STONE cricket coach, James Dawson, has been nominated by Sky Sports and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as Young Coach of the Year, in recognition of his outstanding services to grassroots cricket.
To mark his nomination, Dawson attended a day at the National Cricket Performance Centre, which included skills masterclass sessions with former England International and current Spin Coach, Peter Such, Leicestershire CCC Batting Coach Ben Smith and Durham CCC Fast Bowling Coach Neil Killeen.
Dawson, who coaches at Stone SP Cricket Club was given the exclusive opportunity to attend the masterclasses to recognise his commitment to developing the game at a grassroots and community level.
The sessions were followed by a tour of the centre and a presentation ceremony – a reward for being nominated in the Sky Sports ECB Coach Education programme’s Young Coach of the Year award category.
Dawson has been coaching for five years and is now head coach of the youth section at Stone SP Cricket Club. Being a qualified Level 2 coach, James is now a valued member of the Staffordshire Coach Education Team, but also plays to a very high level, having been selected to play for Staffordshire CCC.
Dawson said: “I am delighted to be recognised by Sky Sports and the ECB and to be nominated for the Young Coach of the Year award.
"I love coaching and having the opportunity to attend a masterclass session with three great coaches will really help me develop my skills further. I can now go back to Stone and pass on a number of useful drills for all areas of the game. ”
Thirty three coaches, all under the age of 25, from across England and Wales were recognised at the event, all of whom have been voted to receive the Young Coach of the Year award by their county’s fellow cricket coaches.
The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in Warwick on January 26 2013.
