Liddle proactive in realising coaching ambitions

Chris Liddle has stated that moving into a second career in coaching wouldn’t have been possible had he not thrown himself into new environments during his playing career, as he spoke to the PCA during UK Coaching Week.

The former Gloucestershire, Sussex and Leicestershire man spent 14 years in professional cricket, claiming 428 wickets across all formats before retiring in 2019 at the end of his four-year stint in Bristol.

The left-arm seamer made the difficult decision to retire early in order to pursue his second career, but Liddle had already laid the groundwork during his playing days to immediately take up a role with Northamptonshire, where he currently works full-time as a bowling coach.

The 37-year-old is also a bowling consultant for the Netherlands national cricket team, and he explains how relationships built during his playing days benefited him as he moved into his second career.

“I always wanted to get into the coaching side of things but I felt that I needed to explore different methods of coaching and work with different coaches, trying to get more experience on my side of things.

“I’ve been away with the Netherlands and worked with the likes of Trevor Penney, Ryan Campbell and learned from them and their experiences, to develop my approach.

“I managed to go to South Africa with the Netherlands after meeting Ryan out in Hong Kong, and did some work with them as a bowling coach out there. If I hadn’t challenged myself and gone on that trip to Hong Kong, then that type of thing wouldn’t have happened.

“The PCA has also always been brilliant for me, not only as a sounding block but also for helping to put things in place and giving me options throughout the winter, rather than just focussing on my training.”

The PCA offers support to its members who are looking to transition into coaching via the Association’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP), which enables individuals to excel and develop sustainable performance within and outside of cricket.

The PCA funds ECB coaching courses undertaken by its members upon successful completion, with Levels 1-3 fully funded and Level 4 part funded by the Association.

The Association also actively encourages members to take up coaching roles around the world during the off-season, and alongside playing in the summer where possible.

Liddle has already received support from the PCA in the form of education funding towards his coaching badges, and he was also a bursary winner at the 2020 Futures Awards, where he presented to a PCA panel on the progress he had made to that point.

It all means that Liddle has been able to achieve his goal of finding a fulfilling career as a coach in retirement from the sport.

“I think it’s a natural transition for players to go into coaching, but there’s not actually that many opportunities out there for players to go into. Going on that course and learning about all the different aspects of coaching that are out there was massive for me.

“Fortunately, things have worked out well and I’ve managed to secure a really good role at Northamptonshire. I’ve really enjoyed all of the work that I’ve done so far.”

Find out more about the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme, including course funding options.

UK Coaching Week 2021 runs from the 7-13 June and is kicking off with the launch of ‘The Great Coaching Comeback’ – a year-long campaign aimed at directly supporting coaches as they return to coaching after pandemic restrictions have been lifted in the UK.