Jakes off season diary

[Jakester1288]

With the season coming to a close in the next month, I thought I would start up this thread to keep you updated with my off season training and things like that. Whilst you may not care, some encouraging comments should help me keep motivated.

I'm sorry my other thread died, my season diary, my activity went down terribly but now I am here and more active than ever.

At the moment I am struggling to fix my back which has been troubling me for 3 weeks now. I thought it was just healing again and I bowled on the weekend and during my 5 overs it went from good to bad to worse. I picked up 2 wickets in 3 balls, but had to do a lot of following through and picking up balls of my bowling, partially due to bowling good enough to make the batsmen bunt it onto the off side near the pitch, and partially due to my fielders being too lazy.

I am going to be training hard over this off season, so I don't waste a season like last. I am trying out for rep again, and thinking about quitting junior cricket for good to just play seniors. That will be good.

I am looking to buy some new shoes and cricket clothing just before the new season, and over the off season I will be trying to lengthen my run up a bit, gain momentum towards the crease, improve my batting and general fitness, and my fielding as well.

Here's hoping for a good off season and a brilliant 2009/10 season!

[Jakester1288]

This is my scheduled routine when my back starts feeling good again and cricket finishes up.

Monday - Weights
Tuesday - General Fitness and Conditioning
Wednesday - Cricket training*
Thursday- Weights
Friday - General Fitness and Conditioning


* From home, includes warm up, fielding drills, batting drills and bowling run up work.

On the weekends I do pretty much whatever I can be motivated enough to do. Thoughts/idea's I can add to the program?

[Nnanden]

Don't over do it, etc.

[Julian87]

Weights are somewhat ridiculous for someone your age.

Giving up juniors pretty much screws your chances of furthering your career through selections, however minor they may be. Don't get too sucked in to lower grade, country senior cricket, it tends to diminish quite a few games simply because of the poor opposition, quality of play/grounds and what not.

What age group are you moving into anyway?

[Jakester1288]

Originally Posted by Julian87

Weights are somewhat ridiculous for someone your age.

Giving up juniors pretty much screws your chances of furthering your career through selections, however minor they may be. Don't get too sucked in to lower grade, country senior cricket, it tends to diminish quite a few games simply because of the poor opposition, quality of play/grounds and what not.

What age group are you moving into anyway?

Staying in 15's for another season if I decide to play juniors as well as seniors.

[Prince EWS]

Yeah, don't give up juniors. If you're still eligible, play. If you can't cop playing both, give up low-grade senior cricket until you're forced into it.

[Jakester1288]

Originally Posted by Prince EWS

Yeah, don't give up juniors. If you're still eligible, play. If you can't cop playing both, give up low-grade senior cricket until you're forced into it.

Fair enough.

But if I make rep I am not too keen on playing junior club as well, cause I have 2 games on Saturday (from 8-6 odd) and then on Sunday from 9:15-5).

[Prince EWS]

Originally Posted by Jakester1288

Fair enough.

But if I make rep I am not too keen on playing junior club as well, cause I have 2 games on Saturday (from 8-6 odd) and then on Sunday from 9:15-5).

Yeah it's different if you make a rep team, but rep selectors will look a lot more closely at junior club performances than low-grade senior comps. Well, they do in Sydney anyway, not exactly sure on the various standards of play in Coffs.

[NUFAN]

I'm actually against the other boys. Play some Seniors, test yourself against the older blokes.

Do this for a while and you'll find Juniors a lot easier.

[Julian87]

Originally Posted by Prince EWS

Yeah it's different if you make a rep team, but rep selectors will look a lot more closely at junior club performances than low-grade senior comps. Well, they do in Sydney anyway, not exactly sure on the various standards of play in Coffs.

Junior cricket in communities like Coffs Harbour are generally pretty poor. There just aren't enough decent kids to stretch the teams out as they desire and the overall standard becomes pretty average. Inter District comps are where it all begins though and this is what jake should be aiming for. Anything he can do to get into rep teams is a good move. You need to get into these teams to even receive decent coaching. It is different to Sydney, where there are quite a few coaching centres set up for kids to improve their cricket. You will often find that people who run cricket country towns also tend to want to keep to themselves and pick people who will live their forever etc.

In my junior cricket, i went through the system in Dubbo which was pretty good, and then had to take a backward step by moving to Kempsey on the North Coast when I was about 13. Dominated junior competition up there, missed out on regional selections because no-one knew me when i had moved and there were no trials (don't get me started) and injury, so I had about 2 seasons of cricket playing junior club cricket, age group inter district and lower grades in Kempsey. While being a spinner, it probably helped my game, because I grew a confidence in my ability which i deem invaluable for tweakers. But it destroyed my batting. I scored a lot of runs through until about 13s/14s and had received a lot of very good coaching in Dubbo before I moved. But after that, I had no decent batting coaching until under 15s/16s when I was getting picked in regional teams again, based on performances, but now mainly as a bowler because bad habits had crept into my batting.

So all in all, Jake needs to get himself into the rep team, or close to it IMO.

[Jakester1288]

Originally Posted by Julian87

Junior cricket in communities like Coffs Harbour are generally pretty poor. There just aren't enough decent kids to stretch the teams out as they desire and the overall standard becomes pretty average. Inter District comps are where it all begins though and this is what jake should be aiming for. Anything he can do to get into rep teams is a good move. You need to get into these teams to even receive decent coaching. It is different to Sydney, where there are quite a few coaching centres set up for kids to improve their cricket. You will often find that people who run cricket country towns also tend to want to keep to themselves and pick people who will live their forever etc.

In my junior cricket, i went through the system in Dubbo which was pretty good, and then had to take a backward step by moving to Kempsey on the North Coast when I was about 13. Dominated junior competition up there, missed out on regional selections because no-one knew me when i had moved and there were no trials (don't get me started) and injury, so I had about 2 seasons of cricket playing junior club cricket, age group inter district and lower grades in Kempsey. While being a spinner, it probably helped my game, because I grew a confidence in my ability which i deem invaluable for tweakers. But it destroyed my batting. I scored a lot of runs through until about 13s/14s and had received a lot of very good coaching in Dubbo before I moved. But after that, I had no decent batting coaching until under 15s/16s when I was getting picked in regional teams again, based on performances, but now mainly as a bowler because bad habits had crept into my batting.

So all in all, Jake needs to get himself into the rep team, or close to it IMO.

I would agree with this. This season, 2 teams did not field teams in under 15's, so we had a 4 team competition (2 of those teams being my club, we fielded 2 sides, and I was in the team with 8 players whilst the junior head coaches team gets 11). Next year that should improve though, because I am hoping that the Under 13's players will be coming up to under 15's, so they will be forced to make a team (surely they wouldn't leave their players with no teams to play in).

[Jakester1288]

Originally Posted by NUFAN

I'm actually against the other boys. Play some Seniors, test yourself against the older blokes.

Do this for a while and you'll find Juniors a lot easier.

I have been for a little while now. I have been playing both juniors and seniors from a month before we broke up for Christmas to now.

[Jakester1288]

Originally Posted by Prince EWS

Yeah it's different if you make a rep team, but rep selectors will look a lot more closely at junior club performances than low-grade senior comps. Well, they do in Sydney anyway, not exactly sure on the various standards of play in Coffs.

Mainly how we perform, but also how the selectors have seen us in limited opportunities in the past. I performed poorly last time I made rep, under 12's it was (in the 2007/08 season) and I am sure that affected me when I tried out for under 14's rep (2008/09) this season.

However I think I might have a better chance this season if I keep improving my cricket, making runs and taking wickets, and impress the selectors at the trials, I should be in a good position to be selected. A fair few players will be going up to under 16's, which will benefit me, but also some under 12's reps will be coming up, but hopefully I will be able to make the team ahead of them.

[Julian87]

So you will be in the proper age group fo under 14s?

That is always a help.

[Jakester1288]

Originally Posted by Julian87

So you will be in the proper age group fo under 14s?

That is always a help.

Yeah, I will be 14 playing against other 14 year olds (and a couple [not very many] of 13 year olds) if I make rep. And in junior club, I will be 14 playing 13-15 year olds.