Innovative partnership is changing lives at Yorkshire’s Cricket College

Just under a month ago, one of Yorkshire’s finest, Joe Root, was named as the captain of England’s Test side and after succeeding Alastair Cook, the 26-year-old proudly declared: “I feel privileged, humbled and excited.”

The place where Root grew up, and learned to become one of the best batsmen on the planet, was Yorkshire CCC, a club accustomed to developing its young players into world beaters – but they are refusing to rest on their laurels.

They might be one of the most successful teams in English cricket, with the brilliant Headingley to call home, but Yorkshire want to carry on improving on and off the pitch. September this year will see the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation being proudly brought to all cricketers looking to further their education, at the new Yorkshire Cricket College.

The Yorkshire Cricket Foundation is the club’s official charity and community arm.  The charity delivers projects across the county under the themes of Education, Health, Participation, Inclusion and Heritage. Using the power of cricket, the foundation aims to make a lasting, positive impact on the lives of those living Yorkshire.

SCL is an innovative OFSTED-approved private education provider that allows grass-roots and professional sport clubs to inspire youngsters in their communities into education.

Starting this September, Yorkshire Cricket Foundation and SCL will be teaming up to create a programme for all cricketers, of any level or ability, between the ages of 16-18, with the aim being to develop both the academic and playing talent of the students.

Speaking to Nick Robinson, Project Manager at the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, it’s clear that finding a first-class, first-team player in the programme would be an added bonus – providing youngsters with an education is the main aim.

“We’d been looking to develop our educational offer at the foundation for a few years,” Robinson told The Cricket Paper, “and we had heard about a few county cricket clubs, football clubs and rugby clubs running colleges and BTEC courses, and that’s where we wanted to move forward to.

“Hopefully, the opportunity to be educated at Headingley Stadium, as well as cricket training being built into the curriculum and the students’ weekly schedule will be something a lot of young people might be keen on.

“We hope that those who might not be sure on what college to go to or whether they’re going to do their A-Levels or a BTEC might like to be involved in what we are doing, and if they are, we will make sure we can provide them with all they need.”

To produce players from your own youth set-up is a huge aim for any professional club, but Robinson also knows how vital it is that young cricketers get the chance to learn, and are provided with an education to fall back on if they don’t make it as elite players.

If a talented player joins Yorkshire Cricket College, Robinson says they will have the chance to be noticed, but he also hopes that those who just love cricket, whatever their ability, will jump at the chance to train at Yorkshire and with their coaching team.

Robinson said: “For us, as a foundation, the educational side holds as much gravitas as the cricket side of things. We’re not looking for elite cricketers. This college is open for people to come and do a BTEC level 3 in sport, but also having the added advantage of developing your cricket game at the same time.

“We want to create a really good college – somewhere that’s a great place to be educated, and a really good teaching environment, with just the added bonus that part of your week is training with our coaches and playing matches under the Yorkshire Cricket banner.

“Whether you’re looking to become a very serious cricketer or a keen club cricketer, the Yorkshire Cricket College will help students realise their potential.

Learning and training in an environment such as Headingley, using the club’s training facilities, will be a unique hook most colleges can’t offer, as will the fact students will be in and around the professional players at Yorkshire.

 

As pre-season gathers pace, the White Rose squad are in four days a week, preparing for the upcoming campaign, and Robinson believes the professionals will encourage the students to work hard and do their best.

“With the players being around,” said Robinson, “there will be lots of opportunities for the students to talk to them, and maybe find out how they balanced their cricketing commitments as youngsters around their education.

“Having spoken to the players myself, a very regular comment they give is that there was nothing around when they were at school that let them be educated and train in the same place. For the majority of them, that meant their education suffered.

“Fortunately, the ones we are speaking to, are successful cricketers, playing at Yorkshire. However, I’m sure there are many stories where players had to sacrifice education for cricket, and then cricket didn’t turn out quite as well for them.

“We can offer students a great opportunity, and hopefully they can learn from the professionals, and recognise that hard-work can take them to the top, whether that’s in cricket or another pathway.”

The Yorkshire Cricket College will provide many pathways for the youngsters, and will give them every opportunity to develop themselves as young people and young sports people.

The programme offers a host of cricketing opportunities, such as watching the first team train and play, educational sessions located next to the nets where players train, and three cricket sessions a week, run by Yorkshire Cricket’s coaching team.

But, off the field, thanks to the new Yorkshire Cricket College, young people will also be offered pathways to university, internships, work experience placements and volunteering roles, too, thanks to the BTEC Level 3 extended diploma in Sport.

Robinson highlighted the vast array of benefits the programme can offer, and said: “The BTECH qualification and development of life skills will give young people a springboard, and the ability to move forward once their two years with us has finished.

“If they want to go on to university, they can, because the diploma provides enough UCAS points, but that’s not the pathway for everyone. At Yorkshire, there are different roles inside the club that you learn about, if that’s what you want to do after college.

“We can provide work experience and insight across the varying departments of the professional club including commercial, operations, media department and marketing teams. There are so many different career pathways we can highlight to them and say, ‘look, if you feel this is where your talents lie, this is where you could move forward’.”

Lewis Field, Chief Executive and co-owner at SCL, agrees with Robinson, and is just as passionate about what SCL and the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation are providing. Field said: “I am passionate about improving the lives of young people through sport-based learning and education, creating a legacy in the communities we serve. This programme will give those who want a career in cricket a unique opportunity to stay in education while keeping one eye on the dream of progressing through to first team or other relevant opportunities within sport.”

Steve Franks, Partnership Director and Co-owner at SCL, added: “At SCL we find that combining education with sport and delivering programmes from inspiring sports facilities has a real power for engaging young people. We are delighted to be launching a Cricket College with Yorkshire and look forward to making it a first-class experience for all our learners.”

Clearly, both SCL and Yorkshire Cricket are singing from the same hymn sheet, and are set on providing young people with every chance possible to enjoy their education, alongside a sport they love, and make sure they get the most out of their time with the club.

England’s leading man comes from Yorkshire, and came through the ranks of this famous old club, but Robinson doesn’t care if the next Root comes from this innovative new programme or not. He’s just proud the Yorkshire Cricket are giving back to the community.

“We want to make it as inclusive as possible, boys and girls. Being interested in cricket is a pre-requisite because you will play a lot, but that’s it,” said Robinson.

“The fact we can give someone a BTEC qualification, as well as keeping them active while many young people are dropping out of sport and physical activity, is a good news story itself, let alone finding the next Yorkshire batsmen or bowler.”

To find out more about the Cricket contact Yorkshire cricket college on 01132033632. To find out more about the education contact the SCL Team on 03456445747