OUR WICKET STORY
Hello
I'm Timmy (Taimoor) Zaman and I am the Head Coach at Wicket Academy.
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About Me
Cricket has always been my passion from as far back as I can remember. Over the years I have had the privilege to play at some of the most amazing venues, and in the process made some great memories and lifelong friendships. However now that I am a proud father of growing cricketers, apart from continuing to play cricket myself, I am now on a mission (as a coach) to pass on the joy of cricket to not just my boys but to every single boy and girl out there who also loves playing cricket. That’s my very small way of giving something back to this amazing game of Cricket.
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Our Wicket Purpose
When I first started looking for winter cricket sessions for my boys, I realised whilst there were/are many wonderful academies out there, unfortunately group sizes were/are far too large (for my liking) with not much focus on technique. Now don’t get me wrong, having fun is paramount when it comes to junior cricket however to enjoy the game to its fullest (and cricket being a very technical game), juniors also need to develop basic technique to keep the muscle memory going (group sessions or not) and that’s how Wicket Academy was born.
Our Wicket Philosophy
As an academy we have designed our coaching sessions to meet the needs, wants and demands of junior cricketers, with a specific focus on developing competence, confidence, and character in a fun/safe environment. That is one of the key reasons why our group sizes (coach to student ratios) have been deliberately kept small (without increasing the cost for parents/guardians). This is because we strongly believe whilst having fun and making good memories/friends is paramount, we should not ignore the importance of focused coaching which is essential for developing basic technique(s) needed to enjoy the game to its fullest.
Why Wicket Academy
It's simple, "everything we do is centred around satisfying the needs, wants and demands of our juniors". It's not about us (or our previous Cricket achievements), it's all about our "Wicket Players" and celebrating their individual achievements and team successes. All our coaches are minimum ECB Level 2 qualified with enhanced DBS checks. This means unlike other academies, we do not recruit relatively less experienced coaches i.e. lower than ECB Level 2 qualification. This hopefully gives you an indication of our uncompromising focus towards maintaining minimum standards of coaching at Wicket Academy. Also, at least 10% of our net fees goes to children charities.
Next Steps
Thank you very much for taking the time in getting to know us a bit better. We would love to hear from you, please do not hesitate to contact us at cricket@wicketacademy.co.uk.
Alternatively, if you would like to go ahead and register your son/daughter as one of our "Wicket Players", kindly click on the coaching options button below for next steps.