Young cricketers are the future lifeblood of our game. To fully enjoy their cricket experience they need to be safe, free from pressure or harassment and given opportunities to play, practice and try new skills. To do this they need access to facilities, competition and, above all, good coaches. Many of us remember influential figures from our sporting lives, the ones who either taught us things or steered us through our attempts at games.

Our governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), recognise this and offer a great deal of support to us to allow individuals to ‘put something back into the game.’ Coaches are needed at all levels within cricket and, now that we have the new junior league systems, Gibraltar is no different.

Whether helping out with your son or daughters team, or starting on a lifelong career in coaching, the first requirement is enthusiasm! For those looking to go further, there is an existing Coach Education system which offers a pathway of developing skills that will enable anyone to find a level at which they feel confident to work with players to realise their potential. The GCA are looking at running coaching courses in the near future and we will actively look to identify possible candidates once we have more details of venue and tutors.

All potential candidates will be mentored through their course by our Cricket Development Manager, who is an ECB Staff Coach and used to lead Somerset County Cricket Board’s Coach Education system. The ability to mix taught theory and practical coaching through courses and the junior league training system is something that many counties would envy, let alone other European countries!

To maintain a safe environment for our youngsters, we will have to carry out a background check on everyone involved with the youth system. Providing an enjoyable and safe experience for all our participants is something that GCA takes very seriously.

Anyone with previous cricket coaching experience, or looking to develop their coaching skills, should contact Rich Askew, the Cricket Development Manager, on info@gibcricket.com