Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2015

39 Sheffield Cricket Lovers’ Society www.sheffieldcricketlovers.org.uk my own ability, I learned at a young age that thoughts need to be positive, as a lot of the game is played ‘in the mind’. I am very fortunate to work at Collegiate – not just those people mentioned earlier, but also with many talented young players who share my passion for cricket and share my enthusiasm and will to succeed and play cricket to the best of their ability. I work a lot with them on match type situations and we will often simulate examples of what actually happens during a ‘live’ game such as running between the wickets when batting, backing up the wickets when fielding and the importance of all eleven players working as a team. I spend a lot of time with them practising their technical skills in the nets and also their fielding skills on the outfield. I also emphasise the importance of preparation, both physical and mental, for games and practice sessions. I have spent a lot of time with Isaac Parkin who is currently playing under 11 cricket at our club. He has a great deal of potential and has already played representative cricket for South Yorkshire actually in an older group. I am very hopeful that in a few years time many of the juniors will have made their way into the adult teams and hopefully a few will be playing in the same team as me. To have coached the boys through to the Yorkshire League would be a very proud moment for me. My work as a cricket coach can be very rewarding in many ways; I can get the same level of satisfaction from seeing an under 17 be selected for county trials as I can from teaching a 6 year old to catch a high ball. I have a true passion for the game and hope that my enthusiasm and desire to improve as a coach will allow me to work at the highest possible level in the future. My ultimate aim is to be a coach respected enough to work with top professional players all over the world. Cricket is already huge in countries such as India, Pakistan and Australia, however, the sport is growing at a quick rate in many secondary countries such as Holland, Bangladesh and Kenya, so I am hoping opportunities will arise for me as I develop my skills and add to my CV. I thoroughly enjoy being Junior Head Coach at Collegiate and working with the Yorkshire Cricket Board. I was really honoured to win the under 25 Coach of the Year for Yorkshire Cricket Board this year and hope this will assist me to progress as a coach and also the junior players at Collegiate