Brían O'Rourke was last night awarded the Coach of the Year Award for 2020 at the Annual Irish Cricket Awards.
Brían is synonymous with underage coaching in Ireland and has directly contributed to the growth and development of countless Inter-provincial and International cricketers over the past 25 years.
He has fulfilled a variety of roles since 1995, coaching Ireland teams from Under-15 through to Under-19 level, taking charge of Under-19 World Cup campaigns in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Brían has also been heavily involved at inter-provincial level, leading Leinster Under 15's at every tournament since 1997 enjoying an unprecedented and unrivalled level of success over that period.
Brían instigated a comprehensive tour programme for Leinster youth sides, giving them opportunities against quality representative sides from the UK - to date 70 such tours have taken place for Leinster teams aged 11 to 19, with notable wins against county opposition, including Gloucestershire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
He has also gained expertise by working in Australia and South Africa, forging valuable pioneering partnerships between those countries and Irish cricket – indeed no fewer than 50 youngsters have been placed in South African schools since 2003, many of whom have subsequently played for Leinster Lightning, Northern Knights and Ireland.
He has organised training camps in India and Spain, helping future Irish cricketers obtain valuable overseas playing experience.Brían has been involved in the establishment of many new clubs over the past few years, including Adamstown, Dundalk, Swords, Tyrreslstown, DLR County, Carlow and Finglas.
As CL Development Manager for North Leinster, Brían is responsible for all underage development across Dublin City, Fingal and all adjoining counties.
He has been instrumental in building Cricket Leinster’s funding support programme for Cricket Development from Local Authorities who respect his delivery prowess and integrity.
In 2020 alone (during the pandemic year), Brían’s contribution was enormous and included such highlights as:
- Establishment of the new Fingal 'School of Excellence' youth outdoor training programme at Balbriggan CC - Sept/October.
- Coaching and oversight of a talented group of Leinster u15 boys to series' wins vs Munster and NCU - July/August.
- Was involved in a coaching role with Leinster Lightning for sessions and all matches winning both the IP20 and IP 50 series' whilst remaining unbeaten throughput.
- Provided day-long coaching sessions throughout the summer to Fingal clubs for the benefit of all underage players.
- Continued to administer and lead all District Cup games for both the u11 & u13 age-groups, an initiative that has grown in popularity since it started in 2018.
Cricket Leinster is delighted and proud that Brían’s contribution has been recognised with this National Coaching Award.