Photo Credit: Cricket NSW
The Cricket NSW Foundation has launched a pilot program to help better support coaches across NSW to ensure the experience provided to players is a positive one, promoting retention and attracting new participants to cricket.
The Cricket NSW Foundation, the charitable arm of Cricket NSW, which exists to enrich communities and improve lives through cricket by enabling access to the game for all within NSW, is funding this pilot program this year for the first time.
The program will see eight regions across both Metro and Regional NSW, who nominated to take part in the pilot, be supported through the implementation of a Junior Director of Coaching.
The eight pilot regions and their respective Junior Director of Coaching (JDoC) are:
Mid North Coast – Mervyn Bourke
Hunter Valley – Barry Smith
Macquarie Valley (Dubbo) – Glen Shepherd
Greater Illawarra – Steve Davies
Southern Districts (Goulburn) – Garry Mortimer
Blacktown – Ashley Wood
Campbeltown/Camden – Aaron Consunji
Sydney North – Jenny Gunn
* Please click the coach’s name for their email address
The Junior Director of Coaching will provide on the ground support for junior coaches within their designated region providing upskilling and direction to ensure that participants have the best experience possible when beginning their cricketing journey.
Some of the key responsibilities of the Junior Director of Coaching will be:
- Help establish a Coach Coordinator within each club in their region to be a key point of contact
- Provide ongoing support and resources to Coach Coordinators
- Coordinate Community Coach sessions in their regions
- Maintain a register and regular contact with coaches in region
CNSW Pathway Manager, Nic Bills, said the JDOCs in each region could tap into the combined expertise of the organisation’s coach educators.
“CNSW is excited to pilot the Junior Director of Coaching roles with the assistance of the CNSW Foundation,” Bills said.
“These roles have been implemented to help create stronger networks for coaches working with 5–12-year-old players, improving the cricket experience for these players.
“The JDoCs will have access to experienced CNSW Coach Educators, Jay Lenton and Brett Rankin to assist them in developing coaches within their local cricket communities.”
Jake Balnave, the Head of the CNSW Foundation, said well backed coaches would lead to participants establishing a long-term love of the game.
“The CNSW Foundation is excited to announce the implementation of this pilot program which will help support community coaches across the state,” Balnave said.
“To enable greater access to the game of cricket for young boys and girls, we need to ensure we have well supported and resourced coaches which will in turn provide great experiences for our participants who will develop a lifelong love for the game.
“It is great to be able to fund this program which will see resources deployed across both Metro Sydney and Regional NSW”.
For more information about the program, contact your above Junior Director of Coaching or Cricket NSW Foundation.
Name of Author: Cricket NSW
Cricket NSW, officially the New South Wales Cricket Association, is the governing body for cricket in New South Wales, Australia. Based at Sydney Olympic Park, it oversees the New South Wales Blues, New South Wales Breakers, Sydney Thunder, and Sydney Sixers.
