SMCC & 360 Cricket Junior Coaching Pathway

What is the SMCC & 360 Cricket Junior Coaching Pathway?

In 2022, SMCC and our coaching partners 360 Cricket are putting in place a clearer structure for teenagers who wish to get involved in coaching as a volunteer and for paid part-time work.

The Young Leaders in Cricket course will now be targeted specifically at players in their Under 15 year (school year 10). Players taking part in Young Leaders will complete a 3 hour ECB Activator course to learn the fundamentals of being a helpful and engaging support coach.

Contingent on each year-group of Young Leaders having one or more parents willing to volunteer to coordinate the Young Leaders' schedules, we will aim to provide all Young Leaders with the opportunity to carry out some hours of voluntary support coaching, working with the younger players at the club at summer term training.

After that initial year, 360 will aim to provide the most promising support coach volunteers with opportunities for paid support coaching work over the next three years.

Upon reaching 16 years of age, we will expect all paid support coaches to gain the ECB Support Coach qualification. This is a simple and fun course lasting 1 day.

Upon reaching 18 years of age, support coaches wishing to become lead coaches will need to qualify as an ECB Foundation 1 Coach. This is a longer course consisting of 4 x 3h sessions learning to coach, 7 e-learning modules of 10-15 minutes and a multiple choice assessment.

Qualified Foundation 1 Coaches may be offered opportunities to lead coaching sessions, supported by Support Coaches, and by gaining more skills and experience, lead coaches can become more senior coaches with remuneration potentially rising accordingly.

360 Cricket will aim to involve upcoming support and lead coaches in the delivery of coaching year-round - indoor courses, holiday camps and our summer training programme, and potentially also opportunities beyond SMCC.

About paid coaching work

Paid coaching work is real work and as with any other job, support coaches and lead need to meet the high expectations of both 360 Cricket and SMCC Juniors in order to be offered more work.

Equally, 360 Cricket take their responsibilities as employers seriously and will be aiming to help develop the skills and experience of their coaches as they continue to grow as an organisation.

About qualifications

ECB Activator (as part of Young Leaders)

"The Activator is the key volunteer who will create a fun and inclusive environment for kids and parents alike. Activators should be enthusiastic, vibrant and motivated people who will inspire young children and create a fantastic all-round experience."

This 3 hour training is designed to prepare volunteers to help run the ECB's All Stars and Dynamos programmes for children aged 5-8 and 8-11.

ECB Support Coach

Takes approx 1 day in total.

1 x 3h face-to-face practical session, learning to be a support coach (similar to Activator) + DBS check and Safeguarding e-learning modules.

“Designed to give learners the knowledge, skills and confidence to support qualified coaches. An ECB Support Coach is not qualified to lead coaching sessions independently and therefore must be supervised by a qualified cricket coach.”

Course cost in 2022: £40.

If the support coach completes at least 15 hours of paid work to the satisfaction of 360 Cricket, in addition to being paid for the coaching he/she will be reimbursed the cost of the course by 360/ SMCC.

DBS (criminal record) check: £0 for volunteers or approx £30 for paid coaches.

How to book: Courses are run by county boards. These courses are run almost entirely in the off-season (mainly Oct-March). You’ll need to check the Surrey Cricket Foundation and Kent Cricket websites from autumn onwards to look out for course dates being announced and/or email them to enquire. Kent’s courses held at their cricket centre in Beckenham can be more convenient than the Surrey-run courses.

ECB Foundation 1 Coach

Normally takes several weeks.

4 x 3h face-to-face practical session, learning to coach + 7 x e-learning modules of 10-15 mins and multiple choice assessment.

“Designed to give learners the knowledge, skills and confidence to coach cricket sessions that are purposeful, active, safe and enjoyable. An ECB Foundation I Coach will be qualified to lead coaching sessions independently and without supervision.”

Course cost in 2022: £150

If the support coach completes at least 50 hours of paid work to the satisfaction of 360 Cricket, in addition to being paid for the coaching he/she will be reimbursed the cost of the course by 360/ SMCC.

DBS check: £0 for volunteers or approx £30 for paid coaches.

How to book: Courses are run by county boards. These courses are run almost entirely in the off-season (mainly Oct-March). You’ll need to check the Surrey Cricket Foundation and Kent Cricket websites from autumn onwards to look out for course dates being announced and/or email them to enquire. Kent’s courses held at their cricket centre in Beckenham can be more convenient than the Surrey-run courses.

Process for reimbursement of qualification course costs

1. Player/parents pay for the course up front.

2. Player carries out the specified number of paid hours of coaching.

3. Assuming the hours are carried out to the satisfaction of 360 Cricket, the player can then claim reimbursement of their course cost.

4. 360 Cricket pay the player the cost of the course (on top of payment for coaching hours) and SMCC reimburse 360 Cricket for 50% of the fees.

Success stories to date

Two of our current lead coaches got their first taste of coaching during the first year that we ran the Young Leaders course. We also have multiple support coaches helping run our training sessions and camps who started as Young Leaders.

We look forward to growing these numbers over time.