Scotland: National Rural NetworkLEADER funding will help towards the creation of a Community Cricket Development Coach for Moray. At present the Clubs do not have available qualified coaches to deliver school/community sessions due to work commitments. It is the intention of the MCA to employ a part-time Community Cricket Coach to deliver fun, fundamental sessions focussing on basic cricket activities and those skills associated with physical literacy, on behalf of the Clubs to local schools. The Coach would also organise local festivals in conjunction with cricket clubs to provide a finale to the coaching programme and a chance for the young people to 'compete' against other schools either through games or skills challenges. To ensure the sustainability of the project, an element of this project will include coach and volunteer development. Coaches will be recruited from the clubs to attend Level 1 coaching qualifications so that they are able to provide activity within their own club and also provide the school/community sessions in the long term. Current coaches will also be encouraged to obtain higher qualifications to improve the quality of coaching. Other volunteers will be recruited to increase the number of qualified umpires and scorers, vital roles, to sustain the future of cricket in Moray. Teachers would also undergo in service training in delivering the National Introductory programme so that they can deliver activity and hit targets within the Curriculum for Excellence. To support this, the coach would produce easy, fun lesson plans for the teachers to implement once they have attended the training. The new Community Coach would also act as a mentor to the newly qualified coaches to develop their skills and ensure that their delivery is safe, effective and child friendly.
