"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW"
This quote is the basis for this week's blog, written by ACI Coach Josh Matthews. One of his favourite quotes, it epitomises what he believes in as a person, cricket player & coach.
It determines that to reach your potential as a player and person, you must first understand that you simply do NOT know everything, and your ability to take in information and process it will have a huge impact on how close you get to maximising this potential.
It is so easy to get caught in the trap of “I know what’s best and what works”, however through my personal experience, I can honestly tell you that this is very rarely the case. A personal example for me would be the way in which I coach a certain technique - let’s go with my most recent example, throwing at the stumps. I have always taught players that their throwing arm should be extended back almost as far as they could go, I was certain this was the best way. Why was I certain? Because I didn’t know what I didn’t know! It only occurred to me that there was a better way through the knowledge & wisdom of a coach more experienced than me physically showing me and taking me through the reasoning for this… Once I was shown a more effective way, it was an instant reminder that I must always continue to learn as there is so much information out there that I am unaware of.
LISTENING TO VARYING OPINIONS
As a player your ability to execute a skill or read a certain situation comes down to your abilities & knowledge of the game. What is exciting for you, is that both of these skills can be developed through listening to others' wisdom.
Wisdom definition: the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.
If you are wanting to play your best cricket, then it is crucial you take advice from people who know more than you do. An example of this would be the way in which you are executing a certain drill, a cover drive for instance. There are 100’s of different theories on how you SHOULD play a cover drive, however, at the end of the day, there is no singular answer for what is the BEST technique. The best players in the world have the ability to LISTEN to varying opinions and is what separates them from the rest. Additionally, an effective listener will generally be more effective at determining what does and doesn’t work for them.
DECIDE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
The beauty of listening to varying opinions is you now have the ability to dissect each option and work out for yourself what works for you. As previously mentioned, different things work for different people, however, if you are willing to acknowledge and interpret varying opinions, you will be in the best position to make the correct one.
Are you always going to get it right? NO! It’s not quite that easy, however as is the case with playing in the V, increasing your chance of succeeding is always attractive.
Another important concept to remember is that you are always evolving and developing, and with these changes come different ways in which to do things. However, if you have listened well in the past, you just never know when someone's theories or thoughts might suddenly click for you.
HINT: Always strive to have a GROWTH MINDSET. You can learn more about the differences in Fixed & Growth Mindsets here: https://fs.blog/2015/03/carol-dweck-mindset/
HOW TO IDENTIFY WISDOM
You might be asking yourself, well how do I know who to listen to? There are a number of varying factors that determine who may have some information useful to you. Some of these are, but are not limited to:
- Age of the person
- Experience of the person
- The expertise of the person
- Respect you have for that person
These are some very generic qualities of people who you should listen to. My personal opinion and experience would suggest that you should listen to all opinions and thoughts, as you will take in different pieces of information which will help shape the way you think.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There are always going to be people out there who know more than you do, and your ability to understand and use that to your advantage is what will separate you from other players. You do not know what you do not know - the faster you can begin to learn what you do not know, the faster you will begin to grow as a player and a person.
Take this advice and use it in all parts of your life including school, friendships, sports & family… hopefully, it will serve you well.
Article Author: Josh Matthews
ACI Coach