Durban High School Cricket Academy - A Basic Perspective

At DHS, we plan to adopt a programme similar to the national Plascon Academy, geared to Grade 8 and Grade 9 learners who are dedicated to their cricket. The Cricket academy programme will be incorporated into the normal academic programme at School. It will include individual coaching of cricket skills and ongoing assessment and monitoring of those practical skills, Groundsmanship, as well as academic components such as Cricket history, etiquette and discipline, appropriate sports psychology, level 1 coaching course, an umpiring course, captaincy, scoring, nutrition and general lifeskills.

Boys will spend a total of approximately 5 hours per timetable cycle involved in the Cricket Academy, with around 80% of that time devoted to practical skills. All aspects of the game viz. batting, bowling and fielding will be assessed with boys being required to maintain minimum standards of achievement in each component throughout the course.

The curriculum for the course is based on that followed by Hoerskool Waterkloof in Pretoria, where Neels de Villiers has successfully run a similar Academy for three years now and where the school and its cricketers are definitely reaping the rewards of having such a programme as part of their curriculum.

The DHS Cricket Academy will start operating in January 2001 and has the full backing of the KwaZulu Natal Cricket Union, which will be assisting in various aspects of the course. We would also like to be able to offer places at the academy to interested boys who under normal circumstances would be unable to participate in such a programme and would like to set up a bursary scheme for such boys.

Any sponsors wishing to be part of the DHS Academy in any way can contact the Academy Co-ordinator Margie Fielden at DHS or Andrew Oldfield at dhsmark@netactive.co.za