Eastern Suburbs Junior Cricket Club

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Playing Role: WicketKeeper / RH Middle-Order Bat
Major Teams: Easts Pearce Cup Cricket Team

I want to create an environment for young cricketers where they can work on their game, without having the added stress of their team coach or selector looking on. I feel that I can use my experiences to help make these players independent thinkers. Too often I see players do exactly what they see on TV, or exactly what they are told by their coaches, without understanding why they are doing it. I strive to change this.

My opinion on coaching is that, we, as coaches should put the nitty gritty, technical aspects of the game aside, and focus on making players more aware of what they are doing, so that they can really understand their own game, to make them better players. Obviously we need to learn the basics right first, but in some cases, young children can be slightly 'over-coached' resulting in a very confused, and relatively un-aware young cricketer.

Batting and wicket keeping are essentially simple activities that get over-complicated all too often. I believe in using the natural talents of young cricketers and moulding that talent to the make the most of their abilities, rather than trying to make everyone into 'robots'. Young wicket keepers in particular often lack guidance and direction as to what they need to do as most coaches neglect and take them for granted. My passion for wicket keeping makes me want to better all the keepers I see.

Currently 'm the wicket keeper-batsman for the Eastern Suburbs Pearce Cup side. Having been involved in the New Zealand Elite Player Development Squad for the last couple of years and the New Zealand Under-19 set up, I have been exposed to the theories and techniques of New Zealand's best coaches. Not only this, but having toured India has also given me a different view on cricket and the effort needed to succeed. I too implement these philosophies in pursuing my personal ambition to play first-class cricket.

It is my goal here to create independent thinking cricketers that can not only play the game, but also read it too. I want to see a huge change in the way the young cricketers of today think about the game. Turning up and playing on Saturday simply isn't enough. I want to instill a way of thinking into players to ensure they are the ones responsible for their own success. Doing this at a young age is essential, before any irreversible bad habits can develop. By becoming better cricketers, the kids will undoubtedly enjoy the game more as well, since they aren't just doing what some coach has told them to do.

Jamie Gibson