Raise Your Game: What's the key to being a good coach?

Sarah Ginn: You need to be patient with everybody. You also need to appreciate that different people learn in different ways, so you need to be able to adapt your methods to the people you're coaching. You need to know their abilities and how they're going to respond to what you tell them.

RYG: What's more important attitude or talent?

SG: It's a combination of the two. You'll only get so far if you've got the wrong attitude. I'm quite lucky with the girls that I coach in that I think we've got a natural rapport. The ones that have a lot of natural ability have to have the right attitude otherwise they won't progress or learn the necessary skills.

RYG: What can kids learn from being involved in a team sport like cricket?

SG: The girls are in the squad for about five or six years. It teaches them how to communicate with people of different ages. It also helps you develop as a person.

RYG: How did you first get involved in cricket?

SG: My older brother played cricket. It was often a case of me waiting around at school after my tennis game had finished. Rather than just sitting and watching I decided to take part.

When I came to Cardiff University there wasn't a ladies team. I set that up for myself as well as for others, so I could have an opportunity to play a bit more. I realised there was a need for female coaches and it developed from there. It's a great game and everybody can get involved. There are lots of different forms of the game and it's inclusive to everyone.

RYG: What have you learnt from coaching?

SG: It definitely gives me a great deal of satisfaction. It's also taught me that not everyone's the same. You can't treat one girl the same as you treat another girl. That's the case in life more generally. You need to learn to adapt your approach to different situations. It's also taught me how to deal with difficult situations.

Sometimes I have to leave a girl out of a side who's been coming every week but isn't of the same ability as another girl. It's never nice telling people bad news. You have to try and do it in a way that keeps them interested in playing the game and wanting to turn up to training sessions. Obviously they're going to be disappointed if they don't make it into a side, but you have to give them some development points - things they can work on to improve their chances of getting into the team in future.

RYG: Do you rule by the stick or the carrot?

SG: A bit of both I think. When you first start off with a team you need to set out the rules clearly. They learn the boundaries and what they can and can't get away with. Once they know that it's fine. If they weren't determined and happy to be there then they wouldn't be there. I don't offer rewards. They get the rewards themselves in terms of medals and everything else. My sessions are quite fun but they know when they've overstepped the mark.

RYG: What advice would you give to girls wanting to get to the top in cricket?

SG: I think every child needs to involve themselves in some kind of sports club. There are lots of opportunities to play cricket in primary school at the moment. If a child wants to play cricket outside of that, there are a lot of local clubs they can join.