, , , ,

Alex Carey: Advice For Young Cricketers

Alex Carey joined us recently as apart of our Junior Cricket Wellbeing and Activity Program and was so forthcoming with information and advice that we thought we'd put it all into a blog for all you budding cricketers out there, both young and old!

AFL VS CRICKET 

Alex is well-positioned as a multi-sport disciplined athlete to talk on the vigours of professional setups and the pressure that comes along with that.  We asked Alex his thoughts on this;

"When playing multiple sports and the commitments that come along with that, communication is key. Know who you trust and utilise that support network. Don’t be pigeonholed, do as much as you can. Don’t put pressure on yourself either. Just enjoy the different aspects of the games and challenge yourself with the differing skills. Sport is awesome and gives you a lot of life values, I still hold my junior days close to my heart and have a lot of fond memories."

Below we go into more detail about his mentality on the different disciplines within cricket.

‘When juggling a lot of commitments, be honest and talk to your coaches and staff members, speak about your situation and know what you're trying to achieve and people will support you wherever you go, always willing to assist.'

 

WICKET-KEEPING MENTALITY

"When keeping you have to be super focused and concentrated.  You also need to have good balance and be relaxed. When missing opportunities, you’ve got to be prepared to put them aside, assess them and move onto the next ball. Hard work and training is key! Glutes need to be super strong, high intensity because you’re squatting so much."

"White ball cricket is a little different compared to red ball.  You don't take as many balls, but when you do it’s usually a chance - so be alert and upbeat and bring the energy to every contest. Work is done in training to sort out performance!"

Alex answers a question to do specifically with keeping to spinners;

"It differs between hard wicket and playing on turf. Be wary of the bounce you’ll need to deal with on synthetic pitches. Stay nice and low, in a strong position and ready for the ball to get up around your ears sometimes. Watch that ball and more often than not you'll be able to take that chance whether it’s a stumping or catch. Turf will spin more, be more variable and stay a bit lower. The main point is being in a great position and set up when the ball is released. You also need to be able to trust your instincts and have your head in line with the ball when it bounces."

'We are human and you are going to feel those emotions of disappointment. Worry about the next opportunity instead. Good players are judged on their learnings from their setbacks. It’s a normal feeling, but try and make sure you don’t make those same mistakes twice. Keep a smile on your face and go around again!'

 

BATTING MENTALITY

Alex discusses his own batting technique:

"I’m still chasing perfection and always developing my batting technique. Don’t change things just to please people and coaches, setbacks will make you a better player and you’ll start to understand who you trust and what works for your game. You always need to be searching to be a better player. Whether it’s mentally or technically you need to be in whatever position is comfortable that helps you get the best out of yourself. Try different things but don’t just do something because someone tells you to or reckons you should. It may be something as simple as changing your stance on the crease, it may be the really little things that help you the most! There’ll always be an element of failure in your batting, even the pros are tinkering with their techniques, so keep working at it!"

Some key points around his mindest when chasing a score whilst batting:

"Don’t be too worried about the outcome. Have the target or chase in mind, but you can only react to what the bowler bowls. Don’t just try and score one side of the field, if you’re in a good frame of mind you’ll be able to utilise your technique to access different parts of the ground. Remember to stay calm throughout. When you’re in a run chase you can get ahead of yourself, you can be rushed and worry about things that are out of your control. Take a deep breath and understand what the bowler is trying to bowl with the field they set.  That should keep you away from those frantic thoughts. It’s a big part of my game to calm my thoughts, not everything will come off, so be it! Calm yourself and trust that you and your batting mate out in the middle will get the job done."

'If it’s technical or something that needs attention, get to training and try and work on it as much as you can.'

 

KEY ADVICE

Alex regularly captains his state and is the vice-captain of Australia's shorter form teams. His take on being a leader on-field;

"Captain while the ball is not being bowled. Meaning - make your decisions, have your fielders in the right place and then switch back onto catching that ball. Simplify it as much as possible and make sure you’ve got a good helper out there, whether it’s a mate or a vice-captain to bounce off of. You need to be able to communicate with a teammate. But when it comes to it, watch the ball and not the field."

Alex continues when asked about on-field banter;

"I don’t bother with chirping too much, I like to focus on taking the ball and doing my job and the rest should sort itself out. The better players normally welcome the challenge so you have to be wary of what you’re saying."

And finally his advice on training;

"You certainly have to train across all three facets of the game. Not just batting and bowling, but fielding is essential too. This will help make you a vital team member and a really valuable asset, to be able to take the ball when needed or step up with the bat when required. I think on a personal note, I give everything I have and never have any regrets. When you leave your day at training just know you’ve done everything you can to achieve what you needed to."

For the full interview head to our Facebook page by clicking here

/2 Comments/by

The 3 P’s To Help Your Child Overcome Performance Anxiety

Let me start by saying - everyone gets nervous.

Yes, some more than others, but everyone experiences nerves on some level. Nerves can be healthy if channeled correctly.

After all, it means you care about what you're doing.

Performance anxiety on the other hand, is unhealthy.

Performance anxiety is an extreme case of nerves caused by your fear of not being able to perform and carry out the task (whatever that may be).

Signs your child might have performance anxiety include;

  • Not being able to sleep before a game
  • Trembling
  • Hyperventilation
  • Sweating
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • They have a rapid heart rate
  • They don’t want to play

Again, some nerves are completely normal and even healthy, but if they start getting to the point where they affect your child’s ability to perform or cause them to not want to go to the game, it becomes performance anxiety.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are what I call “The Three P’s” to help reduce performance anxiety…

PREPARATION

This is without doubt the #1 contributor to your child feeling confident heading into a game.

Confidence stems from;

  1. Knowing you’ve done the job before and/or
  2. Knowing, deep down, that you’ve done everything you can do to prepare.

The better your child’s preparation, the more confident they will be. And confidence is a great nerve buster.

This means doing extras outside of training, working with some quality coaches etc.

I know anytime I went into a game knowing I’d taken short cuts, I felt that little bit more nervous.

PLANNING

Once they’ve done the preparation, spending 20-30 minutes prior to their game doing a bit of planning will certainly help.

Highlighting their strengths and what they’re doing well is a great idea because this is what they want to focus their game plans on during the game.

Identifying what they’re not doing so well so they can stay away from that during the game.

E.g. “I’m playing really well square of the wicket against fast bowling, so that’s where I’m going to focus on scoring my runs. I’ve been struggling against spin so I’m going to be a bit more cautious when the spinners come on”

Hashing out their game plan clears their mind and allows them to relax a bit more the night before and morning of a game.

Even thinking about their opposition if they know them and having plans against certain players.

They should have clear batting and bowling plans.

 

 

PERSPECTIVE

Once they’ve done everything they can to prepare and plan, if they’re still not feeling great, give them some perspective.

At the end of the day, what’s the worst that can happen?

They get a duck and 0/50.

They’ve probably done that before and they will do it again in their lifetime.

The world didn’t end last time it happened did it?

Whilst we all love the game and care about our performance, it really doesn’t matter what happens in our U/14 club game on the 14th of November 2020 in the grand scheme of things does it?

There are a lot bigger things going on in the world and I think stepping back and taking a higher level look at it like that can really help remove fear and anxiety.

If did for me when I found myself getting a bit caught up anyway.

I hope that helps!

Author: Nick Fitzpatrick

Co-Founder of Australian Cricket Institute 

 

 

/0 Comments/by
, , , ,

ACI - Q&A Interview with Alex Carey

Alex Carey, the current Australian One-day and T20 vice-captain & wicket-keeper recently joined us for an interview as apart of the ACI's free 4-week Junior Wellbeing & Activity Program.  Below is an overview of the interview along with some questions & answers that some of our lucky members of the program got to ask.

Alex's had an interesting journey thus far, playing both footy and cricket growing up and right through his schooling days until year 12. Once things got serious, he elected to go down an AFL pathway into the national draft. He had to choose one, he definitely loved cricket but couldn't pass up the opportunity to play AFL. This meant no cricket for 2 full seasons, no practice, no skills. After his decision to return to cricket, this meant finding his way back into the South Australian system by making his way through grade cricket at Glenelg. He credits his brother and dad a lot - always being there for him in terms of coaching, participation & moral support. That's where we'll pick up the interview;

‘To be elite at whatever you choose to do in life, you’ve got to work really hard and be passionate. The best normally do the most.’

ACI: Who were your biggest role models growing up?

AC: My father and older brother are certainly my two biggest supporters. Lots of young cricketers have their parents around to be their role models in life and it’s such massive support. In a professional sense, I loved watching Adam Gilchrist play - obviously being a left-hand wicket keeping batter like myself. The way he handled himself on the field, he always had a big smile on his face. Now to have a relationship with him and call him a mate is pretty special. Not only playing-wise but morally to have him as a role model was fantastic to aspire towards. At the end of the day though, family is key!

ACI: Do you think AFL is a good crossover sport for cricket?

AC: Certainly, football and cricket are two awesome sports. Footy keeps you fit, you're outdoors and you have a heap of mates on that team. Basically any sport that involves a ball, hand-eye, and lots of activity are great options to do while you’re not playing cricket.

ACI: Do you have a wicket keeping routine?

AC: Yes and you definitely should have one in between balls, especially if you don’t need to run up to the stumps or be involved in the contest. You should try and switch off as much as you can but my routine is;

  1. Look around the field and the positions.
  2. Mark my spot and scratch where I need to stand.
  3. Crouch into the hands and knees…
  4. Into stance and switch back on.

ACI: How much time do you dedicate to your batting vs your keeping when training?

AC: Personally, keeping is my number one skill so I do some really solid sessions around that. Some days it’s one or the other - I have to be able to trust my preparation for that. The off-season can be a lot about recovery and making sure you’re mentally prepared to go around again. In this time there are probably more opportunities to do longer sessions, get more time into the legs and do some higher volume with my batting prep.

He continues...

‘You need to take ownership of your own game and make sure you have that feeling of achievement when you finish the training session. It can be a juggling act chasing the perfect preparation leading into a game, you need to be fresh but you also need to keep those skills relevant.’

ACI: During the World Cup semi-final, how did you respond to being hit by Jofra Archer?

AC: We were under a fair bit of pressure at the time already, not the ideal situation you want to be in when needing to post a big score. Jofra is an elite bowler and he’s so skilled, I don't know how he does it. I copped that bouncer on the chin and got a few stitches in but was lucky to be batting with Steve Smith at the other end. It was probably more uncomfortable if anything plus I had to hold up the game. As it started going numb and a bit sore, for me personally it was about us posting a score which we could defend. I was so focused on us getting the job done and playing a good innings, I would worry about the repercussions of injury later.

ACI: Who’s the best bowler that you’ve faced?

AC: Rashid Khan is the best I’ve kept to, he’s quite special. He’s also bowled to me and is really tough to pick.

ACI: Your favourite format?

AC: They’re all exciting for different reasons! T20 is certainly a rush, one-dayers are a real test of your skills over time and 4-day cricket is all about patience. I love them all for different reasons!

ACI: Favourite venue to play at?

AC: Adelaide Oval - it’s pretty cool. Otherwise, Lords. Lords is Lords, the history that’s there with the old stands. We won two world cup games there so it’s quite a special place to play! It’s a strange slope, but you’re overawed by the history there.

ACI: Who do you follow in the AFL?

AC: I follow the Adelaide Crows, as well as Dylan Shiel at Essendon and have a soft spot for the giants.

ACI: Do you prefer batting or keeping more?

Depends if I make runs (laughs) however, keeping gives you another chance to be a part of the game!

ACI: What have you been doing cricket wise during isolation? Are you training and still catching balls?

AC: Yep certainly doing lots of running, I really enjoy that. I’ve got some weights out in the backyard to get something through the legs. I’ve got my golf balls for catching as well. I’m also having a hit tomorrow going indoors to keep my skills up. I can’t sit still so I really enjoy trying to stay fit and strong as well as hitting balls - it’s what I love doing. Right now I’m really appreciative of the time I can have with my family.

ACI: Thanks so much for coming on Alex! We really appreciate it and we’ll be supporting you in the Aussie colours when you’re back! 

AC: My absolute pleasure and it’s so great to see these questions coming through and it’s great to have that support!

For the full interview head to our Facebook page by clicking here

IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFO ABOUT THE 4-WEEK JUNIOR CRICKET WELLBEING & ACTIVITY PROGRAM - CLICK HERE

/0 Comments/by
, ,

ACI - Q&A Interview with Jason Behrendorff: 5 Tips For Seam Bowlers

As apart of the ACI’s free 4-week Junior Wellbeing & Activity Program, recently we were lucky enough to have current Australian international fast bowler, Jason Behrendorff join us for a Q & A session. 

Hundreds of young cricketers were glued to their computers, phones & tablets interacting and listening to the insights of his journey through cricket and his tips on how to become a consistent young fast bowler.

After our discussion, we thought it would be handy to jot down the 5 key takeaways that Jason spoke about for young developing fast bowlers.

1. Your Stock Ball is Key

You need to be aware of what your best ball is, after which you'll need to be able to execute it time after time!

Your ability to be consistent and take wickets or to build pressure for long periods of time comes down to this.

Jason's advice;

“100% the best thing for me is nailing a stock ball. For me, it’s an inswinger to the right-hander so that’s the ball I work on 90% of the time because that’s my banker. That’s the one I know 9/10 times, I’ll execute and whatever I need to do if I’m in a pressure situation that’s what I’ll go back to”.

2. Find Your Niche in the Swing vs Pace Balance

This tip is often highly debated about and can make or break players confidence. At the end of the day, is there a trade-off?

Should players be sacrificing swing to bowl quicker? Or can players play at a good level while still pulling back your pace and have the ball seam around?

Jason's advice;

“A few years ago people were sort of saying unless you bowl 140kph+ you won’t play international cricket. If you look around the international game, yes there are a few that do bowl 145kph or 150kph but there's only a handful who bowl super fast. Everyone else is doing something with the ball".

He continues.....

"That’s the thing for me that stands out - really try and hone YOUR craft, whether it’s seam bowling, swing bowling or an absolute out and out fast bowler. Again I go back to executing your skills, if you can execute your skills, being able to hit those lengths when you need to, all those things make a difference. If you are trying to bowl as fast as you possibly can and have no control over where the balls going that’s not really going to be good to anyone. You need to find your niche and once you have found it you need to do everything you can to own it”.

3. Variations - Don't Get Left Behind!

While it's important to make sure you can hit your stock ball whenever you need to, the game has changed a lot in the last decade especially with all the different formats now, players know it’s crucial to have variations in your arsenal that you can use.

Jason's advice;

“As a bowler nowadays, with all the inventive shots that batters play, the way that there is no fear in the game with that respect - it's important to have variations! Execution is everything, make sure you practice your yorkers, bouncers and slower balls. Anything you can do to be a little bit inventive. Try your own thing to get an advantage over the batters”.

4. Mindset & Body Language is Key

Cricket is as much, if not more mental than it is technical. If you can keep your thoughts, feelings and emotions in check, it will go a long way to you becoming more consistent as a bowler.

How players deal with having a bad day or spell is crucial and Jason believes it's integral as a bowler to keep these in check.

Jason's advice;

“It’s something that I definitely struggled with a lot with early in my cricket career. I would generally slump over if I had a bad spell or over, whatever it might have been. You would have seen me down at fine leg and I probably had my head down a bit not paying much attention and just sort of thinking way too much about what I was trying to do as opposed to staying in the contest and doing what I could to get better and get back”.

He continues...

“The biggest thing for me is not letting one ball, one spell or one over affect my day. The way I tend to do that is to try to stay up in the contest. Whether that be in the field, keeping the chat up to your mates, that’s one of the best things about being in the field is you’ve always got someone to chat to when you are fielding or bowling”.

5. Bowl the Ball, Don't Place it!

When players start to try to swing the ball, they tend to get into a habit of trying to place the ball and not “hit the deck”. Jason speaks about his issues with this in the past and how he overcame it to be able to continuously swing the ball.

Jason's advice;

“I was looking to bowl the ball not just to place it there. That’s something I fell into the trap of early days, I was trying to bowl it down there and swing it as opposed to actually bowling it and ripping down the back of the ball and letting the ball do the work”.

So there you have it, from the mouth of a current Australian International!  It’s critical to ensure that there are a host of areas that can contribute to your success as a bowler.

When you are planning your next training session, make sure that you factor some of these aspects into it rather than just bowling to a batter aimlessly.

For the full interview head to our Facebook page by clicking here

IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFO ABOUT THE 4-WEEK JUNIOR CRICKET WELLBEING & ACTIVITY PROGRAM - CLICK HERE

/0 Comments/by
, , ,

ACI - Q&A Interview with Matt Short

Matt Short, the Adelaide Strikers and Victorian Bushrangers young gun was our first live Q&A session special guest to kick off the ACI’s free 4-week Junior Wellbeing & Activity Program.

More than 400 online attendees joined Matt as he discusses early memories of starting out in cricket, his advice on batting and bowling, along with some answers to questions from our attendees.

Below are some edited highlights that were taken from that interview;

ACI: Really appreciate you coming on & joining us Matt, what have you been up to recently?

MS: Keeping pretty busy actually, doing an online University course - Bachelor of Health Science (Nutrition), a few other things around the house like painting - got someone else in to do it though, not me (laughs).

 ACI: Where are you from, where’d it all kick-off for you?

MS: I’m a country boy from Ballarat, I started pretty late around 12/13 years of age - I remember my older brother was playing a game and they were short, he had a spare pair of whites, so I filled in.  Didn’t bat or bowl, but took a catch and that was one of my first memories of all the boys getting around me. From there I filled in every week for them and enjoyed playing with my brother.  I played the next 4 years for East Ballarat, got chosen in the rep sides and my performances there led to playing for Victoria in the U/15’s,17’s & 19’s!

 ACI: What’s it like being a younger player trying to fit into that elite environment?

MS: It was really tough being a country boy and not having played too much senior cricket. To come into a locker room with Dave Hussey, Peter Siddle, Chris Rogers & Cam White - I initially felt like I didn’t belong.  So, the first year was massive and took me a while to fit in but you’re always going to be put into uncomfortable situations, the more you’re in them, the better off you’ll be.

 Group Question: Nathan asked who was/is your biggest inspiration?

MS: Family is a big one for me, starting out, playing with my older brother. My dad also, out the back yard being adjudicator for us three boys, I also have a younger brother. And mum, the commitment and sacrifices she made especially being in the country and travelling a lot.

 GQ: A few have asked who’s the fastest bowler you’ve faced, how do you go about it and do you experience fear at all?

MS: Not necessarily, I try to back myself to get into good positions and watch the ball as best as I can!  Quickest bowlers I’ve faced would be Mitchell Starc and Jofra Archer.  Watching them on TV, their strengths, I’m able to prepare somewhat for when I face them. 

 GQ: Hunter asks, do you score from ball 1 in a T20, and what’s your general tactics when batting?

MS: Good question, I’m definitely trying to score first ball, whether it be a boundary or single.  Intensity goes up but it’s all about sticking to your cues.  If the ball is there to hit - hit it!  A lot of risk vs reward but stick to your plans and try not to premeditate, don’t second guess yourself and have the clear mindset to score.

 GQ: You better known as a batter but you do bowl as well, Sam asks what do you focus on when you come into bowl?

MS: I have a couple of cues when I’m at the top of my mark.  The main one being power: when I bowl my bad balls, it’s when I get lazy at the crease - not putting enough effort on the ball or not using my legs enough. So, I’m thinking power, up and over, that fast arm and good follow through!

 GQ: A lot of power-hitting questions, what’s some tips for gaining more power when batting?

MS:  I’m pretty lucky having some big leavers, being tall with long arms!  I’ve worked closely with Brad Hodge at the Vics and his message is always to have a nice stable base, keep your head in line with the ball, hold your shape & stay strong in the shot.

 GQ: An Adelaide Strikers fan asks - Rashid Khan, how do you pick his wrong-un, who is your favourite teammate and who’s the hardest worker?

MS: Rash - he’s pretty interesting, the thing with him is, his leg spinner doesn’t turn that much. So, I feel like he’s not going to beat me on the outside of my bat.  With his wrong-un, I’m only picking him 50% of the time (laughs)!  I try and come down the wicket to him a lot because he’s not going to spin it past my outside edge.  It’ not easy to face him though! A favourite teammate at the Strikers of mine is Liam O’Connor, another leggie from WA. He’s a ripper and one of those blokes you love to have around the change rooms.  Both being from interstate, we stay at the same hotel, we’re with each other every day and night for a couple of months. It’s been great to get to know him.  The hardest worker at the Strikers would have to be Alex Carey I think, not only in the nets but also in the gym - doing extra running etc. must be that footy upbringing. He’d be the first in the nets and the last to leave, always doing that bit extra. That must be his way for making him ready for what’s to come in his career.

 ACI: Your favourite part of being a professional cricketer?

MS: I love that I’m a professional in something that I’ve loved doing from when I was young and get a lot out of seeing my family react to when I’m doing well and also when I’m doing poorly.  They’ve always got my back and to know that I make them proud is something that I love doing!

 ACI: Finally, what tips would you give our youngsters out there to get the most out of this time in isolation?

MS: I know it’s the cricket offseason, but it’s always good to keep the skills up however you can, whether it be getting the tennis racquet out with a tennis ball, taking catches or hitting golf balls against the wall. If you’ve got a backyard big enough, get out there, but basically try and nail the basics so you’re ready to go for pre-season and keep listening to the ACI with all their videos and advice! 

 For the full interview head to our Facebook page by clicking here

IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFO ABOUT THE 4-WEEK JUNIOR CRICKET WELLBEING & ACTIVITY PROGRAM - CLICK HERE

/0 Comments/by