Sam Curtis is "over the moon" with his appointment as fulltime community cricket co-ordinator for the Wairarapa region.
Having the responsibility for the development of all levels of cricket here is a big ask in anybody's language but Curtis is relishing the prospect of that being his number one priority.
"Obviously it's
going to be busy but it's the sort of challenge I enjoy & quite honestly I couldn't think of a better job," he said.
Regular visiting of local schools was a big part of Curtis's previous role of Wairarapa Cricket Association development officer to push the popular Milo coaching programme and that will continue to take up a hefty proportion of his workload.
But he is also intent on building interest in the sport amongst the more adult community through schemes such as the establishment of a business house Twenty20 competition.
Another objective too is to improve the standard of coaching in the Wairarapa by increasing the number of people who have the relevant qualifications in that
sphere.
"We have a lot of good young talent here and we have to ensure every endeavour is made to see they are given the proper coaching," Curtis said.
"We need coaches who are capable of extending the knowledge of those players and hopefully I can get things moving in that respect."
On a more personal note, Curtis is determined to build on the progress he made last year when after captaining the Wairarapa senior men's team to a creditable fourth place in the Hawke Cup elimination series he was included as an opening batsman in the Central Districts A side.
The next step would be making the CD Shell series one-day or four-day sides and while Curtis readily concedes he still has some work to do before that happens it very much remains a target of his. "It's all about consistency, keep the big scores coming and the selectors have to look at you, don't they?"
On the local front though Curtis admits to being concerned that with Academy almost certain to be missing just five teams will contest the Wairarapa senior inter-club competition in 2008-09, something which might well mean that because of the bye situation all games will be played over one day.
"I think the players generally prefer the two-day games and they certainly provide a better preparation for the Hawke Cup matches," he said. "But what can you do with an uneven number of teams & there's no easy answer to that one."
