27/11/2023
WHO IS YOUR Junior Director of Coaching - Tommy Anderson
I believe my experience working as a professional coach for the last 7 years (part time coaching for 20 plus years), especially with Cricket NSW pathway has prepared me perfectly for this position. I have worked mainly in the female space but have worked both in boys and men pathways as well as club head coaching roles. I also believe my life experience, working in several different fields before I became a full-time coach, is invaluable when working with players and their parents.
My role and objective within the Cricket NSW High Performance Pathway are to equip players with the skills and characteristics to progress through the elite pathway into High Performance State teams and hopefully professional cricket.
My responsibilities are to develop high performance sessions which include both technical, mental, and physical. Along with session planning, I also develop IPP (individual Player Plans) to ensure the continued improvement of the players. I am also responsible for Youth Player Reporting.
Understanding the organisations coaching and talent identification philosophies is important to this role as well as collaborating with other coaching staff to ensure that the information that the players are receiving is consistent and in line with the strategy and philosophies.
I have been fortunate to have had opportunities to coach different High-performance teams and programs in the Cricket NSW pathway. My journey in the Cricket NSW pathway continues to this day as the Head Coach of the Cricket NSW Girls Youth Academy in Newcastle and Cricket NSW Country Women’s Team (Bush Breakers).
I have also been involved in teams with Under 19 ACT/NSW Country State girls’ team (2017,2018,2019) for a period of 3 years as an Assistant Coach and won 3 National Championships in that time. I also coached multiple winning Country champ teams, both 16’s and 19’s for Newcastle.
Over the past 2 years I have also overseen and coached the NSW Bush Breaker (NSW Country Women’s team). We have been moving towards a more professional program and ultimately team. We have become more accountable with our selections (more work needs to be done in this area including communication and accountability). We instigated a 3-day camp before The Championships (good initiative) which included both batting and bowling planning. My focus now is to continue to improve playing squad strength and pre-tournament camps (Expansion of Bush Breakers program to imitate CNSW Underage State Squads). I want us to be the leader in this competition and with improved strategies and planning we can develop a team that will be competitive and ultimately win the Nationals for many years.
I have also been the Head Coach at Northern District Women’s Premier Cricket Club in Sydney for the past 7 years (playing in the NSW Premier Cricket Competition). In that time, the club moved towards becoming more accountable and professional. We adopted a grade club system which included overhauling selections and training as well as the committee. Since I became Head Coach, we have won Under 18 Titles; a 2nd Grade title and in 2021 we won the 1st grade Premiership. Last season we competed in 2 Grand finals in First grade (lost both unfortunately) and made the semifinals in Second grade.
I have had experience coaching Men’s club cricket for Newcastle City Cricket Club in the Newcastle District Cricket Association. I was head coach for 5 years and moved the club to a more professional approach to training, recruitment and retention, and game day preparation. We planned matchdays and played accordingly.
I am also the Head Coach at Hunter Sports High School, developing programs and sessions that not only improve the players skills and technique as well as improving game sense. I coach students from 12 years to 18 years of age.
I have completed my Cricket Australia Level 3 High Performance accreditation in 2023.
The purpose of the Cricket Australia Level 3 High Performance accreditation is to equip coaches with the relevant tools to be successful while coaching at the elite level. In achieving this qualification, the candidates will be deemed capable of coaching players at an elite level and prepare them to compete and perform at the highest levels of the game.
I am also the Newcastle Junior Cricket Association – Director of Coaching. The NJCA is one of the biggest Junior cricket associations in NSW.
The Junior Director of Coaching role consists of
Providing ongoing support, advice, and encouragement to Club Coaches.
Assist clubs to recruit & appoint Club Coach Coordinators.
Provide training & on-boarding for Club Coach.
Conduct online and practical workshops with Club Coach.
Attending on-boarding conducted by State and networking opportunities.
Reporting where appropriate
I have extensive junior coaching experience. I am also committed to developing a positive junior cricket environment in Newcastle.
I have worked for the past 7 years as a full-time professional cricket coach and have developed my own training facility in Newcastle NSW Australia. Newcastle Cricket Academy and Training Centre have been operating for the last few years and we have had great success in developing the next generation of cricketers, both boys and girls in the Newcastle area. We are highly regarded as a High-Performance Centre but also coach players between the ages of 8 to 68 including beginners all the way to 1st class players.
I am the Director and Head Coach of The Newcastle Cricket Academy and Training Centre (Private training facility and developed the Centre to accommodate my growing number of clients. We have been operating successfully for the past 3 years and do over 150 sessions a week. If you would like to look at what happens at the Centre, go to the page - Newcastle Cricket Academy and Training Centre.
