Adam Voges: Hope in 10 years coaching is still about producing Australian cricketers

I think you constantly ask yourself how are you getting better and whether it's some of the leadership programs that I do or the ability to continue to keep learning on the job with what you do. But also the opportunities to keep trying to experience different environments and working with different players I think is all part of that. With our group itself, it's a phenomenal group, and I feel very grateful to be in the position that I am to work with this group of players and staff that have brought so much success. But equally, I think every team is constantly in transition and we're no different.

The recent Marsh Cup success is probably a testament to that where I think we used 23 players over the eight games and we saw five debutants as well. Hopefully, not only are we able to continue to bring those high standards, but we're actually starting to give opportunities to that next generation of West Australian cricketers as well. That's the exciting bit. I think that's the big part of why I love my job and why I want to continue to be able to do what I'm doing at the moment.

There is. Exactly what that looks like we'll continue to work through but the idea of being able to go and experience different environments and continue my learning away from our setup and hopefully bring some different ideas back with me is something we'll certainly look to explore and work out what suits best.

I think what success provides is belief more than anything. Belief that what you're doing is working. Belief that the playing group are invested in how the program runs and the way they want to play their cricket. Probably the biggest learning is that...validation might not be the right word, but hopefully, it means that the things that you are trying to implement and put into place are putting you on the right track. From that first season where we won those three trophies, every one of them is incredibly satisfying, but they've all been very different and provided different challenges. That's the art of doing what we do, navigating through those challenges and providing guidance and leadership. But ultimately, I think it's the underlying belief that has really stood out over those last couple of years.

We've got a big squad. I think we've got 31 players, including our CA contracted guys at the moment and trying to have touch-in points with all of them at various times is a challenge in itself. But that transition period of guys coming in and out of our program is something that I've tried to refine and tried to make sure that each time they go out or each time they come in it feels like they haven't left.

The communication side of that is really important, to just try and stay in touch with those guys as much as possible. But for all players, give them the clarity that they're seeking, whether it's in their role, in selection, in where that improvement lies for each one individually. So that's been an evolution. Getting better at that side of things is something that I've had to work on and certainly haven't nailed but continues to be part of how I continue to evolve and grow.

Beau Casson is a head coach in waiting. Tim Macdonald is a really experienced bowling coach and a couple of our development coaches are great and there's been transition in that space as well over the six years. Getting those guys to come in and buy into what we're trying to do, but allow them to do their jobs and to work really closely one-on-one with the players, with their specific skill sets and give them the autonomy and empower them to make decisions at times. Just ultimately trust that you're backing them to do their jobs really well. I'm incredibly lucky with the support staff that I've got and that goes into our SSSM [Sport Science Sport Medicine] group as well, not just our coaching group.

There's plenty that I didn't know when I started. I think number one, you can't do everything yourself and that ability to empower and trust other people to do their job is really important. Over-communication is always way better than a lack of communication. I think they're two of the really big things. Just understanding what the big things are and focusing time and effort on them. Not sweating on things that ultimately are out of your control. They're probably the key learnings. It can be a stressful life at times. It can be a lonely life at times. But understanding and learning a couple of those key points is certainly what I've been able to do over the last five or six years.

I think ultimately our role is still to develop Australian cricketers. Working really closely with that young group coming through is vitally important and then for our senior players, it's continuing to challenge them but also understanding that they're playing cricket 12 months of the year, and making good decisions around how do you help them with that, to help them have the careers and the success that they want to have.

Understanding that this is often home and they like coming home. I think that's an important part of it. Just managing those transitions in and out but ultimately trying to have a strong program that helps with development, helps to continue to try and get the best out of these guys and help them have the careers that they want to have. So that's only going to happen more and more with franchise cricket now.

I certainly hope that in 10 years time our main goal is still trying to produce West Australian and Australian cricketers. It's going to be a balance and that's going to happen more and more I think.

I always thought there was room for that and that's one of the biggest things I learned from JL [Justin Langer]. I was a senior player when he came into our program. He opened my eyes up to different ways of training, and different ways of going about things. It's really easy to leave your senior players alone and let them do their thing. But he probably helped get the best out of me late in my career, and it's certainly a lesson that I took and continue to take in and they're often just little small things, but just trying to continue to help guys grow and improve and that's important for anyone regardless of what stage you are at in your career.

Ultimately I'm really grateful for the job that I've got at the moment. I'm really lucky to do what I do. I love it. And that's a huge part of why I'm continuing. Beyond these two years, I don't actually know ultimately what that looks like. It's like a player really. You do the best job that you possibly can and you control what you can control and then if opportunities present themselves beyond that, then that's great.

But if you get too far ahead then maybe you take your eye off what you're doing at the moment. And I say that to the players all the time, so I've got to be able to live that as well, to really just invest in this next little period and really enjoy it as well. I think there's still some success to come with this group, albeit we're going to continually look to transition with a pretty senior group.