GCB What We Do
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GLOUCESTERSHIRE CRICKET BOARD What We Do About the GCB The Gloucestershire Cricket Board (GCB) is a not-for-profit organisation responsible for all recreational cricket across the county, creating links between schools, clubs, leagues and the community. Based at The County Ground in Bristol, we oversee everything from county and district youth teams to groundsmanship and disability cricket. We also support the training of coaches, officials and groundsmen. The GCB has more than 200 affiliated clubs and we are committed to helping them increase their memberships and improve their facilities. Each year the Board coaches more than 10,000 children across 200 schools, trains around 200 new coaches and young leaders and runs 35 representative teams. Affiliated to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) our goal is to develop a fun and enabling environment in which more people in Gloucestershire play and are involved in cricket. 1 Performance Raising the standard of cricket in Gloucestershire and developing future professionals The GCB runs 35 representative teams across its county and district programme. This includes eight boys county squads from under 10s to under 17s and girls As well as enjoying team success, a number of our young players teams at under 13, 15 and 17 level. We also have a senior women’s team and four have received national and regional recognition in recent years. veterans’ teams, two for over 50s and two for over 60s. They include: Junior squads receive coaching during the winter and play competitive matches • Tom Shrewsbury and Miles Hammond – England Under 19 against other counties during the summer culminating in a festival or tour. • Alex Macdonald – England Women’s Academy Squad Underneath county level we run a boys district programme at under 11, 12, 13, 14 • Patrick Grieshaber, Ben Slade and Duvall Pierre – and 15. Every age group has a representative team from each of our four districts - West of England Under 15 Cheltenham and Cotswolds, Bristol, Gloucester and the Forest of Dean and Stroud and South Gloucestershire. They receive coaching during the winter and play each • Fi Morris - England Under 19 Women other home and away during the summer. • Eve Alder – England Under 15 Women’s Development Squad There is also an annual district under 10 festival where the best • Tom Smith – ECB Yorkshire Bank Under 17 Batsman of the Year players in this age group play against each other. The tournament takes place over five days and features seven different teams from across the county. Gloucestershire’s best young players are selected for our Emerging Players Programme (EPP). This is an elite scheme that offers our most talented youngsters individual coaching, fitness and mentoring in addition to the work they do with their age group squads. There is a separate EPP for our best young female players and a development EPP for boys who are just below the full set-up. We also run one-to-one sessions and holiday camps for our county and district players. This is known as the Developing Future Professionals programme. 2 3 Schools Making cricket the sport of choice On average the GCB coaches more than 10,000 children a year in around 200 schools – including work in Colleges, Secondaries, Primaries and Special Schools. Working closely with the Cricket Foundation’s Chance to Shine scheme and our local County Sports Partnerships we provide coaching and competitions throughout the whole year – not just during the cricket season. The GCB runs a number of competitions for primary Our sessions are delivered by qualified coaches and take place in schools and facilitates the local rounds of national curriculum time, during lunchtimes and as after-school clubs. secondary school competitions like the annual Lady They typically involve working with the same school for six to 10 Taverners indoor girls tournament. weeks in order to introduce children to cricket, improve their skills and encourage them to join a local club. At primary level we run three forms of soft ball competition which are made up of more than 35 individual festivals We also deliver bespoke programmes based on a school’s response to our targeting children aged seven to 11. The biggest of these is the Education Offer which provides a menu of different coaching options for Year Five and Six Kwik Cricket festival. This typically involves them to select from. more than 250 teams and over 2500 children each year. The GCB’s schools work includes providing cricket leadership courses for students and professional development opportunities for staff. We also help The City Academy in Bristol to develop their best young players. This includes running an academy for talented young people aged 16 and over. The award-winning programme offers students the chance to combine their education with elite cricket training. 4 5 StreetChance Using cricket to develop young Junaid Hussain – people and build communities StreetChance participant (Easton) StreetChance is a programme that uses cricket as a social tool The GCB’s award-winning StreetChance projects are to engage with young people in some of the county’s most about more than just cricket. disadvantaged areas. “I like StreetChance because everyone gets a chance. The scheme also brings communities together and Led by qualified coaches, each project offers youngsters the chance to play a helps develop the young people who attend. fast-paced version of cricket called Street 20. This is a shortened game that It’s not about individuals; it’s consists of 20-ball-a-side matches using a tennis ball wrapped in tape. Sessions about being a team and everyone An example of this is Junaid Hussain who has take place every week and are free to attend. Participants are also educated on been transformed since attending the sessions unites from the community. some of the social issues they might face including drugs, crime and in Easton – a place in the most deprived 10% of gang culture. I used to get nervous meeting local areas in England according to the Index of new people, but I’ve done it loads Multiple Depravation. Supported by the Cricket Foundation charity, the GCB runs StreetChance projects in both Bristol and Cheltenham. Around half of these are aimed now at StreetChance sessions and Initially lacking confidence and with a short at children aged eight to 15, while the others are for young people and competitions.” attention span, Junaid’s skills and behaviour adults between the ages of 16 and 24. have drastically improved and he is now Junaid Hussain a regular in the Bristol team at national The GCB also has several girls-only StreetChance projects – the competitions. Having never played cricket first to be launched outside London. before StreetChance he has since gone on to join his local club. Our partners include the local police forces, Bristol City Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Bristol City FC. In addition to the weekly sessions the GCB also runs four Bristol StreetChance representative teams who compete in national competitions. 6 7 Women & Girls Growing the women and girls game from the grass roots upwards… Charlie Walker The GCB is committed to supporting the growth of women and girls cricket Charlie Walker began playing cricket at 13 for her at all levels of the game. local men’s village club and is now captain of the Gloucestershire senior women’s team. We currently run four full county teams - under 13, 15, 17 and senior women – who take part in ECB competitions. We also have development squads at under 13 and 15 for Her first involvement with the county performance players just below county level and an under 11 team that play a series of friendly matches. programme came as a 14-year-old when she attended a There is also an Emerging Players Programme (EPP) that provides extra coaching for our junior coaching course and was asked to join the under “Having been through the best young female players aged 11-14. 15 squad. county programme myself The GCB also works with clubs to help them develop women’s and girls’ teams. This After moving to Thornbury CC she went on to play for it is great to be able to has resulted in a growing number of leagues and competitions. These include county the Gloucestershire under 15s, under 17s and senior help the next generation leagues at under 13 and 15 level and two at senior level. There are also local leagues women by the age of 15. of players come through. and an annual under 11 festival. Having captained the under 17s Charlie served as vice- There are a number of captain in the senior side for a couple of years before These competitions are overseen by the GCB’s Women and Girls Development girls who I have coached Group which is responsible for driving the women and girls game forward in taking over as skipper. She has also represented the Gloucestershire. There are also a growing number of opportunities for women England Women’s indoor team. in the age groups that and girls to play more informal cricket including indoor leagues and girls-only are now playing with me StreetChance sessions. As she progressed through the ranks she decided she wanted to give something back and at 19 she completed in the senior team. Girls To support our clubs there is a strategic programme of coaching in schools her level one coaching qualification. cricket has gone from aimed at encouraging girls to try cricket and pursue it out of school. The GCB strength to strength in also facilitates the local rounds of national girls schools competitions including She has since gone on to become a level two coach and the Lady Taverners’ indoor secondary school competitions in the winter and the is the under 13 county girls manager.