and recognition scheme in each county board, linked to a national scheme for coaches, which is aimed at raising the profile of their work.

Former England, Lancashire and Durham batsman Graeme Fowler presented the prizes in conjunction with master of ceremonies Simon Thomas, host of Sky Sports’ Cricket AM programme and former Blue Peter presenter.

Both finalists were chosen from a field of 80 nominations from 40 counties who were whittled down to 16 regional winners before the final nominees were selected. Nominations for 2008 need to be submitted to your local cricket association by January 31 2008

ECB coaches association national conference organiser David Gallagher summed up the event, saying: “The 400-plus left Warwick on Sunday feeling inspired, confident and up to date with the very latest thinking, and proud to be a part of the ECB CA family.”