Captain Billy Godleman has donated a third of his prize fund for winning a Professional Cricketers’ Association Personal Development Scholarship Award to the Derby YMCA.
Godleman was successful in the Current Players category of the Awards and makes the donation to his local YMCA, an organisation he has supported since he joined Derbyshire from Essex in 2013.
He said: “I know that everyone is not as privileged as I am to have things that I take for granted like food and shelter.
“I am very fortunate to have those on a daily basis. If I can, in some way, give back to help other people, that’s incredibly satisfying for myself.”
The awards, which were introduced in 2013, reward the most proactive current and former professional cricketers in England and Wales who have sought ways to develop and improve themselves off the pitch.
Godleman relished the opportunity to discuss his personal progression with the PCA panel and develop his presenting skills in the process.
He added: “The interview was a fantastic experience for someone who has never put together a PowerPoint presentation before. To go through that process then go and deliver it publicly really took me out of my comfort zone.
“I was anxious and nervous before starting but I felt a real sense of achievement having finished. I will take great positivity from the experience.”
Godleman’s varied CV of Personal Development includes training as a counsellor at Newman University in Birmingham, doing an introductory course in sign language and obtaining a Level Three coaching qualification.
“I would say that, from my own experience, Personal Development has had an incredible impact on my life.
“The people that I have met and the skills I have acquired outside of cricket have really informed my personal energy and my performances out on the field have improved also. Most importantly, my personal well-being as a human being is far greater now.”
Other winners included Yorkshire batsman Alex Lees and Leicestershire wicketkeeper/batsman Lewis Hill in the Newcomers category, with former Surrey seamer Tim Linley and former Warwickshire slow left-armer Paul Best triumphing in the Past Player Progression Personal Development Awards.
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