THE Wollen Michelmore South Devon Youth Cricket League are inviting member clubs to attend an innovative new club seminar event  being held at the Devon Cricket Centre on Sunday, April 22 (10am-1pm).

The event has been organised in response to comments and requests from clubs that they often struggle to recruit and train volunteers to help with junior their sections.

Workshops will focus on areas such as coaching, umpiring and result administration - specifically relevant to youth cricket - with a focus on keeping cost and time commitments to a minimum.

Chris Partridge, the league chairman, said the seminar was additional to the support offered by the Devon Cricket Board.

‘We know there are some great courses out there run by the likes of Devon Cricket Board and DACO, but the feedback from clubs is that their volunteers who may occasionally help with junior training or matches do not always have the time or interest to sign up for the formal courses and qualifications,’ said Partridge.

“We are aiming to offer a selection of short workshops over one morning so that parents, older juniors or other club helpers can come and get a few tips and bits of advice specifically relevant to their role in junior cricket.

“It is completely free for member clubs and they can send as many representatives as they want.”

Partridge will be one of the presenters, using his background in teaching to run workshops around structuring junior training nights effectively and addressing areas such as behaviour management and retaining players interest levels.

“Clubs are always eager to get new young faces through the gates and there are many clubs in South Devon who now have 40, 80 or more than 100 young people at their club nights,” said Partridge.

“The problems lots of coaches face are not necessarily about having the technical knowledge to coach skills, but how to get children’s attention and keep them ‘on task’ throughout a session so that they actually improve their playing skills by attending coaching.”

Ian Western, the league chairman and an umpiring member of DACO will be leading a workshop for junior match umpires.

Dennis White, Devon’s expert on the ECB’s Play-Cricket platform, will be helping clubs to make the most of technology in scoring and reporting results.

There will also be a focus on the strategic development of junior sections in member clubs with Chagford’s Chris Mount giving a presentation on how his club have been successful in expanding their junior section.

The morning will be rounded off by a networking session where clubs can share ideas and examples of best practice.

As part of the league’s new focus on the match-day experience for junior players, every club attending the seminar will receive a free Having A Blast kit of accessories, which can be used to help with the atmosphere at SDYCL matches.

More details about the event are available from Partridge on 07887 513800.