This is a guest article by Daniel Maddocks of Kids Cricket Tips. Daniel is an ECB Coach with experience in coaching young cricketers in the North West of England.

A healthy youth section is the sign of a healthy club.

Not only are you ensuring a future for your team, you are playing your part in providing a stream of enthusiastic and well-nurtured players to professional and even international cricket.

That starts with good planning for the future.

Who knows how good that 6 year old might be given the right preparation?

Here in the UK coaches have a Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Model, that identifies different stages in a player’s development. This plan highlights what key elements should be introduced to the player’s game at different points in their career, starting with the basics at the fundamentals stage.

I would encourage any coach to use this model to shape his or her own methods of coaching. It's a template to work from whether you are building future Test players or just helping boys and girls to have fun.

And it's fun that is the secret to getting youngsters interested in the game for the long term.

Yet when I coach in schools I hear time and time again the misconception that cricket is a boring game. Yes, cricket is about patience, concentration and competitiveness but we should not forget the fun aspect when teaching kids.

Think Twenty20 not Tests when coaching; at least in terms of keeping things 'all action'. This will gain the attention of kids. 

Make training fun; play lots of games and don’t make it too serious. If players enjoy the sessions they are more likely to keep playing and will make you a proud coach!

From my experience in coaching within schools I’ve noticed quite a few youngsters who have an interest in the game but have never been given the opportunity to join a club.

How tragic is it that we are losing players to the game because clubs and schools can't get together?

I would recommend that clubs offered their services to schools and hold some cricket taster sessions. That will provide an opportunity to promote the game and also help recruit new players to the club.

It's also a good idea to offer facilities to local schools to host tournaments as this generates community interest.

A well-managed cricket club with good facilities is more likely to keep hold of young players and will get the best out of them.

Aim for a team of coaches, offering their services to different age groups. A support structure should also be in place such as welfare officers, first aiders, media liaison and community engagement officers. There will also be adequate netting facilities and training equipment available.

image credit: doogsta