Sport
6 February, 2023
Under 14 girls ready for Country Week tournament, starting at Carisbrook next week
Country Week cricket returns this weekend, with the under 14 girls team set to take centre stage for their matches in the T20 Just for Girls competition. The team were treated to a session with Cricket Victoria Junior Director of Coaching Ron Rooney...
Country Week cricket returns this weekend, with the under 14 girls team set to take centre stage for their matches in the T20 Just for Girls competition.
The team were treated to a session with Cricket Victoria Junior Director of Coaching Ron Rooney on Sunday afternoon ahead of their Country Week campaign, which begins in earnest next Sunday.
The Maryborough area will be hosting the first round of matches next weekend, with two games to be held at Princes Park, while Maryborough will be playing two home games at Carisbrook Recreation Reserve against Grampians and Castlemaine respectively.
They’ll then make their way to Kyneton the following Sunday to play their final round-robin game against Gisborne, followed by their final game.
Under 14 girls coach and co-ordinator Leigh Koop said it was an exciting opportunity to build the girls’ skills ahead of the tournament, while they’ll also be searching for a breakthrough victory in what is now their fifth tournament.
“I’m excited to give them an opportunity to get involved in cricket and enjoy it. The approach is to give a chance to have fun and platform an opportunity for girls around the district and the local Maryborough area,” he said.
“It’s a chance for girls to get involved in a community and grassroots level of cricket and just have fun, while also enjoying the chance to learn game skillsets, being in a good environment while socially getting together, and hope that we have the big cricketers of the future coming through the local area.”
Koop hailed having Rooney devote his time to improving the girls’ craft, saying that his level of knowledge has simply been invaluable to the Maryborough District Cricket League (MDCA) junior program.
“Having Ron Rooney come along with his wealth of cricket knowledge is something we’re lucky to have through the Central Highlands region. The approach to have his services available as an elite cricket coach, with his skillsets and experience is great, and you can see the girls grow their knowledge and improve as the session went on. To have him come and enjoy his services is a good platform to start the program for girls cricket,” he said.
“I’m hoping to continue to build the total game awareness and having the girls learning and progressing, while also having fun. Youth community cricket is part of the platform to bigger things in their career, and the girls have built on their skills from previous seasons by having that game awareness with bat and ball, while also having a positive mindset.”
Koop says he has settled on a leadership group which he believes will continue to drive the girls team forward in their cricket.
“We are on track and we will have a couple of leaders involved in a leadership group, which will be Arabella Koop and Ella Govan, who have had experience at playing at a representative level. They’ll drive the girls forward and have the approach to enjoy it,” he said.
According to Rooney, there’s every chance that they will indeed enjoy their cricket, off the back of Sunday’s session.
“It’s always fantastic. The enthusiasm and the development of cricket over the last 12 months in the Central Highlands region has been amazing. Leigh Koop has been the driving force in the Maryborough region, and it’s been great to see the potential of the girls, especially with the pathway and the opportunity for them to move up in the sport. Hopefully one or two of them play cricket beyond the Maryborough district,” he said.
“In just a short time, you could see the improvement. They’ve probably had little to no exposure to cricket coaching at representative level, and just one or two little points make a big difference. I found they have a natural ability to strike the ball, with their hand-eye co-ordination. “The joy you get out of coaching, to see how quickly they improve, and their enjoyment of just having little wins along the way, is great.”
Rooney kept his eye on the girls’ improvement between the start of the session and the end, noting that there were obvious changes.
“I think the biggest difference between the start and the end of the session was that they found out how hard they can hit the ball. If we teach them the correct follow-through, they can hit it a lot further, and it made a big difference straight away. In their bowling, just by improving their technique it improves their momentum to get the ball down the other end quicker and more accurately. Those little things improve them and spur them on,” he said.
“The same thing happened last year. Just by getting them to play the game environment should help them in their cricket over the next couple of months. I look forward to coming back and working with them again — as you see the big difference in their ability during that time.”
Rooney said that it was great to have cricket in Maryborough thrive at a junior participation level, noting the hard work of Koop in particular.
“I’ve been coaching for 45 years, while also working for 10 years at Cricket Australia as their coaching and development manager. But it’s all about getting back to the grassroots and helping develop cricket, particularly in the country areas, where cricket has always seemed to be struggling — but not here in Maryborough, and it’s due to Leigh and his dad being keen and looking to link in and give opportunities to people,” he said.
“One of the reasons my appointment as junior director of coaching was made was to work in areas where cricket had been on a bit of a decline, and the proof is in the pudding that the re-establishment of rep teams, and the establishment of a girls team, shows that cricket is on the way up again.”
Koop agreed, while also saying that the backing of the MDCA had helped immensely in fielding multiple teams for Country Week this year.
“While it’s been impacted by COVID, to have the senior management of the MDCA get behind our youth development and formulate coaches in the representative pathway gives them an opportunity to get back into it. All cricketers have something to aspire to other than their club now, which is fantastic,” he said.
