Kane Williamson joined Sport Bay of Plenty and the Bay of Plenty coaching network in a virtual Q&A. Here he discusses how playing multiple sports and having fun as a younger player helped shape his career. He also provides insights into leadership and what makes teams tick.
Kane Williamson has been captain of the Black Caps since 2016 and was ranked No1 in the ICC ranking in 2015 with a staggering 90.15 batting average. He has played 80 Test matches and 151 ODIs and is currently ranked fourth in the ICC Men’s Test batting rankings.
Over the course of this Q&A session, Kane discusses how playing multiple sports and having fun as a younger player helped shape his career. He also provides insights into leadership and what makes teams tick.
Many of Kane’s insights during the Q+A session were well aligned to the Balance is Better philosophy:
- His reflection on playing multiple sports growing up before settling into cricket –
[5m43s to 8m52s] “Growing up I was always interested in a number of different sports”
- How critical enjoyment is for being able to persevere in a sport (and coaches’ and parents’ roles in supporting and facilitating the joy in sport) – [9m22s to 10m06s] “One thing I know for certain is that if you stop enjoying what you do, you stop doing it”
- The importance of having healthy support from parents for his development and later success, and how it can help young people learn to be self-driven and take responsibility for their own growth – [11m40s to 12m40s] “I was fortunate to have a supportive family and parents to encourage me without putting too much pressure on me. The drive that I had for sport came from me”
- Notably, winning was mentioned very little, but learning and growth featured prominently – [31m30s to 31m55s] “Enjoyable parts of being a captain are seeing the growth of the group.” Winning is also viewed as a byproduct of process (and therefore all the more satisfying) – [1hr0m10s to 1hr01m01s] “I am competitive and tenacious in my drive to improve”
- Understanding the importance of failure – [34m45s to 36m24s] “Know there will be some failure, but don’t take it personally” and [36m54s to 38m04s] “Accepting failure is incredibly important.”
It was a great learning experience for all who attended the webinar and thanks go to Kane for his time and insights.
Image Credits: Photosport