The head coaches at the ICC Global Cricket Academy, based at Dubai Sports City, are on a tour of schools throughout the UAE to promote participation in the sport.
Former test players Rod Marsh, Mudassar Nazar and Dayle Hadlee are providing coaching advice to local students and meeting with teachers to look at ways the ICC Global Cricket Academy can support the development of cricket in schools.
The ICC Global Cricket Academy will be an important focal point for international cricketing excellence and education when it opens later this year. Situated in Dubai Sports City, the academy will provide a unique environment for coaching, game education and training in outstanding facilities with some of the games best coaches.
“I never lose the buzz of seeing children picking up a cricket bat for the first time. It is one of the most universal sports and youngsters can start playing very quickly,” said Rod Marsh, Director of Coaching at the ICC Global Cricket Academy, at the Al Khaleej National School in Dubai.
“The students we have met are really passionate about cricket and having the ICC Global Cricket Academy on their doorstep will allow them to take advantage of the facilities and infrastructure to improve their knowledge of the game and acquire new skills,” he added.
The coaches at ICC Global Cricket Academy are putting the finishing touches to the first school coaching programmes which will aim to improve the standard of the game at a grassroots level. The courses will be offered on-site at local schools and clubs, as well as coaching clinics and courses for local children of all ages and abilities at Dubai Sports City.
“It was a great opportunity for the students and they were really excited to learn that such famous former players were coming to coach them,” said Hany Samir, Head of Physical Education at Al Khaleej National School. “We have a couple of students who are already playing at a high standard within the UAE but for most it was their first experience of the game and they clearly enjoyed every minute.
“We are talking with the ICC Global Cricket Academy about how they can help us develop the game further. It is great that we now have a place to play and it will benefit all the children,” he added.
The former New Zealand test star Dayle Hadlee is skillfully creating the programmes, having spent 30 years as a school teacher and the last decade with the New Zealand Cricket academy and senior squad.
“It is all about having fun in the early stages,” said Hadlee, a head coach at the ICC Global Cricket Academy. “We are not going to over-coach them. Youngsters pick up the game very quickly and learn their own methods and styles. Once they fall in love with cricket, you can then start to offer advice on improving.”
Included in the ICC Global Cricket Academy is an indoor training facility with seven indoor practice pitches, an indoor practice fielding facility, 38 outdoor practice pitches (28 turf practice wickets and 10 artificial practice wickets), classrooms, meeting rooms, two cricket ovals, swimming pool and other leisure facilities.
The ICC Global Cricket Academy will afford the opportunity to players, coaches, umpires, curators and administrators from across the ICC’s 104 Member Countries to benefit from programs and courses, creating an integrated cricket community
The academy is part of the Dubai Sports City Academies Campus, which includes the Dubai Sports City Football Academy – the home of Manchester United Soccer Schools, Dubai; the WorldHockey Academy, a first of its kind partnership with the International Hockey Federation, and a Swimming Academy with a 50 metre training pool.
In addition, Dubai Sports City is home to a David Lloyd Tennis Academy, a Rugby Academy, and the first Butch Harmon School of Golf outside the United States.
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