We need to provide the basic skills a cricketer should know and understand at each age level. All coaches should know how to play cricket. What is key is knowing what a cricketer should understand or is capable of mastering at each age level. There are certain skills a cricketer should acquire at each age level, and there are certain skills that can wait until the cricketer in question is old enough to physically master and understand.
This guide will lift the skill level of all cricketers to a minimum standard. This is a staged programme which will allow coaches to leave certain skills to future coaches. It will tell you at what stage a boy or girl is at in their cricketing education and what you still need to focus on at each age level. This will allow us to benchmark the progress of our young cricketer’s inline with their skill levels.
By developing and enhancing our existing system the aims of the PDP are;
To link the player pathway between school & club.
To provide an enhanced player pool with the appropriate skills and knowledge to progress into senior club cricket.
To create an integrated player centered development pathway by introducing players to individual training programmes.
We need to put a simple framework in place that will allow us to monitor and measure the progress of all our young cricketers. A clear set of structured and progressive plans ensures that everyone (players & coaches) are on track and properly prepared to develop their cricketing skills. We also need to reflect on match situations that will allow our players to improve through match play. Our summer development program will allow us to work with selected players based on their performance throughout our league season. We can then establish clear goals and objectives with the opportunity of correcting faults and improving skill levels. Our age range skill requirements will continue to operate throughout the year allowing all our cricketers to develop as they move through the age ranges.
Schools
It all starts in the playground, with our Chance to Shine programme (C2S) operating in seven local schools. In partnership with the Local Authorities and Local Education Partnerships we support School/club links via Harrow Alliance / Princes Trust.