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Cricket Ireland Coaches Association talks to former Ireland coach, current coach of The Hills Cricket Club & Cricket Ireland Coach of the Year in 2012: John Wills
Are you interested in joining the Cricket Ireland Coaches Association? Click here to find out more about what the CICA can offer you.

First award: How does it feel?
JW: There is something great about inaugural awards, you always remember the first of everything. For CI to be able to organize an award system for coaches is great, because it is great to see people get recognised, especially locally.

I received lots of texts. My son, who is in the States with his daughter, put it on Facebook which was rather embarrassing…

How did you get into coaching?
JW: I joined the Lord’s Ground staff at 16. We used to arrive at 8 in the morning had to sweep the ground and the stand between 8 and 10. Two afternoons a week we’d be coached, and then we’d play on weekends for the ground staff. 2 pounds 5 shillings is what we used to make and over a year, I managed to work my way up to the “A “ staff.

The great thing on the A staff was, if you were an MCC member, the touring Test team (West Indies, Australia etc.) would come over early and we would bowl at them in May. That was a great experience.

We were also taught group coaching and we were hired out to do some schools coaching. Here we’d really focus on the basics: grip, stance and backswing. It was a way of teaching us how to play and coach, rather than just practice in the nets.

When did you move to Ireland?
JW: I did a couple of years National Service from 18-20, and when I came back out of the Army at 20, I went back to the Lords ground staff. I was working doing design and packaging, but the company I was working for weren’t too impressed that I would sign off for the summer and play cricket! At the time, Bedfordshire had asked me to play Minor Counties and I was also hoping to get married so I packed in the ground staff. I played a bit for Middlesex seconds, who let me go to Glamorgan, where I played second XI cricket and opened the bowling with a guy called Jeff Jones, who was much quicker and better.

The company I worked for moved me around – and I ended up in Slough, then I was asked if I wanted to move to Ireland. I wasn’t too sure, but the personnel officer asked me if I wanted a promotion, which was a no brainer.

Who did you play for?
JW:The first place I moved to was Raheny, I had no idea that Clontarf Cricket Club was near there, and I ended up on a Sunday in Phoenix Park. I looked at the bowling, and was surprised to see a really high standard. It was actually Alec O’Riordan, bowling in an inter-provincial match. I spoke to some club members watching the game and ended up playing for Phoenix.

I played there for 2 or 3 years, when my company closed I went down to Cork. Back in those days, Cork County was “the team” and clubs from Dublin came down to play a good standard of cricket. All of the Cork sides came together as Cork County, are were very competitive. There were two teams in Cork, one in the bar in the evening and the other on the pitch the next day!

I’d played a lot with Jack Short in Cork so when he moved to Dublin and was playing with Leinster he asked me to join him, so I did and we ended up practicing hard, even at lunchtimes. Shorty was a fanatic. We had Duffy, Delany, Short, Buttimer, and a very, very strong side.

When did you stop playing and begin coaching?
JW: I actually played cricket until I was 50. I would have normally bowled 20-25 overs in each game, you work hard for the first eight wickets before he could take you off, you told the skipper I want the last three batsman! I can’t understand now, how people can pay €200 and only bowl 10 overs a game; it would have broken my heart!

I just fell into coaching really; I can’t keep my mouth shut at any club I was at! I was coaching at Leinster, or whenever anyone asked. I’ve always had people come up and ask me to have a look at them and see what I thought. Word got around, several people asked – just like they do now. “It’s coaching – there’s nothing wrong with that.” I just speak to the President (at The Hills CC), I’ve been asked to look at somebody and they are great with me and have no problems. However, if they said, “you can’t” I’d still do it – but it’s much better to ask first!

What has your coaching journey looked like?
JW: I was the last amateur coach of the ICU, and gave over to Mike Henderson, I went to Kenya with the Men – Holland, Denmark, Scotland, and Wales and stayed with them for a while – and then I was selected to work with Leinster men. After that Ginger O’Brien asked me to give him a hand with the Ladies team, and after a while I took over that team and went to New Zealand and India with them. By the way, all of this coaching was done before the new coaching qualifications…

I remember that every second week, I used to be at Queens (University, Belfast) at 9am in the morning, and every other week I used to coach at St. Andrews (Booterstown, Dublin).

What type/style of coaching are you?
JW: I attended the Irish Sports Council Tutor course, which was brilliant, a superb course. You had to fill in a psychological test, and I was told that I was a “technical, motivating, sarcastic coach!” Every coach has styles, some are boring and some are aggressive – but what does that really mean? For me, I realised that with the seniors it’s fine, but with youngsters I’d have to be careful with my sarcasm! Learning how to coach/what to coach has made me two or three hundred times a better coach; I have a much better structure to my sessions now. When that addition came into coaching, made coaching easier and vastly better.

I really started developing when I was working with Brian O’Rourke, where I helped run Level One and Level Two and Coach Development Workshops. I was getting involved a little more with logistics, administration and putting more in my mind how to compile a structured session plan. I now have a plan and an alternative plan when I go into sessions. It has helped me improved hugely as a coach.

If you were going to describe the attributes of a good coach what would they be?
JW: Coach the player. Always.

What does that mean to you?
JW: You adapt to the players’ style – to be better. At Lords we were told to all pick the bat up the same way. Now there are different ways…

Coaches are looking for:
JW: Coaches often hang their hooks on things that are fixed: You have to be in it to be able to adapt. I think through coaching experience you get the confidence to argue your point. Level Two is a brilliant qualification for a coach – it teaches you so much.

Do you have any great tips for coaches or players?
JW: I’m a great believer in visualization, It has been one of the best things every told to me and has helped many players I’ve worked with.

One of the best thing ever told to me: when you’re running in, if you can imagine if you go into your delivery stride try to picture it – and that is it isn’t it? Bill Watkins (Lords Ground staff) introduced me to it. The word wasn’t invented back then, but I think it’s hugely important for players.

What do you think about Coach Education/Coach Development and the support around coaches now?
JW: I wish I were 50 years younger! As I said to Warren Deutrom, it is amazing the development and movement that has happened – there is structure and a pathway and you can go all the way around the world as a coach.

It is great to have worked with Brian O’Rourke, Brian Kelleher and Vinny Savino – and now we have great people to go with the resources, which were huge from the ECB, but infinitely better now than years ago.

What do you think of the impact of Coach Education on Leinster Cricket?
JW: The level of cricket at grassroots and underage level is just so different. You go back to when there wasn’t a huge amount of cricket going on – now there is a huge change. Players are more aware of what the game is – they have living targets in the country. When they see players on the television it is great, but when they see players like Trent in real life it is great, if you can touch God it is easier than looking at him….

Where has coach education taking coaching?
Matt Lunson who is doing the Indoor Cricket – he came on the Cricket Ireland Welcome to Cricket course a while ago. He was interested, but where he’s come from in four or five years to now organizing and coaching cricket. That’s how quickly it’s improved. It has accelerated phenomenally.

Where did you learn most about cricket?
JW: International tours, from people like Ray Lindwall. We’d be at Lords for 2 or 3 weeks, they were there all of the time. Denis Compton used to come in the nets, put half a crown on the top of the stumps for us to try and hit it. If we did, we’d get to keep it. At the end of the session, he’d lift his bat up for us because we couldn’t get it. One time, the West Indian great Walcott was batting in the net, the press people behind, and the coach gave me the new ball and said “imagine the press saying one of the ground staff hits Walcott.” I told him, “you don’t bounce people in the nets!” He said, “Go on ‘lofty’ so I did. As I was bowling, Walcott called out “bouncer” and smashed it into the car-park, As I came back all the boys were laughing at me… Walcott said to me “You were giving it away boy!” You would learn so much from being around them, asking loads of questions of senior players, asking them how they do things.

Best piece of advice you were given?
JW: I was once told, the best ball you can bowl to a batsman to get them out by Fred Trueman – not the Yorker… “Hit the glove, then the front teeth, then get him caught in gully: A) he’s out – B) it’s an easy catch and C) he’ll remember it for the rest of his life! He’ll remember that a lot more than a Yorker!!!

What have you brought to The Hills?
JW: We encourage the players to talk to each other, make sure that all eleven can contribute. There is a total ban on negativity – there is no way that anyone can say no don’t do that. If you want to make a comment, you have to make a positive re-enforcement. Everyone can say what he or she likes – and the dressing room environment has changed hugely.

Have you ever had a Eureka! moment in your coaching?
JW: Structuring – in its widest sense. Once I realised the importance of structuring coaching sessions, it gave me the freedom to be in the moment with the players – I could concentrate much better. I learnt this through tutor courses and through leading the Coach Education courses.

What is your coaching philosophy?
JW: To get over to the player, how much more there is in the game than it appears, to master the basics and get past that into the real beauty of the game, for example learning how to get batsmen out and learning how to maneuver the ball as a batsman. I always ask players why they are doing things? Encouraging them to think – the players have to tell me why is something a good shot or a good ball – this will help them to think and deal with difficult problems.

Are you interested in joining the Cricket Ireland Coaches Association? Click here to find out more about what the CICA can offer you.

Pictures Courtesy of Joe Curtis

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