North Kildare cricket club hosted the Leinster Midlands coaching clinic on the 13th of July Friday at their grounds The Maws, Kilcock. It was a free event open to club members and new comers from all of the midlands clubs such as Mullingar cricket club, Knockharley cc, etc.. There were 2 sessions held, one for the U11's and one for the U13's and youth. 10 kids attended each session. We were delighted to have the Leinster coaches Fintan McAllister (Fingal CCDO) and Reinhardt Strydom (Dublin city CCDO) who taught bowling, batting, fielding and catching techniques using fun games, to kids and, our coaches received tips to improve their coaching skills using innovative techniques. Reinhardt is a Level 3 coach and a highly respected coach education tutor, while Fintan is a Level 3 coach and is one of the top wicket keeping coaches in Ireland. They also shared their experiences with the young cricketers, which could help them perform better in their league matches. And they both have played cricket for Ireland on the senior and youth teams over the years.
“Leinster choose two locations every year to hold 'midlands coaching visits'. They proposed that the event be held at our club this year. This is mainly due to the fact that all the cricket community development officers (CCDOs) are placed in the greater Dublin area. In order for Cricket Leinster to get a CCDO in a county they need to get the buy in from the Local Sports Partnership or the County Council. It is only very recently that a part time CCDO was placed into Meath. Cricket Leinster is certainly expanding their reach. We hope that Kildare is not too far away from benefitting from the advantages of having a CCDO. These midlands coaching visits helps Cricket Leinster see the local talent; up-skill the club coaches, and it helps put our club on the map of Leinster Cricket Union”, as described by Naomi Scott-Hayward (Leinster Development officer for South Dublin and coach of North Kildare cricket club).
She also said, being a Friday can be difficult to get the numbers down that we would like. Perhaps if it was held the same night as our normal junior training - Tuesday evenings (7-8.30pm) then we would have been able to benefit the kids and coaches even more. However, it is important to get the right coaches available to come down and we were delighted to have Reinhardt Strydom and Fintan McAllister from Leinster to carry on the sessions.
(As quoted by Brían O'Rourke, Leinster Development Manager)
"It was a pleasure for Leinster coaches to spend time with the schoolchildren and coaches at North Kildare Cricket Club last week. The Union are impressed with the plans the club has in place to spread the game within the local community and hopefully all present got something from the sessions that took place.
The Leinster coaches this week visit another Midland club – Wexford CC where they hope to assist further development plans the club has to develop the game further in the South East." ~ Brían O'Rourke (Leinster Development Manager).
Overview of the North Kildare Cricket club:
The club was started in 1923 as a Cricket and Tennis Club and has now become a hub of multiple sports and activities for the community! We have Bowls, Cricket, Hockey, Rugby and Tennis, a gym, Montessori, Playball, art classes, pilates classes within the campus and we also host functions for the locals and our members. The facilities also include a fully equipped clubhouse with bar, meeting rooms and car park. Currently we have 100 members in the cricket club alone. We provide individual or family memberships for single as well as multisport at the club.
The North Kildare cricket club has expanded over the years and currently fields four men’s teams, two women’s teams and a spectrum of youth teams in the Leinster Cricket League, for both boys and girls from different countries, catering to cricketers from the age of 5, trained by certified coaches.
This year we had 3 of our youth members picked for the South Dublin U13 District Competitions, the team came 2nd overall. Our U13’s team are the group toppers of the Minor B league in the south division. We have had numerous members play cricket for Ireland youth and senior squads - Melissa Scott-Hayward, Jennifer Grey, Keara Pyne, .......
I would like to extend my thanks to Brian O Rourke (Leinster Development officer), the 2 leinster coaches Fintan McAllister and Reinhardt Strydom and Naomi Scott-Hayward (Development officer for South Dublin and member / Coach of North Kildare cricket club youth), Judith Neuman (President North Kildare cricket club) and Anne O’ Meara (North Kildare Junior Coach and development officer Meath) for all their help and support with the coaching and running the sessions successfully.
The club is open for new members to play at variety of levels and expertise. For all enquiries regarding renting the facilities of the club or joining the club get in touch, email id: northkildarecc@gmail.com or through the contacts section of the North Kildare cricket club website.
Photo 1: North Kildare juniors (U11’s) getting some catching practice from Leinster coaches
Photo 2: North Kildare juniors (U13’s) and youth at the leinster coaching clinic featured with Leinster coaches Reinhardt Strydom and Fintan McAllister along with North Kildare junior coach and Development officer for Meath, Anne O’ Meara.