It has been a delightful, thought-provoking first day at the ECB Conference at St. George’s Park.
Paul Downton welcomed everyone. In his address he contrasted his experiences in cricket twenty years ago with his experiences now as Managing Director – English Cricket. I really enjoyed his discussion of the role teachers and coaches play in transforming people’s lives.
Andy Flower followed on from Paul’s welcome address. Andy talked about Learning to Lead. Andy is now the ECB’s Technical Director of Elite Coaching.
Andy’s talk was wide-ranging. He discussed:
- Environments and culture
- Winning and losing
- Change
- Sustaining success
I enjoyed learning about the significance of honesty, personal responsibility and respect in Andy’s plans for England. It was a very clear, fascinating account of a period of change in English cricket (2009-2014).
His talk reminded me of listening to Robbie Deans’ talk on his rugby journey earlier this year in France.
Simon Weston gave the third keynote of the day and shared his story with the Conference delegates. I think his is a remarkable story. I was particularly struck by his discussion of personal identity and the journey a young Welsh Guard has made from 8 June 1982 to the present day.
I met Simon in 1996 when he came to speak with the Welsh Rugby team. I am delighted that the vision he had then has continued to flourish and diversify.
I thought the choice of the keynotes was an excellent way to explore the Conference theme of Leading to Performance.
There are three keynote addresses on Day 2.
- Peter Moores, Andy Flower and Kevin Shine will talk about the Fellowship of Elite Coaches
- Gemma Morgan will discuss leadership, trust and relationships
- Stuart Lancaster will share his coaching journey
