Plan For Coaching Coaches Approved

Press, Volume C, Issue 29657, 30 October 1961, Page 16

Plan For Coaching Coaches Approved

The New Zealand Cricket Council will organise a coaching week for cricket coaches in Wellington during the coming school holidays. AA its meeting in Christchurch on Saturday the council’s board of control approved plans for this scheme.

Mr H. W. Osborne, the Wellington delegate to the board, asked whether it would be possible to run a scheme of this sort. He envisaged up to 100 scbooiteechers and teachers’ college students attending the course.

Answering a question from Mr Osborne. Mr J. T. Ektoft, the Canterbury delegate, said his association would do its best to make the services of its coach, Mr M. J. Bear, available for one week if the board decided to go ahead with the scheme.

He could not commit his association, said Mr Etttoft, as a very comprehensive programme was mapped out for every week of Bear’s stay in Christchurch each season. Coaching Subsidy As the result of a motion put to Friday’s annual meeting of the New Zealand Cricket Council by Canterbury urging the continuation of the coaching subsidy, the board spent some time in discussing alternative schemes. Mr W. A. Hadlee said there were three alternatives open to the board. These were to encourage each association to bring out its own M.C.C. qualified coach, to try for three coaches only—one for Auckland-Northern Districts, one for WellingtonCentral Districts and ohe for Canterbury-Otago—or only one coach, employed by the board to cover all areas. It is far better for each association to bring to New Zealand its own qualified coach, said Mr I. M. Hamilton, the representative of the South Island minor associations. It was a challenge to each of the Dominion’s six major associations to attempt to raise the necessary funds. “We in New Zealand are definitely at the cross-roads in our cricket, and we have to be bold in our thinking and in our action,” said Mr Hamilton. Mr K. L. Sandford (North Island minor associations) said that Canterbury and Auckland were the only associations with the necessary finance to back such a scheme. Wellington, Otago, Central Districts and Northern Districts just could not do it, even with a subsidy from the national body. , Good Results The Canterbury association had been so pleased with the results achieved by Bear in his three seasons in Christchurch that it wished to know its chances of having a coach for next season also, said Mr ESitoft.

On the motion of Mr E. R. Sutherland (Auckland), it was decided that the £3 for £2 subsidy should be extended to the 1962-63 season for major associations’ approved coaching schemes. It is expected that, ait the end of the current season, there will still be available about £3OOO of the amount originally set aside for the tbree-year plan. The fund at present stands at £4370. Last season allocations made totalled £lOl7, including £544 to Canterbury, £l5B to Auckland, £l4l to Central Districts. £l2O to Otago and £54 to Wellington.