Folkestone Cricket Academy 2023

Folkestone Cricket Club is pleased to confirm the continuation of its Junior Academy for 2023, providing a Pathway from Junior to Senior cricket. As in previous years, S & J Brickwork will be sponsoring this and we are grateful for their continued support that allows the Academy to operate for free and without charge to those invited.

12-15 year olds Pathway to Senior cricket

Giving our best Juniors the skills required to not just play Senior cricket but to contribute and dominate. Graduates of this program should have the confidence and ambition to forge a path to the top of the club.

Day to day running

All sessions will be organised and run by Head Coach Roy Downey, with a coaching team to include Ekky Singh our 1^st Team Overseas player from Australia, Chetan Kurandale our Senior Coach for this year along with other established coaches from within the club including 1^st Team Captain Chris Jay, all-rounder Nick Ward and Head Junior coach Tim Smith.

Roy is a Qualified ECB Level 2 Coach. During a distinguished playing career he was part of the FCC team that won the Premier League in 1989 and was honoured as Kent League Player of the Year in 1996. Roy also coached Folkestone 1^st X1 to the Premier League 2-day Championship in 2001 and Folkestone 2nds to two successive championships.

Roy says he has seen many young, very talented cricketers fall by the wayside because of a poor attitude. The Academy wants to help youngsters have a mature and level headed approach to our wonderful game.

Ekky is this season’s 1^st XI Overseas Player from Australia where he plays for Blacktown District Cricket Club in the Sydney Premier League. He’s a top order batsman supported by very effective right arm off spin. He’s been coaching for over 5 years and this is his third cricketing summer in the UK. Previous achievements include being a member of the NSW U16 National Championship winning team.

Chetan joins us again from India having spent 2022 here initially as a player, however once we realised the depth of his coaching abilities, it was great to invite him back this year to run our Senior training sessions.

Chris, Nick and Tim are familiar faces at the club with a wealth of playing and coaching experience in both club and representative cricket to share with the Academy group.

Roy and the coaching team feel these Academy sessions are the ideal opportunity for them to provide a professional environment and develop each individual players abilities and approach to the game. They will work to create goals and stepping stones to help monitor progress.

In return we request that the work of our coaches during the Academy sessions is respected and please allow your child to benefit from the opportunity provided.

Proposed Program Timeline

The Junior Academy will run 8 x 2 hour morning sessions starting at 10am commencing Sunday 4^th June through to Sunday 23^rd July.

Academy players will receive sponsored training tops that they can wear with pride and promote the FCC Junior Academy culture.

The Academy aims to run as an additional training session to our regular Junior sessions and the expectation would be that Academy players still attend their usual training session as well.

Goals of the Academy

When planning a player’s pathway, the Junior Academy will keep 3 goals in mind as follows:

Have a positive Cricket experience
Creating an environment where cricket is enjoyable and players have a sense of achievement.
Progress to perform at their best
Providing players with the opportunity to develop their individual cricket skills and build skill sets required for adult cricket transition.
Be motivated to progress their Senior Cricket with us
Awareness, confidence and enthusiasm to pursue the cricket pathway leading to first team representation.

Assessment

It is key that the Academy can justify and give every Junior a fair attempt at making the squad. Roy has been closely monitoring recent Junior training sessions and early season games, as well as liaising with the age group coaches to assess which Juniors he thinks would benefit from joining the Academy. As Parents and Guardians, we can assure you that the decisions made have been well considered and a due process has been followed.

The aim is to select 18-20 players from within the Clubs U13 and U15 age groups. If your child is selected to join the Academy, there will be an expectation that each is a paid up Club Member and committed to playing their competitive Club cricket at both Junior and Senior level, for Folkestone Cricket Club. We also ask that parents give 100% support to their son/daughter through this opportunity.

Parents whose children are selected to join the Academy will be sent an email in the next 48 hours. If you feel you may be unable to make this commitment or wish to discuss the opportunity provided, please contact us at the earliest opportunity (Jo Krayenbrink on 07721023868) as it may be possible to offer the place to another child.

We wish all children involved in the Academy an enjoyable and successful summer.

Laurence Ward
Chairman