In April 2001 as part of Cricket España continuing Coach Education Programme we partnered Yorkshire Cricket Board (YCB) to deliver an ECB L2 Coaching Course.
This was excellently led by Dale Kerruish and Kev Gresham, supported by Dave Gelling. Following 3 days of virtual classes the cohort returned to their clubs to complete the required online and face to face modules required prior to an assessment.
In June 2022 the following attended an assessment weekend at the wonderful facilities of La Manga Resort:
Paul Fletcher
Elspeth Fowler
Sameer Nayak
Jay Wild
Egan Dantis
Lewis Clark
Nadim Aseq A. Arman
Shahbaz Raja
The weekend was superbly organised by Dave Gelling and his assessment team, giving each candidate great support in what is a nervous environment.
The hard work of the candidates and assessors paid off as the 8 candidates were assessed as competent.
Over the weekend there was much discussion regarding Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for our new coaches, as it is something that is clearly challenging, not only in Spain but across mainland Europe.
From the discussions the idea of a Cricket España Coaches Association (CECA) was hatched and this has been implemented as an objective in the Cricket España Strategic Plan.
Dale, Kev and their YCB colleagues have been outstanding in their support for the continued development and mentoring of our new, existing and potential coaches.
They are continuing to invite Cricket España coaches to join them on their monthly “Fireside Chats” an informal get together of coaches discussing various topics, including:
Has coaching changed cricket, or cricket changed coaching.
Development of Mental Strength
The Feel of Coaching
For our final “Chat” of 2022 last week Dale and Kev had arranged for an absolute legend of the game to be present for a Q&A session, none other than former International and County Player, Umpire, Coach and renowned pundit David “Bumble” Lloyd”.
His openness and insight into the game from grassroots to elite level was fascinating, he took his time to answer every question put to him, it was an absolute pleasure to attend.
Although Cricket España will now be following the ICC Coaching Framework and delivering our own Coach Education in country, the relationship between Cricket España and YCB will go from strength to strength and I urge all our coaches to join the CECA when it launches in 2023 and keep learning from our friends in Yorkshire.
ANDREW McCULLOCH
