FUTURE CRICKET STARS AT THE PEAK                                                                        November 2009

Thanks to the sponsorship from Stuart Milne Builders and funding from SportsMatch through SportScotland, Stirling County’s young cricketers made history on an October Friday evening when the club made its first use of the splendid new indoor cricket facilities at Stirling’s  Peak Sports Centre.

Eighteen youngsters attended the first of a block of weekly sessions which will continue at the centre throughout the winter until Easter.  The initial block of coaching sessions will involve under 13 year olds and a squad of youngsters who have already emerged with great potential  from the Primary Schools  Kwik Cricket Coaching Scheme which was launched last year and is funded by the Stirling Cricket Development Trust.

Stirling County Coaching Convener Raymond Bond is delighted with the success of the Primary Schools Scheme, “This is a very exciting time for  the development of cricket in Stirling, over 30 schools in the Stirling area are currently taking part in the scheme which is being organised by SportCentral in conjunction with CricketScotland.  Last Friday we had youngsters not only from Stirling but also from outlying areas such as Buchlyvie, Kippen and Thornhill who have already shown tremendous cricket talent, they enjoyed their first introduction to hard ball cricket using pads, gloves and helmets etc.”

“We are also very fortunate to have Australian Glenn Rogers assisting with the winter coaching, Glenn plays for the Scottish Saltires and is now resident in Stirling, he  joined Stirling County as an amateur last season and turned in some match-winning performances for the club, he is a fantastic cricketer and a great asset as a coach. Glenn was very impressed with the standard already shown by the youngsters and he is looking forward to coaching them during the winter.”

Photo shows the Stirling County juniors at the Peak with coaches Glenn Rogers and Stuart Keys.