Is it for you?

Our High Performance Individual Coaching is an intensive expert coaching program for individual players of all ages and experience that focuses on acquiring and mastering critical technical and game sense skills to optimise performance.

High Performance Coaching is individual one on one coaching and the most effective way of progressing your game. Your personal coaching session(s) allows key technical issues to be identified and techniques adjusted to improve performance.

Sessions run for 45 minutes and are available for batting, pace and spin bowling and wicket keeping.  Batting sessions incorporate a bowling machine.  Full video analysis is available at all sessions.

For a stronger understanding and knowledge of your game I recommend a minimum of 6 consecutive sessions, but other options are available and I would be happy to discuss your requirements with you.

What should I get out of the session?

For all players our aim is to build confidence by improving the consistency of their game and mastering critical skills away from the pressures of match play. You will be coached to practice how you play and learn how to repeat your practice performance out on the field. We will also correct any bad techniques (particularly those that may cause injury) before they become an integral part of your game and are difficult to change.

Where?

• Gladesville Indoor Centre – Mon, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday

Bookings and Other Info

To book please call  0422 787727 or email info@eiltecricket.com.au

Cancellations

Please note to ensure consistency of our product we need adequate time to cancel coaches and net bookings. Sessions may be cancelled up to 24 hours beforehand without penalty, however cancellations within 24 hours will be charged at the full fee.

Gift Vouchers are available for one or multiple sessions.

Please call me to discuss your coaching requirements and I would be more than happy to tailor a program specifically designed to meet your needs.

Cheers

Mark

Elite Cricket is excited to announce the venues and dates for our January 2010 School Holiday Program.  Simply click on the links below in red for application and enrolment details

SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM

Jan 2010 School Holiday Program enrolment form

Elite Cricket’s School Holiday Program is not just a school holiday activity but specifically designed to increase cricket skills and match performance.

The program is suitable for ages 7 – 14 and will be conducted from 9am to 3pm in both 2 and 3 day formats across the range of venues listed below.

• Cooper Park, Bellevue Hill – 6th, 7th & 8^th January
• St Ignatius College, Riverview – 11^th & 12^th January
• Shore Sportsground, Northbridge – 13^th, 14^th & 15^th January
• Greenway Oval, Cherrybrook – 18^th, 19^th & 20^th January
• Tryon Road, Lindfield – 21^st & 22^nd January

THE ‘ON THE BALL’ BEGINNERS PROGRAM

Jan 2010 ‘On The Ball’ enrolment form

‘On the Ball’ is for girls and boys from 5 -7 years, who have perhaps never played cricket or who have just begun their cricketing career. In these sessions run from 9am to 12pm and are a great way to have fun and learn about the game of cricket.

• Cooper Park, Bellevue Hill – 6th, 7th & 8^th January
• St Ignatius College, Riverview – 11^th & 12^th January
• Shore Sportsground, Northbridge – 13^th, 14^th & 15^th January
• Greenway Oval, Cherrybrook – 18^th, 19^th & 20^th January
• Tryon Road, Lindfield – 21^st & 22^nd January

Cheers

Mark

Elite Cricket is very pleased to present an exclusive Masterclass article by Phillip Caruso Elite Cricket’s Strength, Conditioning and Nutritional consultant.

Cheers

Mark

Nutrition and Performance go hand in hand. The better your nutritional intake, the better your performance on field. Each individual player should understand the basics of eating correctly. I would assume that by you reading this article,  that you all have significant ambition to play at a higher and more elite level of the game. Whilst training hard, bending the back and running several singles is important to success, the following aspects outline, which I believe the harder, mental battle of cricketing nutrition. Below I have listed some important points, as outlined by nutritional expert John Beradi (www.johnberardi.com).

• Eat every 2-3 hours, no matter what.
• You should eat between 5-8 meals per day.
• Eat complete lean protein (ie. Chicken Breast, Lean Veal, Fish) with each meal.
• Eat fruits and/or vegetables with each food meal.
• Ensure that your carbohydrate intake comes from fruits and vegetables (Exception: workout and post-workout drinks and meals).
• Ensure that 25-35% of your energy intake comes from fat, with your fat intake split equally between saturates (e.g. animal fat), monounsaturates (e.g., olive oil), and polyunsaturates (e.g. flax oil, salmon oil).
• Drink only non-calorie containing beverages, the best choices being water and green tea. Eat mostly whole foods (except workout and post-workout drinks).

It’s extremely important that you maintain good nutritional habits, if you are to play at a high level of cricket. Not doing so, will make you susceptible for injuries and your weight will suffer as a result, leading to poor performance and recovery times. Set an example for your club mates, by eating correctly 95% of the time.

Enjoy the process of knowing your body is changing for the better : it is getting leaner, stronger, faster and fitter. Below I have outlined a few tips on how to enjoy better nutrition:

• Don’t restrict yourself completely. Nobody expects you to be a mindless cyborg, eating nothing but Broccoli stems all day. Be creative with your foods, and find recipies that you enjoy and  that are healthy.
• Be responsible for what you eat/drink. If you plan to enjoy a late night out, or a big meal, adjust your intake accordingly. Example – If you plan to go out for a big carbohydrate dinner, ensure your intake during the day is low, so that you don’t go over your calorie intake for the day.
• If you feel like an unhealthy snack like a chocolate bar, then eat it. Why restrict yourself? Just ensure that A) You work hard to burn it off, and B) One chocolate bar doesn’t turn into 27. It will keep you level headed and enjoying the process.

Tips on Losing Weight

• Find out what your ‘’winning formula’’ is for losing weight. Every ‘body’ is different and each individual will respond differently to different foods etc.  Once you find your dietary ‘’winning formula’’ – it’s all downhill from there as you now know what process you need to put in place to lose weight.
• Breakfast: Majority of Carbohydrates for the day. Biggest Meal.
• Mid morning Snack: Again, made up of Low GI carbohydrates, but beginning to implement a protein source as well.
• Lunch: Will usually consist of a salad, or a chicken sandwich on Low GI bread. Here is when I will begin to eliminate and phase out my carbohydrates for the day.
• Mid afternoon Snack: Usually made up of protein, and/or some good fats such as almonds or walnuts.
• Dinner: Will only consist of a Lean Meat Source and Vegetables. No carbohydrates.

Why I phase carbohydrates out after lunch:

The body’s metabolism is like a furnace, the more smaller and more frequent meals you feed it, the faster and more efficient it is, thus improving the rate of fat being burned. As an athlete, you need carbohydrates to function on the field.

However, after lunch, studies have shown that the body’s metabolism tends to slow significantly, and keeps getting slower as the day and then evening goes on. By fueling your body early with the adequate, Low GI carbohydrates that it needs, you are allowing your body to use those carbohydrates when it really counts ie. Training.

However, by eating carbohydrates late in the day and/or night, what will you be really achieving? Nothing. Your training has been completed, and the excess energy that you take in will be stored as bodyfat as it will not be digested and utilised properly.

Why Low GI carbohydrates?

Studies have shown that the lower the GI of a food, the less likely it is to be stored as bodyfat, and is digested and utilised over longer periods of time, allowing you to A) Feel fuller, longer. B) Be able to sustain athletic function for longer periods, and C) Will keep your blood sugar low, keeping you level headed.

Why are white bread, pasta, rice not good?

The more starchy and simple a carbohydrate is, the more impact it has on your blood sugar levels. Have you ever eaten a high GI carbohydrate such as a bowl of pasta, or to a more damaging extent a candy bar? Have you noticed that you will gain a short amount of pleasure from eating it, however 30 minutes later feel hungry again?

This is because the rapid ‘’spike’’ of your blood sugar levels, due to the starchy, simple carbohydrate you have just eaten.

For more information on cricket nutrition and how to develop your own ‘winning formula’ for success, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team at Elite Cricket. Stay tuned for further articles on ‘How to eat for Strength and Weight Gains’, and ‘The Importance of Eating Organic’.

Phillip Caruso

Getting nervous is a positive sign. It is your body’s way of telling you that you are ready for action and that you want to do well in a situation. Nerves seem to affect people in different ways, sometimes they make you feel sleepy, sometimes they make you quiet, sometimes talkative and I’m sure the’re many more reactions than these!

One thing that is for sure is that everybody gets nervous! Which means you are not alone, even though nerves can sometimes be a bit daunting before you perform but even the guys who look very calm and relaxed are probably just as nervous about their performance as you, maybe more! In fact I would say the time to worry before a game is when you don’t get nervous!

As I said before, getting nervous is your body’s way of preparing you for a performance and means that you want to do well. The other side of wanting to do well is fearing failure.

Good luck.

Mark

Like it or not, negative thoughts are a part of the game, everyone has them!

No one will hand you 5 wickets or 100 runs on a plate. It is natural to have negative thoughts from time to time and you will need to learn to deal with these to overcome the adversity you face from external challenges, such as competitors and conditions, and from internal challenges i.e. your own thoughts.

A critical mental skill is to be able to turn your negative thoughts into positive thoughts.

Negative thoughts aren’t all bad as they help to make us aware of the things that can go wrong in a performance and tell us that our performance is important to us, making us aware of the consequences of failure. However, in order to be the best you can be, you will need to manage your thinking. If negative thoughts take control of you they can become overwhelming and lead to you being defeated before you even get into the contest!

An important thing to realise is that you control your thinking and that your thinking does not control you! You need to take responsibility for your thinking including managing and controlling your negative thoughts.

By turning a negative thought around into a positive one you can turn an obstacle into an opportunity. Ask yourself ‘What is the opportunity here?’ For example, if you are concerned that you will perform poorly due to a recent run of poor form, instead of being resigned to another failure, look for an opportunity. A batsman faced with a wicket where the ball bounces and moves, assisting the fast bowlers may be worried about nicking the ball. An opportunity here would be to use the bounce and movement the wicket offers the bowlers to leave the ball alone and frustrate the bowlers into bowling to you in your scoring areas. A bowler may be worried that he won’t get a wicket because the pitch is very flat and offering no bounce or movement. This is an opportunity to bowl the best line and length of your life and to see how well you go in tough conditions.

Next time you get a negative thought, will you let it control and eventually erode your performance or will you take control and seize the opportunity it presents?

Cheers.

Mark

What does it mean to be mentally tough? It means making the effort to think of and develop a game plan that gives you your best chance of success and then having the commitment and discipline to carry out your plan under any circumstances.

To develop a plan for success, you must have a very clear understanding of how your game works and this includes knowing your strengths, weaknesses and how you play best. The odds are that if you have ever performed well in the past you carried out a process to help you achieve success. In general, consistently repeating your individual process for success you will give yourself your best chance of success.

Great players understand their game very well, right down to tiny details, which allows them to know exactly what they are doing at every step of their performance and also to self-correct rapidly if required.

Once you have established your plan for success, you need to carry it out and this takes discipline and commitment. There are many distractions that will take your mind off doing your job successfully (executing your plan for success) if you focus on them. Remember that any time you are not focused on implementing the steps you need to take to be successful, is a waste of effort if you truly wish to succeed in achieving your goals.

It takes genuine toughness to commit to focusing on your success process in the face of challenging and uncertain conditions but remember, giving up or not thinking are easy and don’t work. The hard road of being mentally tough is difficult but the effort is worth the reward, if you have the desire to succeed.

A helpful way to self-manage the execution of your plan, is to firstly know your plan and your job (your job is to implement your plan) and secondly, some simple self-questioning in the middle while you are playing can help focus your mind on the job at hand. A good question to ask yourself is, ‘What is my job’, this will not only bring your mind back to the present, it will help you to focus on what you need to do now to succeed. We often get distracted thinking about past or future events, for example what happened the previous delivery or how you will perform at the end of the day.

If your can leave the past in the past and understand that the future is only influenced by the next ball, it will help you to know that the most important thing you ever do in cricket is deal with the next ball the very best you can.

Good luck

Mark