Sport In Profile UK Issue 12 | Page 37

Winchester Warriors There’s strong competition between the larger clubs: Andover, Fair Oak, Trojans and St Cross, and often they will be seen at the top of their respective age group leagues. However, St Cross didn’t win any district knockout competition this year, as Longparish (2), IBM Hursley, Tichborne Park, Trojans and Fair Oak shared the trophies.” Girls “Girls cricket has developed quickly in recent years, with the support of the Hampshire Cricket Board and Twyford School where our district teams are based and many county matches are played. Just four Winchester clubs have fielded girls teams so far, but at least 11 clubs have girls playing in mixed (or open) teams and many are hoping for all girls teams in the future. Our girls leagues are sufficiently strong to attract teams from outside the district to play in our summer leagues: Portsmouth, Petersfield and Burridge/Locks Heath have all been welcomed this summer.” Other challenges include finding willing and capable volunteers to coach juniors and to manage junior teams. Managing teams is often time consuming and needs good admin and organisational skills, which some people have in abundance, but others’ skills lie elsewhere. Our ambitions are to increase the numbers of girls teams and competitions, to maintain and if possible increase the numbers of teams taking part in indoor and outdoor league competitions, to retain and involve under 17 cricketers in teams and in other roles with clubs. We also want to support the player pathway for especially talented young cricketers to develop their skills and become district and county level cricketers in the coming years.” The Winter “We’re currently preparing for the winter coaching sessions, with about 400 nominations of aspiring and emerging players being made by clubs in the district for winter coaching sessions at district level. The structure of district coaching will be changing this coming winter, as Hampshire Cricket take responsibility for district level coaching, by introducing Regional Performance Centres, with part time managers and a team of coaches, many of whom will be the current coaches from Winchester Warriors and the other districts. Winter Indoor league matches will start in October, as more than 20 teams compete for silverware in the next few months. Many clubs see the winter leagues as a way of developing the skills of their young players, helping them with captaincy, leadership bowling tactics and shot selection in the faster, more pressured indoor environment. This is especially so for the girls’ teams, as the number of girls playing cricket increases faster than the boys at the moment.” ricket C r io n u J g in t Suppor in Hampshire Development “Winchester Warriors encourages young cricketers to take responsibility for coaching activities, captaincy, and other leadership roles, within their clubs and for the district association. We do this through training courses such as young leaders, scoring and umpiring, all of which attract young players. We have also designed competition rules to give space on the field to young captains, without coaches (and parents!) instructing them from the boundary or on the field. District level coaches encourage their players to take responsibility in coaching sessions and in the matches, to take decisions and lead their team-mates, which suits many developing players. More than 25 young players attended our training activities earlier in 2015, and with good support from clubs and the Hampshire Cricket Board, we hope to increase those numbers in 2016.” Challenges/Ambitions “One of our biggest challenges is the decrease in the number of players available to club teams at the beginning of the season and during exams. Non-availability of players is a constant headache for coaches and managers. The weather is also a challenge! Outdoor leagues often suffer from poor weather in the summer, although this summer (and 2014) has been good. d Winter • • Summer an d friendlies • • Leagues an titions • • Cup compe ching • • District Coa t Festivals • ic tr is D rte In • • r Volunteers fo rt o p p u S d • Training an oard • hire Cricket B s p m a H e th • Affiliated to 20 Member n a th re o m r Support fo -Hampshire id M s s ro c a s b Clu www.sportip.biz 37