Derbyshire County Cricket Club is delighted to announce the Boys Mini Academy intake for the 2022 season.
The Mini Academy headed up by Daryn Smit (Head of Talent Pathway) will be working throughout the winter period with eight young cricketers from the ages of 13 to 15 training at the Incora County Ground, Gateway Centre.
The players will be working closely with Derbyshire County Cricket Club coaching staff and support staff including Gareth Marshall (Player Pathway Officer), Ajmal Shahzad (Assistant Coach, Bowling Lead), Chris Highton (Lead Analyst and Pathway Coach), Ben Hutchinson (Age Group Pathway Coach) and Matt Mayer (Strength & Conditioning Coach).
For these players it is a great opportunity to hone their skills and fitness levels with the contact time they will get with the coaches and support staff. These players should be looking to follow Yousaf Bin Naeem who was a part of the Mini Academy only last year and has now moved up into the main Academy intake.
The winter programme will consist of coaching for three hours at a time, twice a week focusing on individual and small group work. This will include identifying different themes, game scenarios, technique and plans with the coaches. Matt Mayer will also be working the players hard to improve their fitness, strength, agility, speed and movement patterns throughout the winter.
The Mini-Academy Intake for 2022 are as follows:
Harry Moore (Clifton CC), Luke Taylor (Rolleston CC), Digby Evans (Hayfield CC), Jake Cherry (Ticknall CC), Harrison Parker (Hollinsend Methodist CC), Zak Kelly (Hayfield CC), Jake Green (Spondon CC) and Jimmy Fry (Ockbrook & Borrowash CC).
Daryn Smit said “The work done at this stage of a players development is vital and our intake for future Academy groups will undoubtedly come from the core of this year’s intake.
“Not having run a full Mini Academy programme for the better part of two winters now, we will be looking to invest as much of our time and energy as possible into this group of players to try and bridge the gap in the void that has been created by covid over the past two years.
“We have a really talented group of young players and I am excited to see them grow and develop both as players and people over the next year.”
Details of the main Academy intake will be announced in the next few weeks.
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