Last month Whitgift launched its very own Cricket Academy for boys at the school from years 8-13. Boys on the academy are able to access four hours of cricket training a week, over a 28-week period. The first cohort of 20 boys will enjoy specialist support in all areas of their game, including physical conditioning, technical and tactical development, as well as mental resilience training.
With a dedicated team of expert coaches – including Head Coach, Mr Paul Hindmarch (Level 3 ECB Head Coach, Durham CCC) and Head of Cricket Performance, Mr Neil Kendrick (ECB Level 4 Coach, Surrey CCC) – combined with Whitgift’s multi-million pound facilities, the academy is a unique opportunity in the South East of England for talented young cricketers.
The academy aim is to deliver a county academy programme in a school environment, with the hope of developing future county and international cricketers, who can follow in the footsteps of Old Whitgiftians Jason Roy (England, Surrey), Laurie Evans (Warwickshire, Surrey), Rory Burns (Surrey), Dominic Sibley (Surrey) and Matthew Spriegel (Surrey, Northamptonshire).
On Tuesday 18 October, Whitgift was delighted to welcome Dominic Sibley and Rory Burns, who dropped in to an academy session to meet the students and talk about their training. The pair shared some tips for the aspiring cricketers and answered a number of questions from the boys.
Head of Cricket Performance, Mr Neil Kendrick, commented: “Delivering a county academy programme in a school environment is something we are very passionate about. It was really good of Dominic and Rory to come and visit the academy at this stage of the programme; they offered some great advice to the boys. We hope to welcome more of our alumni, who have gone on to play professional cricket, over the coming months.”
