I'm going to speak to you about batting training habits today...
Many players have the whole "doing extra's" engraved into them by their coach, captain, or even just someone they look up to.
The thought that if I go and hit a heap of balls, that's automatically going to make me better right? WRONG!
In particular, i'm speaking about after you’ve had your net session and go down to do those extra’s with your batting partner to get some volume up.
The first part of this is to understand that taking your mate into the nets and just getting throws does hold some purpose to a degree, but very little.
Aimlessly throwing balls for the sake of it, is not necessarily beneficial and you may find you are working yourself into bad habits.
Here at the ACI we've compiled the 5 ways you can improve the quality of your throw downs and batting at training.
- Always Wear Your Full Batting Kit
Particularly for young developing players, I think it’s extremely important to hit as many balls as you can with your full kit on.
Why you ask? How are you going to get used to batting for long periods of time if you don’t wear it for an hour or so at training?
Secondly it just makes it second nature and way more comfortable to you when you get used to moving and playing your shots in the gear you wear on the weekend.
- Set Out (Task) Constraints
Simply means always give yourself a target/ zone/ rule that you have to incorporate to develop a particular part of the game.
You might be wanting to work on scoring off spin bowling, well set up some gates or little targets zones (hoops/nets) to give you some options to be able to hit to and score runs.
(Download our free batting technique checklist above!)
Or perhaps you want to just develop your defense. How about making a game where you need to hit the ball down to the ground before it hits the side net? Or maybe you get a point for leaving the ball off the stumps or if you play it on the stumps, if you get it wrong the thrower gets a point.
As you can see from these examples it creates more purpose within your session and ensures you are receiving knowledge of outcomes, learn the ability to adjust, but also gives you targets to ensure that when you go out in a game you aren't just hitting ball's for the sake of it.
It also helps you work your way of doing things out because the way I hit a cover drive is different to the way you do, and different to how David Warner does.
The point of this is all about creating an environment where you can measure your success and problem solve in a way that is efficient and effective for you as a player.
- Don’t Over Complicate Things
This really is just about not trying to do too many things at once. If you are working on a particular aspect or skill within your batting, make sure it’s only one thing.
Finding ways to incorporate a decision making element within this throw downs or controlled training environment is also important to make sure that you can develop how adaptable you become.
- Work Your Routine Into It
Sometimes you find that there is no real thought or process when people are hitting balls.
Try to incorporate your routine between balls, and make sure that you take your time and not rush through things while you are doing this.
Developing your own process between balls to help you switch on and execute in any situation will also increase your output and quality of your batting while you train.
(Download our free batting technique checklist above!)
- Create Game Like Scenarios
This is all about trying to give purpose to your session in a way that replicates a situation you may find yourself in when playing.
This may be a target of runs to get e.g. hitting to sweepers and get 30 off 18.
Or perhaps it may just be a bowling scenario where you have some scoring zones and you need to create singles off good length balls.
Even like we said earlier and purely aiming to defend and not get out for a period of time, you still have some sort of outcome/competition/plan.
Whatever it is that you have you are far better off playing under these conditions than just getting your mate to throw you balls for the sake of it.
(Download our free batting technique checklist above!)
Written by Joel Hamilton (Co founder of ACI)
