Top cricket coaches are a rare breed. We are grateful to Judge Tony Zohrab for writing this article on the outstanding Nelson cricket coach, Garry MacDonald, who has guided many fine young players on the path to Hawke Cup and first- class success.
The Secondary Schools Cricket First XI Cup (formerly the Gillette Cup) began in 1990. Whilst Nelson College has a tradition of producing some excellent cricketers, it had to wait until 2014 before it first qualified for the First XI Cup, repeating the feat again in 2016.
Garry MacDonald was the Director of Cricket and First XI coach at Nelson College from 2013 to 2017, and it is no coincidence that qualification for the First XI Cup took place under his “watch”. Garry, or “Macca” as he is widely known, was a left-arm orthodox spinner and played first-class cricket for Canterbury between 1984/5 and 1990/91.
However, he is probably best known as a coach, more particularly in his role as a spin bowling coach at both provincial and national level. The teams Garry has coached include Canterbury, Nelson, Rood and Wit and Nijmegen (in Holland), Lancaster Park Woolston, ACOB in Nelson, Nelson College 1st XI, as well as a Willows Selection to Sri Lanka in 2017.
Garry is a “people person” and is a coach of character. His philosophy as a coach revolves around listening to players more than instructing them. He is big on the “team” being paramount over the individual. One of Garry’s favourite quotes is: “it is amazing what a team can achieve as long as no one cares who gets the credits”. Garry believes in concentrating on the core skills of fielding, batting and bowling without getting “too fancy on it.” Rather than telling them what to do Garry likes to give the players the “tools” to not only ask the right questions, but then answer their questions by working out the answers for themselves.
He is not afraid to deliver his players a “rev up” if he feels they are not trying, and if a player “gets too big for his boots” Garry will quickly bring them “back down to earth”. However, he is also sensitive to the needs of his players when all is not going well.
It is a testament to Garry’s coaching skills that he creates teams that enjoy their cricket and want to play for him.