Association Croquet Coaching Manual PPPuuubbbllliiissshhheeeddd BBByyy TTThhheee CCCrrroooqqquuueeettt AAAssssssoooccciiiaaatttiiiooonnn Association Croquet Coaching Manual 222 Foreword This manual is intended as a reference guide and a framework for coaching association croquet from beginners to aspiring ‘A’ class players. It is produced by the coaching committee of The Croquet Association (CA) which is the governing body of the sport in England and Wales. It is the intention of the CA that this manual should be freely available to all croquet coaches. To further that intent it is published in electronic format and may be freely downloaded from the CA web site (www.croquet.org.uk). Printed copies may be obtained from the CA shop for a small fee to cover costs. Copies may be made for private use but selling, altering the text in any way, or inclusion in whole or part in any other document is not permitted without the express permission of the CA. I would like to express my thanks to all those members of the CA coaching committee, past or present, and others who have freely contributed to the preparation and production of this manual. In particular to Ray Ransom who did the major work in creating this new version of the manual. Ray is one of the senior coaches of the game in England and his wealth of experience is manifest in this manual. We are all extremely grateful for the time he has taken to share his experience with other coaches. He has, in turn, thanked a number of people in the introduction and I would like to add my thanks as well. Brian Fisk Chairman CA Coaching Committee March 2006 The Croquet Association Cheltenham Croquet Club Old Bath Road Cheltenham Gloucester. GL53 7DF Telephone: 01242 242318 Email: [email protected] Document Version 1.02 (29th March 2006) Copyright: The Croquet Association 2006 Association Croquet Coaching Manual 333 Introduction The last version of the coaching manual was produced in 1991 and although the content is just as valid now as it was at the time of its production, the structure of the coaching courses has changed sufficiently to force a complete revision. In the time that the manual has been in print the grade I, II and III programmes have been replaced by a series of 6 courses covering the participant’s progression from beginner to the ‘a’ class. It has been recognised that more formal training of coaches is needed and as a result a coach qualification course (CQC) covering course planning and teaching techniques has been introduced. Successful completion of this course qualifies a participant as club coach. This revision of the manual is based upon the main programmes, namely, beginners, improvers, bronze, silver, silver gilt and gold. The old grade I I course has been replaced by the bronze and silver courses and the grade III by the silver gilt and gold courses. As a result the new courses are able to cover the techniques in greater depth and allow more time for practice. The improvers’ course largely consists of revision of what was learned in the beginners’ course although it does attempt to prepare the high handicap players for tournament and match play. The beginners’ course is virtually unchanged. Each of the courses assumes that the knowledge and techniques covered in previous courses is understood by those in attendance. However the lead coach can always decide to include topics which have been covered previously if thought to be beneficial. The manual is intended for qualified CA coaches and those who wish to qualify. It is not an ABC of how to play croquet; there are plenty of good books available for that purpose. In order to keep the manual to a reasonable length, much of the detail that coaches might be expected to know has been omitted. It is not, therefore, a manual for players to study by themselves, although many could benefit from its use. The format of production will be such that other courses may be added in the future with minimal expense. The beginners section is more detailed than the other two sections. This is because, at this level, many coaches are less experienced players, and they may require more guidance than is necessary at higher levels. The work in producing this manual would have been enormous had it not been for the work done previously, initially by John McCullough and then later, when the scope was extended, by Bill Lamb with the help of others. Although the programmes are based upon group tuition over a defined timescale, sections of each programme could be adopted for a more leisurely approach or for individual tuition. In the latter case, coaches should beware of being too dogmatic. There are so many variables, particularly in playing croquet strokes, that analysis and guidance are more useful to players than insistence that they should imitate the coach. Coaching is a two-way process. The coach has to recognise the difficulties and the needs of the players and has to be able to adapt to those requirements; the player has to be willing to learn and, where necessary, to change his techniques. Finally, I’d like to thank Dave Kibble for proof reading, pointing out the errors and for providing suggestions for improvements. Ray Ransom November 2005 Copyright: The Croquet Association 2006 Association Croquet Coaching Manual 444 Contents Foreword...............................................................................................................................................................2 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................3 Contents................................................................................................................................................................4 General Points Applicable To All Coaching ....................................................................................................9 Beginners ............................................................................................................................................................ 10 General points............................................................................................................................................ 10 Lesson One ......................................................................................................................................................11 Stance, Grip and Swing.............................................................................................................................11 Running a Straight Hoop ......................................................................................................................... 12 Running an Angled Hoop .......................................................................................................................... 12 Crush Strokes............................................................................................................................................ 13 Replacing Balls on the Yard-Line........................................................................................................... 13 The First Six Hoops................................................................................................................................. 13 Golf Croquet............................................................................................................................................... 13 Lesson Two ......................................................................................................................................................... 14 Revision ....................................................................................................................................................... 14 The Roquet ................................................................................................................................................. 14 Straight Croquet Strokes ...................................................................................................................... 15 Split Croquet Strokes ............................................................................................................................. 17 Lesson Three ................................................................................................................................................. 19 Revision: ...................................................................................................................................................... 19 Split Croquet Strokes ............................................................................................................................. 19 Hoop Approaches ......................................................................................................................................20 Thin Take-Offs......................................................................................................................................... 21 The Three-Hoop Break............................................................................................................................22 Lesson Four ....................................................................................................................................................24 Revision........................................................................................................................................................24 Four-Ball Break..........................................................................................................................................24