Youth Development Plan
The United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) unveiled its Youth Development Plan last month. A core element of that Plan was a commitment to establishing opportunity for talented youth across the country to train with Regional Development Coaches under a standardized development programme. The weekly programme of development training is designed to provide plenty of opportunities for Under 15’s to develop their skills and knowledge of the game and possibly make the Regional Under 15 team to compete later in the year.
The USACA Under 15 Programme commenced last November with the western conference matches played at Woodley Fields in California. The top two teams from those matches were the Central West Region Under 15’s and the North West Region Under 15’s.
The eastern conference will hold their tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina over the Memorial Day long weekend (May 24th -26). Teams from the Atlantic Region, New York Region, North East Region and the South East Region will compete over three (3) days. The top two (2) teams from the eastern conference tournament will then progress to the USACA Under 15 National Championships in North California.
The North West Region will host the Under 15 Nationals at Santa Clara and Cupertino from June 26th – 29th.
CEO of USACA Mr. Darren Beazley explained the philosophy of the new USACA Development Plan;
“2014 has an emphasis on development at all levels. The Under 15 programme is designed to provide plenty of opportunities for young talent to train over several weeks under a Regional Development Programme that is standardized and designed to improve the skills and knowledge of our next generation of cricketers.
At the end of the programme, representative teams will be selected to compete against other Regions in a well-structured competition that whilst aimed at bringing out the best in out talented youth, has them working toward long term goals of performing consistently and at crucial times of the game” he said.
More information about the USACA Under 15 Youth Development Programme will be distributed in the coming weeks.
USACA would like to thank the Regions for their support and assistance in this programme.
