Individuals looking to advance their cricket coach education, or coaches looking for a credible cricket coaching accreditation, are now able to do so through the newly-launched online programme, CoachED, powered by former South African batsman and current coach Gary Kirsten.

The exclusive online cricket coach education and accreditation platform went live on April 2, and it has been specifically designed to allow coaches to pursue areas of cricket that are relevant to their individual requirements. 

“The game of cricket has changed and this has impacted how we coach. We wanted to develop a coach education programme that not only addressed these changes in real-time, but also empowered coaches of all levels with the necessary skills and knowledge to advance both themselves, and the game,” explains Kirsten.

Kirsten is passionate about the accessibility of quality, structured cricketing resources in an effort to improve the standard of cricket coaching internationally, which is what prompted this project.

“We’ve engaged with many coaches around the world and found there is commonality in barriers to upgrading cricket coaching skills. We wanted to design a holistic, scalable platform that addresses this, providing opportunities to upskill in any cricketing areas and levels.”

The programme brings together some of best coaches in the game and draws on Kirsten’s years of coaching experience.

“It is about letting coaches who want to be better, be better. The programme took a lot of time to develop as we’ve compiled interactive, user-friendly content in written, audio and visual form, with the digitising of all content a big challenge.

"We are incredibly proud of the product and believe this is going to be a game changer in the field of cricket and cricket coach education. It will also continue to evolve as the game does, while being accessible to all who wish to further their coaching journey.”

In line with online education, the modules are all short courses formulated in a learner-driven design so that coaches can benefit from cricket coaching skills, drills and tools that are tailored to individual requirements.

Coaches successfully completing the CoachED test requirements will receive their digital certificate and feature on the CoachED database. This will accredit them as qualified cricket coaches, and is a qualification that complements existing cricket coaching certifications, knowledge and experience.

The programme has a comprehensive library platform, that provides users with up-to-date interactive content on all of the 11 modules covered.

This includes information and drills on batting, season management, player management, leadership and captaincy, among others.

Users will receive digital knowledge badges for all modules completed that can be shared on social media, as well as access to other value-added services.

There is also an accreditation section platform for coaches wanting specific accreditation through the CoachED platform.

Testing is based on the extensive library content, with questions graded in increasing levels of difficulty.

Upon successful completion, accredited coaches will be posted on the CoachED directory as qualification verification, as well as receiving members’ benefits - including access to the private CoachED resource group, discounts on additional content, practical workshops, e-commerce discounts and cricket coach recruitment opportunities.

The Elite Accreditation CoachED package is for coaches who wish to take their learning to the next level.

This features live, interactive, Web-based sessions with Kirsten. Enrolees, under his direct mentorship, will form part of an Elite CoachED Resource Group with more advanced questions requiring submissions of video practicals and written tests.

This package will only be available to a limited number of coaches during the three-month enrolment period.