Relaxing mind and body

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TonyM

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Relaxing mind and body

First post so if this is in the wrong place please feel free to move

Looking for a bit of advice as to how to calm down some younger kids (under 11). Dont get me wrong I love them to be active and enthusiastic but one bowler in particular gets very tense in his run up and consequently everything ceases up, when he jogs in, he is fluid and a more than capable line and length bowler but as soon as he goes back to running in the tension comes back

I went on some visualisation courses over the off season but I think these lads are a bit young, anyone with any practical solutions for this age group?
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

Maybe try to build it up. Keep him jogging in at first, let him see that he is doing well and then slowly increase his pace. Plenty of praise but try to remain as neutral as possible - if you're tense or putting pressure on him (or if it seems as though you are) then that will increase his anxiety.

Keep talking to him - have a laugh and a joke but keep it off cricket. If you can't get on the pitch during a match then put a friend there and encourage them to banter and chat as the bowler is walking back to his mark.

You could try to get him to focus on a target on the pitch or the base of a stump. This may well take his mind off running in, meaning he stays a little more relaxed. Of course, it could increase the tension but might be worth a try.
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

I agree with everything mas has said but with me [as always] I would like to understand why he tenses up.

I immediately thought 'stage fright' but I am not sure this is what it is. What are his running mechanics like?

Suggestion: Take the bowling element out of it.

I assume you run some kind of warming up/fitness session prior to the technical session at training. During this time, include a relay race; 20 yrds. Have them run twice and watch this player as he runs. Does he still tense up?
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

Thanks for the constructive replies, trying hard not to put pressure on him hence getting him to jog in as I know when he is smooth he can bowl as well as most can when at full pace. Last season he had spells like this and we focussed on a word - his choice was 'smooth' and that what he thought about when running in which seemed to work most of the time

We are now back for early nets and it was worse than ever. Liz I thought 'stage fright' and there was also a lad bowling who had improved a lot over the off season so an element of competiveness kicked in which could be a contributory factor for his 'tension' even though they are mates. Posting on here because would like to nip this in the bud this season to help him enjoy his cricket which he does when he bowls well (chicken and egg I guess)

Running mechanics are not great, arms flail around sideways and head rocks when he runs rather than jogs so not a 'tidy' runner by any means (this is something we have spoken about). Will try some shuttles this week to see if the tension is there, he is a pretty useful fielder and dont tend to notice his running then so probably not an issue but will certainly check. Thanks
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

Without knowing the lad in question it does seem that he may be trying too hard. Hence when the other lad started to bowl well, he tried to match hom and it went to pot. I suppose in a way you need to get him in a 'bubble' where he is only worrying about his own game and not what is going on around him.

Do you find that he loses it if hit for a boundary? What about if he bowls a wide or no ball?
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

TonyM;389605 said:
...Running mechanics are not great, arms flail around sideways and head rocks when he runs rather than jogs so not a 'tidy' runner by any means (this is something we have spoken about). Will try some shuttles this week to see if the tension is there, he is a pretty useful fielder and dont tend to notice his running then so probably not an issue but will certainly check. Thanks
Click to expand...

That is really interesting. Of course, it may just be that you do not notice his poor running mechanics during fielding, or that he does not run with any speed whilst fielding, but if it is the case that he can run well whilst in the field, we are back to 'stage fright' :(.

When you set up the shuttles, have them travel around a cone and back; jogging up to the cone/running back to the line. If he flails during the run, set up some poles next time to form a narrow corridor and have them all run down it without touching the sides. Make sure this lad is not first and ask all those next to go to run on the spot whilst concentrating on getting the knees high in front and moving the arms like a piston until it is their turn.

As I say, this is really interesting so would love to hear how you progress with this one.
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

Thanks again for the responses

Mas - yes a bubble would be great, if he was a racehorse we would have him in blinkers. Having said that he now is much better with boundaries, wides and no balls (and wickets :)) which is something we have worked on - taking each ball one at a time and stressing that he is the one with the ball, what the batsman does is up to the batsman ie "control the controllables"

Liz thanks again for the advice, will put that in motion on Friday evening probably as the final part of the warm up. If I can I will try to get some video as well of him bowling (they are used to being the video being around sessions so dont think it will put him off)
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

No video I am afraid - technical 'issues' (for which read I had put the camcorder on charge all day and when I got to the session had a dead battery :mad:)

Anyway, we did some jogging / sprints at the end of the warm up - walking fine, jogging fine (arms go up and down and upper body relaxed), sprints (arms go out sideways from the elbow which apart from looking untidy upsets his balance and hands start to tense, whole upper body tenses up more). I think he has just got into his mind that 'tensing up' is what 'effort' feels like
so that appears to be an area we can now work on outside of the nets

Bowling was more relaxed this week, mostly jogging in 3/4 pace and bowling - any attempt to increase pace got a corresponding tightning but we now have a speed in the nets that we can work with him on the techinical stuff

Thanks again for the help, will update in a couple of weeks
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

That's the thing with inanimate objects... they do not have inanimate minds and if they decide to be awkward, that's what they are going to be :D.

It sounds like you have a plan... sounds good! Just ask him to relax the upper body when he runs. If he finds this hard, get him to shake down whilst running on the spot before he runs. At his age, he should find it easy to change his present mechanics.

Look forward to the update but if you have any questions... you know where we are :).
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

All the replies have been great so far. I would like to add my 2p, purely from a mental training point of view.

I would ask him if he knows what he is trying to do when running in. Chances are his answer will reveal what is causing him to tense up.

For example, if he says "I'm trying to bowl as fast as I can" you know you can get him to refocus on getting through the action, not worry about how fast it is and the pace will come.
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

First things first. Begin with the basic.
Do stretching first as a warm up exercise, this is to prepare his mind and body for an upcoming activity.

Warm ups/stretching is a very effective way to prepare mind and body.
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

Thanks for all the replies, so a quick update. He is bowling pretty well (one minor techinical issue about front foot but nothing drastic), still not what he would consider 'full pace' but I think that was/is part of the problem, equating tension with effort. He now runs in smoother more times than not and this is allowing him to be a much better bowler and he has started to get some swing which he is really impressed by (shocked was his initial reaction!).

Still a few more weeks to go before we get outside but hopefully by then he will have the confidence to know that him being in control is what makes him successful. At least if he is onside with the whole 'in control of his body/emotions' thing we can start to work on strategies to get that control when there are more distractions away from the nets environment
 
Re: Relaxing mind and body

This is fantastic news Tony. You have really done well here, getting this amount of change in so short a period of time. The key was spotting this at such an early age.

You are quite right, fast pace does not suit everybody so you perhaps need to get him to consider that he may actually be at <his> full pace. Young boys [more than girls] do think being as fast as possible is the key... it's just 'different'. He may find that he is more dangerous as a medium swing than he ever can be as a fast pace bowler... only time will tell but it is important that he finds <his> niche.

The front foot issue is also so much easier to sort out at this age and he is such a lucky player to have somebody to do so before it becomes a big issue, both with correction and injury.

Please keep us informed. I would love to know how the transition to match experience works out.
 
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