On Friday June 2, Devon Cricket, working in conjunction with Western Storm, held the annual Young Storm Champions Course at Teignmouth & Shaldon CC. Designed to help young women into coaching and umpiring roles in the game, the course supports the participants to build confidence in running coaching activities and games so that they can then go back to their clubs and inspire the next generation of young girls. 

Learn

In the glorious weather, the girls arrived, collected their Western Storm shirts and resources for the day and were soon into a warm-up to get to know each other. 23 girls from across the county, between the ages of 13-17, attended the course. The girls represented over 10 different clubs within the county, which is great for the future of girls' coaching at clubs. 

Once warmed up, the girls then looked at what an ideal coach looked like and watched the Devon Cricket Coaches lead sessions, assessing what the participants and the coaches do. Their observations were well thought and helped them then to build a picture of what skills, traits and resources they would need to be an effective and purposeful caoch. Some obsevrations included: 

"Clearly explained each step and asked questions to check understanding."

"Everybody had a role - everyone had something to do."

"Build activity up to make it more challenging."

"The coaches were enthusiastic and encouraging and made the activity fun for the participants."

Lead

The girls then had the opportunity to lead a coaching session in pairs for a small group. After each session, the girls were given feedback from the coaches and participants about how the session went.

 

Leading the activities. A mix of All Star and Dynamo activites, as well as using the caching cards they were given in their resource packs.

Play

After lunch, the girls were then challenged to set up pitches and run games, umpiring and using the Countdown Cricket App to score the games.

The course is part of a volunteer programme. The girls have a volunteer log so that they can record their hours of volunteering and earn rewards from Western Storm. For example, after 10 hours of volunteering, they receive a water bottle and after 35 hours, they receive a Western Storm Hoodie. 

As the day came to a close, the girls had the great privilege to meet Devon player, Emma Corney, who is now a professional cricketer with a contract. Emma has played cricket since she was 9 years old and spoke to the girls about how she made her way through pathway and came to play cricket as her career. It was great for the girls to see that a young woman from Devon could have these opportunities to play beyond club level.

After a successful day, it is safe to say that the future of girls' cricket in the county is in safe hands, as the 23 girls who took part return to their clubs and inspire the next generation of girls to see cricket as a sport for them. 

If you are interested in finding out about girls' cricket in Devon, please visit our  or contact our Women and Girls Development Officer Ann-Marie Presswell.

If you would like to know more about coaching, please visit our Coaching page.