As a 14 year-old, former England cricket coach David “Bumble” Lloyd described me as the best junior batter in the country. From 15 to 19, I represented England in every national age-group team. At 20, I made my First-Class debut for Lancashire, shortly followed by scoring 155 against an all-star Surrey team at The Oval. Mark Butcher, the England cricketer, identified me as “the young player to look out for” on the professional circuit, whilst the legendary Test umpire Dickie Bird said he was certain that I’d play for the England Test team.
Yet at the tender age of 25, I was out of the sport completely. A spent force, who had grown to hate the game I once loved more than anything else. But why?
My big question
What prevented me from fulfilling my athletic potential? After all, I had everything that I could possibly need to achieve success – “genetic pedigree” (my father was an international cricketer, and my uncle played professionally), state-of-the-art practice facilities in my parents back garden, an outstanding record throughout the junior elite pathway, a promising start to my professional career. I couldn’t make sense of it. From the moment I walked out of the Old Trafford gates for the last time as a professional sportsman to now, more than twenty five years later, I’ve been obsessed with finding the answers to the question, “How do we fulfil our potential?”
Learning from everyone
This compulsion to unearth these secrets led me down the coaching pathway, initially in fitness (Level 3 Personal Trainer), followed by sport (Level 3 Performance Coach), then across the whole coaching spectrum (Level 4 Master Coach), which was succeeded by people development (World Class Mentoring award) and subsequently as Head of Coach Development for England Cricket, where my tenure coincided with one of the most successful periods in the history of English cricket…..including the Men’s team winning the 50-over World Cup in 2019, followed up by becoming the 20-over World Cup champions in 2022, and the Women’s team achieving the Gold Medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
For more than two decades, I’ve had the pleasure of working as a coach, coach developer, mentor, consultant, and leader of a diverse range of athletes, executives, coaches, business owners, freelancers, leaders, teams and organisations, all of whom have challenged my beliefs, broadened my perspective, and fuelled my desire to help others reach their full sporting, business and human potential.
Even as a highly qualified and experienced performance mentor, personal coach, and leadership trainer, I don’t claim to know the definitive answer as to what separates the greats from the rest. Does anyone? But I do have a passion for helping you, as an individual, team or business, to explore and discover what works best for you and your people. And who knows, we may very well find that answer together…..and finally satisfy my curiosity!
Nathan Wood Consulting 
Interesting content and great questions. It seems that whenever we take something we love to do and switch our focus to work instead of enjoyment, we lose our love for it. I love writing, but as soon as I apply pressure to accomplish more and make it a chore instead of what I love, it can feel overwhelming and I lose the passion for it. Don’t get me wrong, it still takes work and discipline just as sports do, but even the hard work practice can be done in a way that breathes life rather than stealing it. Thanks for sharing, and thank you for checking out my blog. All the best to you!
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Found this very interesting.
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Cheers Billy, and HNY to you too!
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‘Been there, done that’!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Your post is informative. My best wishes for 2018!
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Thanks, look forward to it!
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Very good articles, well-written. I’ll be back.
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Yes it’s an interesting debate. I think your points certainly have a bearing in some circumstances. Additionally, I would suggest that playing and coaching require different skill sets. A simple comparison can perhaps be drawn in business…high performing sales people don’t necessary make the most effective sales managers!
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Thanks for looking at my post. Fascinating About page. Lots of times in the U.S. it’s actually the mediocre athletes like Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots that make the best coaches. For years I’ve wondered why the best athletes seldom make the best coaches, they seldom even coach in the U.S.! Maybe because they made so much money playing, maybe because they are exposed to so many other post-career opportunities. The one slight exception seems to be baseball, the US version of Cricket.
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Thanks Dave, appreciate your comments. All the best, N
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Thank you for looking at my site! I went over your ‘Recovering from setbacks’ and ‘Mental rehearsal’ articles-
Good stuff! I look forward to future articles and wish you continued success!
Dave
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My pleasure 👍
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