A CALL TO ALL WCL UNDER 9 COACHES

26th April 2010

As the WCL Under 9’s season got off to a successful start this week, we are already planning for next season and the years to come. You will be aware that the WCL Management Board have made Junior Cricket the number 1 priority in the future of the WCL and that Representative Cricket should be the flagship for young cricketers in the region. Historically representative cricket has been played at Under 11, 13, 15 and 17. In order to develop players more thoroughly and give chances to a greater number of young cricketers it is our aim to play fixtures at Under 10, 12, 14 and 16 to introduce players and coaches into the existing competition age groups.

Clearly this is not something that is going to be easily achieved over night and our view has been to get things right at the youngest ages and watch them develop through the age ranges. The first steps along the way have happened over the last 18 months. With outstanding work and dedication from the likes of Tom Kilby and Jan Griffin the WCL Under 10s came into existence late last season. Specific thanks should also go to John Pearson and the Coaches Association for their work in the development nets over the winter. The Under 10s played their first fixture of 2010 on Sunday 25th April and gained the rewards for their work (Players & Coaches!) Having fallen to a close defeat from the Heavy Woollen Under 10s last season they repaid the favour with a comfortable win away at Hunslet Nelson CC. With more fixtures to follow (and with some of the side also likely to be within the WCL Under 11s teams this season) we have high hopes for this team over the coming seasons.

This is where the next stage begins. As an Under 9 Coach you will already have players within your squad “chomping at the bit” to play hard-ball cricket. Some may already be playing up into the Under 11s set up in your club. It may be that your Son/ Daughter has shown the right skills and behaviour to play at a higher level and you want to find more challenges for them and/or that you want to develop your own coaching skills. What we are looking for is 3 or more Coaches to come forward with a view to taking on the roles within the Under 10’s set up for next season. We want at least 3 to ensure a sharing of the workload, a broad view on players from all of our clubs and to help us give continuity to the players. Clearly the more parents/ coaches involved the better, but there are clearly defined roles for the age group Manager, Coach and Assistant.

What we can offer is support, advice, equipment, funding and the experience of existing age group Manager/ Coaches. What we need for now is very little but volunteers. Coming into the Summer Holidays things will begin in earnest and winter development nets are a key part of the process. The rewards are self evident as anyone who saw the game on Sunday will tell you. The season is a long way from over, but if it ended tomorrow, Tom, Jan and everyone else involved would be happy that the winter of work for the players showed on the pitch. It showed in the skills, it showed in the discipline and it showed with the bonding of players from 6 different clubs into a team of friends all playing for each other. We need your assistance to ensure that this years crop of Under 9 players are able to gain the enjoyment and benefit of the experiences that the Class of 2010 currently do.

If you are interested in offering your help, please contact either Jan Griffin roger.griffin@talktalk.net or Andrew Clews andrew.clews@bowcliffe.com . From there we can get the ball rolling for 2011.

Andrew Clews

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