Bennett Looks for C'bean Lieutenants

The absence of a regional coach in Bennett King's camp has raised more than a few eyebrows throughout the Caribbean. At a recent function organized by the Jamaica Certified Cricket Coaches Association, King explained the reason for choosing former Queensland colleague David Moore instead of a local coach.

"I needed somebody who knew my way of working, who I trusted, and who was loyal," said King as he addressed a handful of Jamaican coaches who had gathered to hear him speak on the topic "The Role of Coaches in the Development of Jamaica and West Indies Cricket."

The West Indies' Head Coach is hoping to find a way to get the six national coaches from the Leeward and Windward Islands, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica to participate in the upcoming pre-series camp in Barbados from 23 to 28 March. The purpose would be to "see how they go through the review process, do a season planner for next season and a year round plan," King explained.

His vision is that they would become his 'lieutenants'. "If I do work [in the territories on his time off], they are going to be the people I'll be working with," said King. The coaches would then be exposed to his philosophy of coaching, which encompasses many components. Among the elements of King's philosophy is that planning for success as a coach means:

• Reducing barriers ? mental, tactical, physical and attitudinal.

• Creating the right environment/support.

• Showing concern for, and dealing with the whole person and their welfare.

• Doing previews and reviews of seasons and opponents, and tailoring all training towards that.

Another key element is developing team principles, ownership and responsibility, and the current crop of players have already been involved in this process. "Professionalism is all about the standards we set ourselves as a team, and as individuals," he said, making it clear he "will never set curfews for grown men."

King believes that the barrier relating to the physical conditioning and skill level of the cricketer is the easiest to overcome, while the attitudinal is the most difficult. Previous West Indies team coaches have alluded to this. According to King, a coach must be aware that attitudes are developed by the parents of the cricketers, by how they grew up and this in turn affects the morals they bring with them into the team.

The coach of today is therefore not just there to teach a skill, to give the cricketers a work out or to plan game strategies. Interpersonal skills are vital. King believes that you have to know your players "really, really well. You can't communicate with everybody the same way." The coach also believes that happy people and people who are comfortable will perform better.

One of his coaching philosophies relates to Maslow's Hierachy of Needs, a pyramid theorized by the American psychologist, Abraham Maslow to explain that some needs takes precedence over others. According to King's adaptation, a cricketer's need for success starts with the need to survive when he joins the team as a new player. This might involve scoring some 20's and 30's often enough. Once he passes that stage, the next rung is that of safety.

The next phase is where King believes that all players should come into a team with a sense of belonging and feeling that he has the right to be there. Only then, suggests King, can he begin to set personal goals, and move up to the pinnacle where he is playing to satisfy his ego ? a stage he believes batting world record holder Brian Lara is at.

For Bennett King, quality means success, and that includes quality in the areas of administration, resources, people, employees, planning, preparation and performance. The Head Coach feels that a quality administration is one which supports the coach's vision and provides reliable service. The support of the coach will be strengthened by such an administration.

The Australian has been brought in to stop the downward slide and improve the performance of the West Indies team. To do this, King adopts an approach which starts with interviewing players and doing pre-season remedial work. King talks about 'back chaining to full development' where he initially works the players at the level they are at individually, and gradually develop them to the level that he wants them to be at. "It's dangerous if you put them up too high," he added.

Other aspects in the process of improvement are developing systemised routines and implementing them in group training. He believes in reviewing constantly, and so the routines may need to be revisited and revised. The learning is completed by implementation into games and the performance here is used to develop systemized routines.

Values and attitudes are a major part of the coach's philosophy. These are uncovered at the interview stage with the players. At that point, King looks for individuals to recognize within themselves the need for improvement. "An individual cannot move forward to work on skills without the right mindset," said the Head Coach.

For the team, he aims for his leadership to provide a seamless knowledge-based coaching programme to develop a player who is skilful, responsible and a self-reliant decision maker in match conditioning.

King's background as a trained social worker is ingrained in his philosophies about coaching. Many players have gone on record to say they endorse his methods and appreciate his man-management skills. The real test will be to filter the philosophies down to the territorial level so that the barriers are reduced by the time the player reaches the West Indies level.

It will take a shift in mindset from all parties to adopt some of the philosophies of Bennett King, so that each territory is working in tandem with the Head Coach of the West Indies team.