Can you teach aggression in Sports

[Mudball]

Not in a bad way, but I guess you need to be aggressive - slightly more than being competitive- in sports.

my 10 yr old is (currently) bonkers for cricket. The WC and Ashes did not help. He wants to be a test batsman/ opener. Which is good and I would like to get some solid technique and the coaches do their jobs well. Towards the end of this season, he decided on test and ‘don’t want to give away my wicket’ approach. So he will bat thru and defend all day. He will make the odd shot which will get him runs but as he does not lose his wicket (which means runs being reduced) he will normally win his pairs or single wicket comps.

He has made it to the county nets for next season. I would like him to be a bit more aggressive and score runs off balls not on the wickets and not just leave them.

Can ‘aggression’ be taught - is it nature or nurture?

 

[Swinglowandslow]

I'm no expert on cricket, but what I remember markedly from the Ashes series ( apart from Ben Stokes ) was the batting of Aussie Smith. All the commentators spoke of the one ability he had over the English batsmen.
He knew when to "leave it".
His big innings were based on leaving it.
I would emphasise that he studies Smith. Our batsmen were all for hitting the ball ( when it wasn't on the stumps- even daft enough to do it when the Test couldn't be won but could be drawn if they left it).
Forget the aggression. Teach him good tactical thinking. Actually, it sounds like he has that already. If he's thinking like you say at ten years old, I'd say that augers well..
Best of luck to him

 

[Imurg]

Get him to the point where he feels nobody's going to get him out and then work on the shots.

 

[HowlingGale]

Not in a bad way, but I guess you need to be aggressive - slightly more than being competitive- in sports.

my 10 yr old is (currently) bonkers for cricket. The WC and Ashes did not help. He wants to be a test batsman/ opener. Which is good and I would like to get some solid technique and the coaches do their jobs well. Towards the end of this season, he decided on test and ‘don’t want to give away my wicket’ approach. So he will bat thru and defend all day. He will make the odd shot which will get him runs but as he does not lose his wicket (which means runs being reduced) he will normally win his pairs or single wicket comps.

He has made it to the county nets for next season. I would like him to be a bit more aggressive and score runs off balls not on the wickets and not just leave them.

Can ‘aggression’ be taught - is it nature or nurture?

I've been thinking about this for ages. Got a 7 year old who is talented across a few sports, but he lacks a killer instinct.

At tennis he just wants to play so instead of winning points etc. he just hits the ball back to his opponent so the rally can continue. He's better than those he plays with but the other kids win the games because they win the points. And he's standing there wondering why they're not hitting the ball back to him.

At his parkrun he's more interested in making sure his pals are OK and runs with them rather than just getting on with it. He can run so much faster but chooses not to.

He knows he's good as he thinks he's Andy Murray and Mo Farah, but beating people is just a by-product of his ability rather than a desire to win, if that makes sense.

He's only 7 but it does my box in. I keep my frustrations to myself, of course. Sometimes I gently press him on his thinking but I figure he's only 7 and he should grow out of it.

 

[Hobbit]

No need to teach aggression. How about setting him targets, maybe x many runs in so many balls? Find out what the best batsman in his age group is scoring per 5 overs, and set him targets building towards and exceeding that. I'm sure if you explain to him what you're doing he'll buy into it.

 

[Deleted member 18588]

In my experience as a parent, albeit 20+ years ago, if your son doesn't quickly develop a more attacking approach he is likely to get overlooked within the county youth set up.

Coaches are generally looking for something a little different e.g. range of shots, improvisation in technique etc. and a "5 day" approach is not likely to impress.
Certainly not at the age of 10.

I may well be proved wrong but I feel that he might be advised to open up a bit more.

 

[Mudball]

In my experience as a parent, albeit 20+ years ago, if your son doesn't quickly develop a more attacking approach he is likely to get overlooked within the county youth set up.

Coaches are generally looking for something a little different e.g. range of shots, improvisation in technique etc. and a "5 day" approach is not likely to impress.
Certainly not at the age of 10.

I may well be proved wrong but I feel that he might be advised to open up a bit more.

i think yes and no.. it depends on who is on duty that day .

However, cricket has changed and think everyone is looking for the next Butler, Jofra, X-factor. With The 100 round the corner, it is going to get worse.

 

[Deleted member 18588]

i think yes and no.. it depends on who is on duty that day .

However, cricket has changed and think everyone is looking for the next Butler, Jofra, X-factor. With The 100 round the corner, it is going to get worse.

Very true.

But the competition for places has always been there.

My elder son once scored 40 off 11 balls as a 14 year old in a County match and this completely overshadowed a 60+ not out a few weeks later in a successful effort to save a draw.

Yet the latter was almost certainly more accomplished from a technique point of view.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

As test cricketer in a Smith mode is a rare commodity and if he can get to a level where he is an immovable object he'll get runs naturally as bowlers will over try and bow bad balls to be punished. I also think solid county coaching will help as improved technique will yield more opportunities to play shots but hopefully not in a manner that means he becomes like so many modern players and go for runs over protecting his wicket

 

[fundy]

In my experience as a parent, albeit 20+ years ago, if your son doesn't quickly develop a more attacking approach he is likely to get overlooked within the county youth set up.

Coaches are generally looking for something a little different e.g. range of shots, improvisation in technique etc. and a "5 day" approach is not likely to impress.
Certainly not at the age of 10.

I may well be proved wrong but I feel that he might be advised to open up a bit more.

Funny how times have changed, got told on more than one occasion at county,south of england level/trials etc to reign it in and demonstrate technical ability first and foremost, weight of runs wasnt actually that important, at least not at the younger age groups. Pretty sure as you say that ship has sailed now though

I think nowadays hand eye co-ordination, range of shots, capability to learn are probably perceived as as important if not moreso than technical ability. That said, I dont think you can really develop these areas too much without a decent basic solid technique and that should definitely be the first approach before looking to expand

I also think you have to show ability in 2 if not 3 of the skills so for me a large amount of training time should be spent on fielding drills

 

[Deleted member 18588]

As test cricketer in a Smith mode is a rare commodity and if he can get to a level where he is an immovable object he'll get runs naturally as bowlers will over try and bow bad balls to be punished. I also think solid county coaching will help as improved technique will yield more opportunities to play shots but hopefully not in a manner that means he becomes like so many modern players and go for runs over protecting his wicket

Not necessarily so.

Some young batsmen can find that they lose or fail to develop the ability to attack as a result of becoming too focused on time at the crease.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Not necessarily so.

Some young batsmen can find that they lose or fail to develop the ability to attack as a result of becoming too focused on time at the crease.

I accept that and to a point agree. That is where good coaching comes in and teaching time at the crease is important but you have scoreboard ticking over. Its a balancing act

 

[funkycoldmedina]

Nothing wrong with valuing your wicket. The best batsmen aggressively leave and defend the ball. It's about their intent.
If I was showing a kid I'd get him to watch Ricky Ponting. Left and defended positively which led to more and quicker scoring, the perfect modern day all format player.

 

[Dando]

Not in a bad way, but I guess you need to be aggressive - slightly more than being competitive- in sports.

my 10 yr old is (currently) bonkers for cricket. The WC and Ashes did not help. He wants to be a test batsman/ opener. Which is good and I would like to get some solid technique and the coaches do their jobs well. Towards the end of this season, he decided on test and ‘don’t want to give away my wicket’ approach. So he will bat thru and defend all day. He will make the odd shot which will get him runs but as he does not lose his wicket (which means runs being reduced) he will normally win his pairs or single wicket comps.

He has made it to the county nets for next season. I would like him to be a bit more aggressive and score runs off balls not on the wickets and not just leave them.

Can ‘aggression’ be taught - is it nature or nurture?

Nothing wrong with valuing his wicket but rotating the strike is important to keep the score board ticking over.

When I was coaching the kids at my old club I told them when they were batting not to look at where the fielders were but where the gaps were.
Also get him batting against a bowling machine with the intention of hitting every ball as hard as he can as it’ll build up his confidence - i used to do this if I was out of form.

 

[Wolf]

I don't know a great deal about cricket not really my sport, but I'd have thought agrression isn't really the thing he needs. Surely if he works the on the range of shots and technical ability to face each type of ball then he will naturally get an affinity of when to play the ball with the shot required or when to defend, meaning he will know through the course of a test which bowlers to allow himself to open up against and which to play it say against. Which will allow him to build runs quickly whilst protecting the team..

My youngest son is similar but does go kart racing and now at age 9 is in the under 15 national category, he doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body and is awful at group sports as doesn't have that confidence or competitive edge for it, but in the Kart to the outside observer he's unbelievably aggressive with his speed, the lines he takes, gaps he goes for and if there isn't one forces space for overtaking by making others make mistakes. When he talks about it he doesn't see it as aggressive at all, he just says he knows how hard the Kart can be pushed and he believes in his ability technically to handle it where others cant so forces mistakes from others whilst he remains in control.. I imagine it could be the same for your son he can remain calm and in control with development of technique across the shot range and play whatever comes comfortably without ever actually being aggressive, merely just reading the bowler and playing the shots as required. I'd have thought that sort of ability would be far superior to purely aggressive play.

 

[Robin Hood]

AGGRESSIVE COMPETITIVE FUN

You can be aggressive and competitive but it won't be fun.
Although winning will give you satisfaction.
Certain sports require aggression, albeit controlled, however I would never instil a paradigm of aggression in a child. It's about passion and ability to succeed at a young age.
Pushy parents are a nightmare and an embarrassment, and very likely to lead to a child giving up.
Nurture the talent, and find like-minded parents to develop your kids together.
Growing up is hard enough and should be fun.

 

[Mudball]

AGGRESSIVE COMPETITIVE FUN

You can be aggressive and competitive but it won't be fun.
Although winning will give you satisfaction.
Certain sports require aggression, albeit controlled, however I would never instil a paradigm of aggression in a child. It's about passion and ability to succeed at a young age.
Pushy parents are a nightmare and an embarrassment, and very likely to lead to a child giving up.
Nurture the talent, and find like-minded parents to develop your kids together.
Growing up is hard enough and should be fun.

I agree.. in footy I have seen some super aggressive moves by the bigger lads in the age group. While in a completion, we saw an opposition player trip one of ours and then both jostle for the ball and when he lost possession, he simply kicked the boy on the floor!!! Their coach and ref looked the other way as he was their star player. I am happy that our coaches train our boys to help the other guy off the floor.
As I was saying earlier, I don’t mean aggression in a wrong way. Maybe I meant competitive spirit or killer instinct or similar. It’s the ability to take a tight corner in a go kart or to hit the ball just that slightly wider in tennis.
Cricket is changing. I would happily watch Ponting or Tendulkar build an inning but nowadays there is a drive to get it quicker

 

[Deleted member 15717]

Nothing wrong with valuing his wicket but rotating the strike is important to keep the score board ticking over.

When I was coaching the kids at my old club I told them when they were batting not to look at where the fielders were but where the gaps were.
Also get him batting against a bowling machine with the intention of hitting every ball as hard as he can as it’ll build up his confidence - i used to do this if I was out of form.

I was tee reading this thread and amazed no-one had said it. Rotation of strike will certainly impress as much as not giving away the wicket. Together, they are key.
As long as the youngster learns to see and hit the bad balls and score boundaries off them, then it will put him in a great space.
Best of luck to him!

 

[Deleted member 18645]

Dead easy to teach aggression in golf. Just play behind a seniors or ladies' fourball for nearly five hours.