Stay at Home Cricket with Cricket Coach 365
We are delighted to be working with Tom Jones and Cricket Coach 365 to deliver the #stayathome cricket series.
By way of an introduction, here is Tom’s story and profile (below)..... we will be publishing one or two activities a day for you to enjoy and participate in.... and Stay Safe.
Background story to Stay at Home Cricket with Cricket Coach 365
Mid March 2020: UK Government announces that social gathering of all kinds is not allowed for the foreseeable future and therefore no sports allowed.
Lockdown commences March 22, 2020 and the message to “stay at home” (protect our NHS) is created.
At this point in time as Chairman of Junior Cricket at Warrington Sports Club I was busy with pre season practice sessions for the kids at Bridgewater HS and was preparing for the upcoming start of the outdoor season. This all came to an abrupt halt. No more practices ; no games; no start to the season. No cricket….
It was then I thought to myself why don’t I start sharing some videos on my Facebook Page Cricket Coach 365 (@365cricketcoach), of cricket games and activities that my son and I can do at home and call it #stayathomecricket? And so the idea was formed and we started recording. We could bring cricket to people’s homes via the power of video.
In the first few days there was the inevitable toilet roll challenge adapted for cricket to do, followed by a series of simple games that we played mostly in our back garden (which is not the biggest) and recorded to share on Facebook and Instagram.
I then came up with the idea of creating a You Tube Channel to play host to all the videos, as by now I had hatched the idea to create 28 videos ie one a day for four weeks. So, much to the initial embarrassment of my sons, Cricket Coach 365 YT Channel was born.
We then continued to play, record, post and download for the next week or two before I thought of the idea of designing a set of activity cards as a way of accompanying the videos and within a few days the “Special Edition Stay at Home Cricket” activity cards was created: 28 cards to match the 28 videos.
The final piece of the process was to set up a way for people to purchase the cards on line which they can now do via our website https://www.cricketcoach365.co.uk
So now the whole package is available: online videos to look at the games in action accompanied by activity cards which provide suggested instructions as to how to set the games up. We have even started doing some videos showing how the games can be adapted if you are really limited for space or have no access to cricket equipment.
The main purpose of this is and has always been to bring some fun into people’s homes during lockdown and for those families who like their cricket to provide them with some ideas as to how to spend some time getting active, getting creative and taking part in #stayathomecricket.
Profile
Tom has over 15 years of experience coaching in clubs and schools as an accredited ECB Club Coach. Tom has also been subcontracted into the County Cricket Boards to help support the running/delivery of Chance to Shine programmes in schools and has been head coach at District U11-U15 level.
As an independent coach under the brand Cricket Coach 365 (www.cricketcoach365.co.uk) Tom has designed his own coaching framework for juniors from U8s through to U16s and has seen players progress through his coaching pathways into district and county representation consistently over the past few years.
Tom has developed a good relationship with Kings School Macclesfield where he runs holiday cricket camps year on year.
Tom has arranged a 6–a-side fun cricket festival for U11s at Warrington CC for the past five years which has seen over 350 youngsters take part and enjoy a day jam packed with cricket.
Tom offers 1:2:1 coaching and has a particular area of expertise around helping a player develop the right mindset and build their own self confidence to be the best player they can and this is the area of coaching that Tom is most passionate about. This is reflected in the partnerships Tom has forged with Opening Up and Mindful Cricket.
Coaching Style
Tom’s natural inclination is to engage players’ emotional and psychological buy in and then work with them to increase their self belief and ability to achieve a personal set of goals. Tom believes strongly in building on players’ strengths. Tom’s style is enthusiastic and empathetic yet at the same time challenging which brings about a positive reaction in those he works with. Tom is a strong advocate of self-directed learning and sees his role in supporting an individual or group to move closer to owning their own development pathway. This approach has led to Tom designing a series of coaching cards the purpose of which is to help coaches ask better coaching questions and in doing so build greater levels of engagement with their players, and increase players’ own awareness of themselves and their games.
Players who have been coached by Tom describe his style as “understanding, patient and impactful.”
Areas of Specialism
• Juniors U8-U16
• Developing player self confidence and self awareness
• Mindset
• Resilience
Career Background
Tom’s career outside of cricket coaching has spanned 25 years in general operational management, client management, learning and development and sales leadership roles. Tom has led teams and business units all his life during which time he has always adopted a coaching style to his leadership roles. He now devotes his time to helping individuals and businesses grow, develop and thrive in his business coaching organisation Cresco Coaching and Consultancy (www.crescocoaching.co.uk)
Professional Qualifications and Training
• BA Honours in Combined Studies (French and PE)
• Diploma in Business Communications
• Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA)
• Diploma in Management (CMI)
• CIPD accredited
• Dale Carnegie Executive Leadership Award
• Strengthscope accredited coach
• MTQ mental toughness accredited coach (AQR International)
Neuroplasticity Diploma (Udemy)
Mental Health Awareness Certificate (Mind)
©Cricket World 2020