What's the best way to coach kids and at the elite level? Nasser Hussain and Rob Key discuss
"The best advice I can give is that if at a young age your kid is standing still they are not going to come back next time"
Monday 24 August 2020 16:27, UK
During yet another rain delay in England's Test series against Pakistan, Nasser Hussain and Rob Key discussed the art of coaching, from the elite level to youth cricket.
Watch the chat in the video at the top of the page or listen in the podcast player below for Nasser and Keysy's views on when a coach should interfere with technique and when they should speak.
Nasser also explained why he enjoyed working with Duncan Fletcher and why Sir Andrew Strauss appointed Trevor Bayliss as England coach after the debacle of the 2015 World Cup.
Coaching kids was also debated with Nasser offering up this tip: "The best advice I can give is that if at a young age your kid is standing still they are not going to come back next time.
"I see coaches telling kids about dot-ball percentages - they don't want to know about dot-ball percentages. They want to bat like Jos Buttler or Ben Stokes or Virat Kohli or Eoin Morgan.
"I see coaches talking for 15 minutes in half-hour sessions and a lot of standing still. If kids are playing they will go home and tell their parents they want to go back. Let them enjoy themselves and have fun."
Key added: "When they are kids you can stand off a little bit so they try and learn how to solve their own problems. You don't want to tell them what to do all the time - you want to teach them a coping mechanism.
"Coaching kids is not to produce the next Nasser Hussain, it's to make those kids want to turn up again. If they are desperate to leave, you are failing, even if they learn an off-drive or a pull shot."
Nasser also spoke about the pros and cons of pushy parents in a young player's development.
"I did have a pushy dad, which I'm not bothered about at all because in the end I ended up playing 96 Test matches and captaining England which I wouldn't have done without my old man pushing me," said Hussain.
"He used to give me a right rollicking whenever I got out. I got nine wickets once and he said 'why didn't you get 10?' It helped me be the cricketer I was.
"Every innings was crucial. It held me back in a way because you don't express yourself for fear of getting out and upsetting your old man.
"Coaches don't have that many problems with kids, they have problems from parents."
