Steve Rhodes says his hunger to keep learning and improving in his role is as Worcestershire's Director Of Cricket is as strong as ever – along with a desire to return to trophy-winning ways at New Road.
Rhodes has been an important part of the County infrastructure for more than three decades – 20 years as a key player during the glory years of the late 1980s and early 1990s and then 11 years as Director Of Cricket.
But the enthusiasm of the 52-year-old to continue enhancing his qualities is undiminished and mirrored in the Worcestershire coaching staff.
Rhodes said: "Although I finished my Level Four coaching over ten years ago, there is still some extra Continued Professional Development (CDP) that goes on and I've been on those courses.
"But I'm always looking to learn and that's why I looked at the Lions trip (to the UAE) and the England trip (to Bangladesh) as real good opportunities to try and enhance and improve my own coaching and my experience.
"I did my utmost at the time for the Lions and England but, slightly selfishly, I was also wanting to learn and pick up things myself.
"You are always learning. I make so many mistakes and I keep telling players it is good to make mistakes because you learn from them.
"As long as you keep learning, and keep wanting to improve, having that desire to improve…… and we've got a very good staff for that.
"Our coaches are all driven to get better and we challenge each other along the way and it's a very healthy enviroment that hopefully spreads onto the players as well."
So how does Rhodes maintain such a high level of desire and willingness to continue learning and improving?
He said: "I'm doing this job because I desperately want Worcestershire to return to the days when we were winning trophies.
"It's a lot harder nowadays but we are showing we do develop players and we are managing to keep hold of them and we hope that continues because this team is getting nearer a time when it wants to produce the goods.
"This side have been together more or less, either in the first team or second team, for three or four years, and that's a really good sign for the future in the sense that they are ready to show what they can do."
