2016 Tom Maynard Trust Academy players at Desert Springs Cricket Academy
The Tom Maynard Trust Academy has confirmed its return visit to Desert Springs Resort between 16th– 23rd February 2017, comprising twelve professional cricketers from some of the UK’s first class counties and six supporting staff.
The 2017 intake will spend seven days at the Desert Springs Cricket Academy working on a carefully planned programme covering technical skills, strength and conditioning and both individual and group activity.
Since 2014, during February each year a dozen young professionals nominated by their first class county coaches gather together under the management of Somerset CCC Director of Cricket Matt Maynard and his two assistant coaches – former Leicestershire, Kent and England wicket-keeper Paul Nixon and former Gloucestershire, Yorkshire and Australia all-rounder Ian Harvey, to spend time at Desert Springs Cricket Academy to work on their technical, physical and personal development.
The coaching trio is augmented by support from experts in specific fields, including Mark Garaway (personality profiling and its application to cricket), Jamie Dalrymple (sports psychology and team dynamics) and Dean Conway, former Glamorgan and England cricket physiotherapist, who advises on fitness, strength and conditioning.
Mike Fatkin, one of the Trustees of the Tom Maynard Trust and a former CEO at Glamorgan, will provide management support for Matthew and help the players to understand some of the off-field pitfalls of being a professional sportsperson.
The Academy is designed to support young players and help them follow their individual programmes, meaning that Matthew and his team work very closely with the counties themselves to ensure that the time is used in the most beneficial manner possible, sometimes to help key players who are recovering from previous injuries try to get ahead with some early outdoor practice prior to reporting for UK for pre-season.
Matthew Maynard said:
“We are delighted again to have had such fantastic support from the counties and I’m really looking forward to working with another group of young cricketers as we continue to establish the Tom Maynard Academy as an integral part of the ECB’s and the counties’ player development pathways.
A large proportion of the lads who have come through the Academy have gone on to play senior level cricket and I have no doubt the experience will be of real benefit to the twelve cricketers involved as they approach pre-season.”
To view a video of the Desert Springs Cricket Academy view: – Desert Springs Cricket Academy
The players and staff will be accommodated in some of the privately owned townhouses normally reserved for holidays and short breaks at Desert Springs and the resort’s executive chef will be on hand to cater for the special dietary requirements of individual players dining in the Crocodile Club Restaurant.
For more information on the Tom Maynard Trust, visit the website: http://www.tommaynardtrust.com/
