England

Over Easter I head to the UK for a brief period to conduct some Spin Doctor Clinics.

Dates and venues currently in place are as follows:

April 10-11...... Leeds ( yet to find a suitable venue)

April 12-13......Wimbledon (Kings College Wimbledon)

April 14-15.....Essex (Writtle Indoor Cricket Centre)

I can't head across before Easter as my daughter is being married on 28th March and I must be home on the 17th as Ann and our two friends Ian and Carol Berry are taking a trip up through the middle of Australia.

It would have been easy to delay the clinics until July/ August except some of my loyal followers requested the clinics and I couldn't let any of them down.

So, that is 2010 thus far.

Next time I blog I will give a few coaching tips based on the enquiries I receive.

overseas and local coaching

It is hard to believe we are almost half way through the year. The upside of of the end of June is it brings on July when I normally head to England for some clinics. This year is no different as I arrive into Heathrow on July 24 before embarking on a months coaching.
Before leaving I have 3 boys attending my "live in" clinics here in Adelaide during the first 3 weeks of July.
Coaching in England gets under way soon after I arrive in the Country.
July 27-29 I am conducting clinics at Chigwell School in Essex. It is a terrific venue and already one day after the mailout five boys have booked.
For the second time I am conducting clinics in Leeds. Dates are 17-19 August and one enrolment has already been received. The venue is Kirkstall Education Cricket Club in Headingly where there are 4 turf nets available for me if necessary.
The weeks in between I will be at Loughborough for the ECB.
It certainly is an exciting time for me. I might even get to watch a day or two of Test cricket at Edgbaston at the end of July.
After returning from England and a couple of weeks off it is probable I will head to New Zealand where apart from a few days coaching, I will catch up with John Howell, an old mate from the days when I did some coaching for NZ Cricket at the High Performance Centre in Christchurch. No rest, as I fly in from Auckland on Sunday 13th and leave for Singapore a couple of hours later for two weeks coaching there, thanks to Mahmood Gazznavi who is organising the program for me.
Life is worth living even if it is very busy some of the time!
Perhaps I will see you at one of the clinics some where, some time, some place? I hope so!

Overseas Coaching

My July/August trip to the UK to condust coaching clinics is on again.
I am planning at least three seperate clinics on the following dates;
July 27-29....August 3-5....August 10-12.
At this time it seems probable the July 27-29 clinics will be at Chigwell School while the 3-5 Aug will be held in Leeds. I am still seeking a venue for Aug 10-12 but it is likely to be somewhere not too far out of London.
We will be mailing out early May with the revamped programme aimed at assisting those who travel distances and stay a couple of nights in accommodation near the venue.
I think you will be pleased with the new format. I trialled it in Leeds earlier this year and felt it was worth doing again at all clinics.
Please feel free to make contact if you wish to ensure your name is on the mailing list.

Heat/cold and travel

It is currently 42 degrees here in Adelaide following on from 44 degrees yesterday. Now that is HOT in any language.The next three days are also expected to be 40 degrees and upward which will make five consecutive days well above the old century. That makes it an official heatwave!
Perhaps it is timely as on Saturday 31st I head to Chennai for 5 days followed by 3 days in Kochi, all coaching in the heat. I am looking forward to the MAC Spin Foundation sessions for the third time and for the first time coaching sessions for Kerala Cricket Association.
For those from countries other than India it will surprise you know the coaching day starts around 7.30am for a couple of hours and then it is rest time before resuming at around 3.30pm.
The times are designed to beat the heat.
Following Chennai and Kochi I head to London for two weeks coaching where the heat will not be a factor but the cold just might!
Packing my suitcase is not easy given the two extremes but the common denominator is working with young men with a love of spin bowling.
That is why, in my 65th year, I still look forward to the challenges.

Overseas

I am looking forward to a couple of coaching trips early in 2009.
Firstly my third visit to the MAC Spin Foundation in Chennai has been pencilled in for 2-6 February and later in the same month I am hoping to return to the UK for a few Spin Doctor Clinics.
My initial plan is to endeavour to conduct a clinic either in Leeds or Manchester the weekend 14-15 Feb or 21-22 , depending on availability of indoor facilities and the number of spinners we can attract.
Closer to London the 23rd-25th Feb has been pencilled in at Westbrook Hay School in Hemel Hempstead.
We are seeking expressions of interest during the next fortnight before booking an airline ticket, accommodation and venues.
So, if you or your son/s are looking for coaching from the Spin Doctor prior to next season, now is the time to contact me at tjenner@tjevents.com.au

Chennai clinics

I must say I had 5 enjoyable days at the Mac Spin Foundation in Chennai.
Having been there previously I knew what to expect which made things easier to co-ordinate.Between 20 and 26 boys plus one girl attended on various days during the week with the minimum number of 20 on any given day.
As before I had trouble with names so resorted to nick names to help us communicate. All responded well and they all knew to whom I referred when my voice boomed out across the four clay/turf nets.
Big Fella, Thommo, Vemkat, China, Lefty and Princess were some of the "handles" given to the spinners.
In one group discussion I trotted out this Bishen Bedi quote "Spin is in the air and break is off the pitch". The quote was followed by asking the left arm orthodox spinner "who is Bishen Bedi?" It astonished me that he did not know! I then put the same question to the group and one or two sheepish looks accompanied a slight raising of the hand. Strewth, I thought, it upsets me when young Australian or English spinners don't remember 'Bish'.
Despite that disappointment it was pleasing the way they bowled for four hours each day in very hot and humid conditions.
Princess spun her leg breaks, particularly early in the week. On one occasion I called all spinners into a net so she could demonstrate a leg break. It was magnificent. In fact it was so Warne like with its curve and spin I started calling he "Shanette" for a day or two.
A little 8 year old joined us for a couple of days which also coincided with computer analysis. I called for "Thommo" to come out the front as we showed his clip and as I did the 8 year old announced that Jeff Thomson was a fast bowler. So was our Thommo! The other spinners burst into laughter. Taking a punt I asked our 8 year old, who by the way is based in Singapore, to come to the front. "Who is Bishen Bedi?" I asked. "Bishen Bedi is the greatest left arm spinner to play for India" he replied without a moments hesitation. On a roll I then asked "who is Prasanna?" Again with out a second's hesitation he replied "Eripali Prasanna is the greatest off spin bowler to play for India."
It was an uplifting time for us all.
I was assisted with the clinic's by Peter Fernandez, Chief Coach of the Mac Spin Foundation and his friend Vincent.
Peter has a passion for spin, in particular wrist spin and he willingly coached the basics as introduced by me. Alignment as always was a key factor and we improved that with the spinners over the five days.
However the biggest area of concern for us was the Shane Warne elbow! This is the front (leading) arm which has the hand back near the bowling shoulder with the elbow facing the batsman,as they move into their delivery stride. It worked for Shane but the kids are not strong enough to get it to reach out toward the target. Would you believe that of 22 spinners on one day, 16 had Warnie's front arm?
Of all the strong basics Shane exhibits they chose the one hardest to copy.
I am now in New Delhi on the last of 5 days here.
When I arrive in England I will file a report on that clinic.

Spin Doctor Clinics - UK

Having spent many years coaching in the UK and working with the ECB and the Brian Johnston Memorial Trust I became aware of a need for spinners not in the system to access coaching. With the assistance of coaches parents and cricketers I have been able to run Spin Doctor Clinics across the country.

During the summer this year I will be holding Spin Doctor Clinics at Chigwell School and Teddington Cricket Club.

Any spinner from around 10years of age to adult, can enroll and benefit from the sessions which are held for 2 hours a day over 3 days.

If you are a spinner looking to develop, contact me to book a spot.