Angled toward readying players for the baggy green, the phases are as follows; “Be Exposed”, “Be Challenged” and “Be Prepared”.
Beginning at under-14 level for males, the Be Exposed phase begins through the Victorian Country Cricket League’s (VCCL) Junior Country Week for regional players, while metropolitan organisations will cater for growth via respective representative competitions.
The next transition comes at under-16 level.
Players advance to the Youth Premier League in the Be Challenged phase, where specialist coaching is provided to guide youngsters into the under-17 Emerging Players Program.
Lastly, players are then linked to a Premier Club in the Dowling Shield as part of the Be Prepared phase.
Looking at the “whole pie”, Cricket Victoria’s three-step model is designed to ready boys for the challenge of senior cricket — and it’s no different for females.
Girls’ representative opportunities start at under-14 level through the VCCL’s Junior Country Week regionally and VMCU’s Julie Savage Shield for metro.
The Youth Premier League will be open to under-15 players and align with Cricket Victoria’s under-16 Female Emerging Players Program.
To follow is an under-18 Premier Competition, where players ally with Premier clubs to hopefully gain entrance to under-19 Female Emerging Players Program.
Cricket Victoria high performance manager Dean Russ was elated to announce the program, noting its importance in elongating — not truncating — young cricketers’ careers.
“The formation of this player pathway model has involved wide stakeholder consultation, extensive planning and has been backed by world leading talent development research,” Russ said.
“The pathway celebrates the great work our associations and Premier Cricket are doing and looks to nurture players, regardless of where they live, as they progress through the various phases.
“We want to produce national and First-Class cricketers and we don’t shy away from that. But we also want to produce well-rounded senior cricketers who can give back to their clubs and help bring through the next generation of cricketers.”
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