Coach to give local cricketers a boost

Rotorua cricket's first full-time high performance coach is bursting with enthusiasm as he sets about improving the state of the sport in the city.

Dave Richardson was employed by the Rotorua Cricket Association last month to focus on the development of local players, both junior and senior. The High Performance NZ/Australia-accredited coach has 23 years of coaching experience, most recently as Bay of Plenty Cricket's high performance manager.

His appointment has proved popular, with schools and clubs jumping at the chance to offer their players a level of coaching previously lacking in the city.

"Cricket in Rotorua needs a bit of TLC and hopefully I can provide that in a coaching structure. It's been really positive, the club players have responded fantastically and we are getting more people coming to training," Richardson said.

"There has been a lack of a cricket coach in Rotorua for a while. So that's the reason I have come here to help the guys with their training and have someone to upskill them."

He said many club players, especially those below premier level, had no real coaching.

"No one really cares about them," he said. "There's lots of good things happening here and they just need someone to help finish it off for them."

Richardson is well aware of the challenges he faces and points to lack of player retention as one of the main problems for the sport in his new home.

"One of the things that Rotorua has to deal with is that because it's not a university town a lot of the good young cricketers leave and don't come back."

This means the senior men's sides find it hard to make up numbers, with the most extreme example being the inability of Eastern Pirates to field a premier team this season.

He said improving skill levels was vital to keeping boys in the sport and building the player base in the city.

"Cricket's one of those games that the better you are at it the more involvement you get in the game so its crucial to try and get kids better otherwise they don't enjoy cricket that much," he said. "If you get out early on it's not much fun."

Richardson is determined to share his knowledge with local coaches and parents, regardless of whether they have any cricket experience. "I also have a real passion for getting young boys to go to coaching courses so they can coach junior teams," he said.

"Hopefully by the end of April we will have trained quite a number of parents and young college boys to be able to be cricket coaches."

Currently splitting his time 50/50 between senior and junior players, Richardson has been impressed with the young talent on display.

"Rotorua has got some very good young cricketers, some of them I think are as good as anywhere in New Zealand," he said. "The challenge is to try and get more of them."

Another challenge he is keen to meet is to encourage more Maori boys into cricket.

Richardson said all the city schools had been great so far.

"Rotorua Boys High has been really fantastic, they have a two-lane indoor facility and Chris Grinter, the principal there, has been very generous in making that available for junior cricketers and giving me a venue to use."

He said although it was only boys at the moment, he would love to work with girls if the interest was there.

Richardson is initially employed until the end of April but is hopeful that the role could become permanent.