The MCU was well represented in Phase II of the Cricket Ireland/ECB Core Coach course that concluded recently at the historic Campbell College in Belfast.
Run over 2 full weekends, the course was an intense immersive experience for the 14 candidates, a number of whom stayed onsite at the College due to having travelled vast distances in order to attend. As well as theoretical classroom lectures and workshops, the students were trained in the disciplines of session planning, preparation, and presentation. MCU coaches joined their counterparts from Leinster CU, Northern CU and North West CU, all with the common goal of progressing their coaching qualifications in order to help develop grassroots cricket.
The Core Coach programme is a comprehensive coaching qualification that replaces the old Level 2 course. It blends online learning with face-to-face workshops. The e-learning modules cover foundational knowledge, while the in-person sessions focus on practical skills and coaching techniques. To complete the programme, participants must successfully complete all online modules, a safeguarding certification, and a practical coaching assessment. Candidates had to attend 4 full days of on-site learning in addition to the significant online components of the course. With successful completion of the course, the students are able to lead coaching sessions and programmes.
The workload itself was intense. The MCU residential students were working hard on their sessions from before breakfast and late into the night in order to get their presentations prepared and refined. The hallways reverberated to the sound of balls bouncing off the walls as the three Munstermen burned the midnight oil.
Whilst the core focus of the course was practical planning and coaching in the club environment, the nature of the content was such that it has direct application for the MCU Schools Cricket programme. No fewer than four of the candidates on the course are full time School Development Officers for their respective Unions, in addition to one of the tutors.
Coach Education Manager at Cricket Ireland, Stephen Maxwell said “We were delighted to bring through 14 new Core Coach participants through the programme. The Core Coach programme is a very player-centred programme marrying the How to Coach with the Technical and Tactical elements of coaching. Coaches like our most recent cohort will return to their clubs with the coaching tools to develop club players, run schools programmes and have the ability to work across abilities and age profiles.”
MCU School & Club Engagement Officer Rory O’Reilly added: “The course was a terrific experience and a great way to connect with the other unions and share coaching ideas and techniques. I’m looking forward to bringing the new found knowledge back to MCU and help improve the standard of potential players from schools across Munster.”
