Derby College teams up with Cricket Derbyshire to highlight sporting career opportunities

Derby College and Derbyshire County Cricket Club are holding an open day on Friday July 15 at the Derbyshire County Ground to outline the opportunities available to young people in professional sports.

Young people interested in the Academy will receive free tickets for the Derbyshire Falcons match against Sri Lanka A, starting at 2pm and then attend an open day at the County Ground between 6.30pm and 8pm to find out more about the Academy.

The Cricket Derbyshire Sports Academy gives Derby College learners the opportunity to further their employability skills in the sports industry through specialist training and work experience. Learners on the BTEC Level 3 Sports Coaching programme are based at Broomfield Hall and attend the County Ground twice a week under the guidance of Academy Director AJ Harris who enjoyed a 17-year first-class professional cricket career predominantly with Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. AJ explained: “This partnership with Derby College enables us to open up the opportunity for more players to get a more in-depth knowledge in the game. “They benefit from the first class facilities here, take part in high quality coaching sessions and gain an insight into the wider job opportunities available in sport including coaching and physiotherapy. “Our sessions focus on the five aspects of sport – technical, tactical, physical, mental and lifestyle through practical and theory sessions. “Academy members also have one to one support to focus on areas of their cricket game that need to be improved and also their own future career aspirations. “This support complements their College course and opens up a far wider appreciation of the career opportunities within cricket and sport in general.”

One of this year’s Cricket Derbyshire Sports Academy members is Emma Thatcher (18) who plays senior cricket at Ockbrook and Borrowash Cricket Club and is also training with the Derbyshire senior women’s team. Emma explained: “I was keen to join the Academy to improve my cricket and also to hopefully to give me the edge on my university applications to study sports physiotherapy. “The coaching is amazing and we get a lot of one to one support to work on areas of the game that we need to improve. “We also get access to the latest coaching techniques and seeing AJ in action is a real inspiration so it is great to see how the theory is put into practice. “I have a far greater insight into the world of coaching and sports development now and it is an honour to be able to use the facilities and see behind the scenes of the county cricket club. “It’s also a particularly exciting time to be part of women’s cricket with Derbyshire being a host ground for the 2016 Women’s Cricket World Cup.”

Derby College Business Director, April Hayhurst, explained that the Cricket Derbyshire Sport Academy had been launched in response to identified skills gaps and growing job opportunities in the sector as was part of the Employer Academy programme at Derby College. “The sports industry is a growing sector both locally and nationally and are key elements of the visitor economy which is a key growth area in this area identified by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership. “By working with employers such as Cricket Derbyshire we are shaping the curriculum to their needs and ensuring that students benefit from direct input from industry professionals in the workplace. “The young people also gain valuable training in cricket as well as work experience in other key employment areas such as coaching.  “This approach ensures that our students develop both the technical knowledge and the skills and attitudes that employers need – addressing skills shortages in the workplace to help businesses and organisations grow. “It also ensures that our students are work-ready with the employability skills they need to get jobs and be successful in their future careers.”

Derbyshire CCC Commercial Director, Ryan Duckett, concluded: “Members of the Cricket Derbyshire Sports Academy gain a valuable insight into the wealth of jobs available in cricket – on and off the field which they can take with them into the industry through whichever route they choose – jobs, apprenticeships or university.”

To register for the event, please contact www.derby-college.ac.uk/dcccricketacademyopenday 

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