maidenhead
and bray
CC: How important is youth cricket to the
club?
Mark Hayes, Youth Cricket Coach,
“Youth cricket is the life, soul and the
future of the club. We currently run eight
teams in the boys’ section and four in the
girls’ section with around 150 boys and 40
girls involved.
The set-up is going from strength
to strength under the leadership and
guidance of Huw Buckle, who won last
year’s Special Recognition Award at the
Chance to Shine awards night which was
held at The Oval.”
Huw added, “A number of our
previous colts are now playing senior
cricket. I started coaching U9s eight years
ago and some of those boys are now
representing the senior sides. They are the
future of the club.
We set up a Girls section in 2012 and
it is now another thriving and successful
section within the club – the girls today
will be our new Ladies team in the next
couple of years, continuing to add real
value to the club.”
CC: Would you consider yours to be a
community club?
Huw, “We work closely with a number
of schools to ensure that our club becomes
the club of choice in the local area and
that success, obviously, depends upon the
quality of the coaching that we offer. We
help promote cricket in schools and get
children involved in sport. For a number
of our colts, cricket is their primary sport.
We also engage with the families and
ensure that they are also part of the club.
With the girls initiative, we have forged
even stronger links with the community
and we are now recognised as the leading
local club for girls’ cricket.”
Thomas, in the under 12s, is another hot
prospect for the future and technically the
best girl batter we have in the club.
Another great new find this year is
Belle Proctor at under 11. We also have to
mention Susannah Ames, who is the Girls
Club Captain and is a fine wicket-keeper,
solid batter and possibly the best young
leader we have in the whole colts section.”
CC: Are there any guys showing particular
promise at the club?
Mark, “Our ambition is to be able
to continue to give young children the
opportunity to have fantastic coaching
from professional coaches at all age
groups and to oversee the migration
of the colts into the senior teams at the
appropriate age. We also want to be able
to support young coaches through the
various levels of cricket coaching so they
can put something back into the younger
children within the colts set up.”
Huw, “We wish to have the recognition
as the leading club for Girls cricket in
Berkshire by 2018. We hope to launch a
‘friendly’ Ladies team, accommodating a
number of our current Girls, in 2016, with
the goal to play competitive matches in
2017.”
Mark, “We have a number of boys
that are showing great promise in the
county set-ups, in particular Zach Phillips
in the Under 10s, Sam Hayes in the U12s,
Max Thomas and Toby Greatwood in the
Under 13s and Todd Lindley in the Under
15s from the boys section. We also have
numerous boys in the District set up who
are progressing very well.”
Huw, “Having only started girls’
cricket three years ago, we are thrilled to
have a number of players in the county set
up.
Teona Goodge, who plays for
Berkshire U15s, has been identified as a
potential for the ECB Elite Performance
Programme. England beckons? Adele
CC: What are the club’s ambitions for the
next 5 years?
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