Dedicated to developing cricketers

 

Bath CC is passionate about enabling youngsters to get involved in cricket and to improve as players. We seek to give boys and girls the best possible environment in which to learn about the game, improve their skills and to experience competitive opportunities.

We provide :

1. A block of winter training sessions for our members which runs from early February through to April in which we use a combination of skills practise and net-based coaching. These sessions are based at Beechen Cliff School where the players work in manageable groups under the instruction of one or more of our highly qualified coaching team.

2. A comprehensive coaching programme throughout the summer at North Parade, with a combination of different training methods. The players are divided by age-groups and, to a certain extent, ability under the guidance of a fully qualified coach who is responsible for between 16 and 20 (max) players.

3. Competitive opportunities for all squads of players within the Bath and District League programme at an appropriate level. We also attempt to ensure that each player within a squad has an equal opportunity to be involved with bat and/or ball across the whole season.

Our whole Youth Programme is organised by the Youth Coaching Co-ordinator, Mark Thorburn. He leads a group of qualified coaches who deliver the programme throughout the year.

Each squad which operates during the summer will have a coach who will be paid by Bath CC to ensure that he or she provides the best quality learning experience for the players. The squad will also have a volunteer manager (usually a parent) who will take on an administrative and organisational role within that group of players to assist the coach.

Players will learn about the game (mainly) within their squad, but there may well be opportunities to work with different groups - perhaps focusing on particular skills involved in wicket-keeping, spin bowling, fielding, etc. whilst players of particular talent and potential may be given the opportunity to be "fast-tracked" via the TOP Programme.

Bath CC has the following number of ECB qualified coaches active at the club :

5 at Level 3         4 at Level 2        6 at Level 1   (plus others currently training)

Gregg Brown is the Coach Mentor responsible for coach development at Bath CC. He is charged with the task of helping coaches improve - both in terms of qualification and what they are actually providing in each session at the Club.

 

From Playground to Test Arena

 

The Youth section at Bath CC is designed to give children the chance to progress from complete beginners through to the Club's 1st XI and/or Wanderers' 1st XI.

Step 1 :  Introduction to cricket   Children will probably first come into contact with Bath CC's coaching operation through our community arm, Cricketbath. This may well be at school, on holiday courses or as part of the "Stumpers" group that runs at North Parade during the summer. In this way, children are given an introduction to cricket (without any need for membership of Bath CC) which hopefully fires their enthusiasm for further involvement.

Step 2 : Membership of Bath CC and 8-a-side Cricket :  Once children reach the Under 9 (Year 4) age-group, they can apply to become members of Bath CC and, once they have joined, they can play in one of out BDYL 8-a-side teams and/or Kwik cricket teams : Spears, Daggers and Swords. The format of these games means that absolutely everybody has an equal chance to bat and bowl, which is the ideal introduction to competitive matches for most youngsters. (Summer training = Tuesdays; matches = mainly Monday/Wednesdays)

Step 3 : Under 11 (11-a-side) Cricket :   The natural progression for children in Year 5 and Year 6 is to move into the 11-a-side version of the game : Arrows and Blades. We still ensure that full participation is achieved by all within those squads, but now in a Twenty20 style game. (Summer training = Tuesdays; matches = mainly Mondays)

Step 4 : Under 13 Cricket :   A new level of competitiveness is reached at U13 (Year 7 and 8) as we take our strongest group of players to compete in League 1 of the BDYL and the National Cup competition : U13-1s. The other teams : U13 Girls, U13-North and U13-South take part in the "regional" leagues of the BDYL. (Summer training= Mondays; matches = mainly Tuesdays)

Step 5 : Under 15 Cricket : Our strongest group of U15 players play in the BDYL League 1 : U15-1s, whilst the other team(s) play in the "regional" leagues : U15-2s and U15-3s. The girls can also take part in the newly formed Somerset U15 Girls' League : U15 Girls. (Summer training = Wednesdays; Matches = mainly Mondays; Girls only training = Fridays). All players in the U15 section are also encouraged to get involved in Senior cricket in either Saturday and/or Sunday teams.

Step 6 : Senior Cricket (Transition Players) : The step from Youth into Senior cricket can be a difficult and intimidating step to take - despite the fact that all players can easily cope in purely cricketing terms. Bath CC tries to make special provision for these players to help them to stay involved and to manage the various demands of exams, school cricket, etc. alongside their availability to train and to play. In particular, much of the Sunday cricket programme is designed to involve these players and to keep them engaged at a demanding time in their lives. (Summer training : Thursdays - Females-only = Fridays; Matches = Saturdays and Sundays)

Step 7 : Senior Cricket : The club has 4 teams playing league cricket on a Saturday and 2 female senior teams playing league cricket on a Sunday, plus local and national cup competitions. There is also friendly cricket to play midweek.