Shell assist Development

PRIMARY SCHOOLS, HIGH SCHOOLS AND DEVELOPMENT

The SA Shell Academy provides KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union with an opportunity to mould and nurture the exceptional talent from various communities into cricket players of the future. Schoolboys from around the greater Durban area are invited to attend practices which run from Monday to Friday, all year round. The squads average between 12 and 18 boys at a time, which are easily accommodated into two-hour sessions. Coaching at the Academy is conducted by Andrew Shedlock, Aleeshan Kisten, Bongani Zibane, Eldine Baptiste and Doug Watson.

With the appointment of the Manager of Amateur Cricket and soon the appointment of a Township Co-ordinator, structures are in the process of being put in place in order to invite boys from disadvantaged areas to the Academy. Currently, a group of boys from Umlazi and KwaMashu are attending the Academy.

COACHING CLINICS AND CAMPS

During the school holidays specialized clinics were held for young enthusiastic cricketers. These were for boys from the ages of 8 - 15 years and proved to be very popular. Coaching was done by the Academy coaches and some of the KZN Dolphins. The popularity of the clinics were so great that further clinics were held during the third school term. These were run on a Friday afternoon and Saturday and Sunday morning. Once again these were highly successful and boys come from as far as Empangeni to attend.

Coaching Camps for the u/14, u/15, u/16, u/18 and u/19 age groups have also been held. These were one week in duration and involved intensive batting, bowling and fielding sessions as well as a fitness assessment and lectures on all aspects of the game including nutrition, sports injuries and sports psychology. The u/19 Camp was unique in that the boys stayed at Kingsmead in a dormitory facility which was set-up for them, which was a great success.

ELITE SQUAD

A further development to the Academy is the introduction of the Elite Squad. The best schoolboy cricketers leaving school will spend one year at the Academy following an intense cricket programme and at the same time following an educational course at Varsity College. Since the inception of this squad these boys have had a very demanding year. In between their academic studies at Varsity College, they have already completed an Umpiring course, are busy with a Sports Psychology course, attend Academy practice sessions and fitness sessions and have already played 4 games. They have also visited 4 of the sub-unions (Zululand, Southern Natal, Midlands and Southern Districts) where they have conducted coaching sessions. This also gives us, as coaches, the opportunity to see the talent in these areas. It is a very successful exercise and we look forward to many more trips to the other sub-unions.

The following boys form the current Elite Squad: Duncan Brown, Grant Rowley, Kyle Smit, Warren Hauptfleisch, Rivash Gobind, Greg Fry, David Armour, Bongwa Hlongwane, Shaun Philips, Lucky Dladla and Sashen Dorasamy.

SUB-UNIONS AND SHELL ACADEMY DAY

A problem that exists with some cricketers is the unavailability of transport for those living far away from Kingsmead. With the sponsorship from Shell it has been possible for one day a week, to become a Shell Academy practice day in the sub-unions. The best boys in their respective age groups are selected by the co-ordinators of the sub-unions and coached by two nominated coaches. Each week one of our coaches will be sent to an allocated area where he oversees and identifies any talent in that area. The age groups focused on are u/, u/14, u/15, u/16 and u/19 and sessions are arranged accordingly.