Players educated on school sport roles

A group of current professional cricketers received comprehensive guidance on how best to prepare and apply for roles in the education sector, at a recent Working in Independent Schools workshop organised by the PCA.

Eight players representing five different first-class counties attended the seminar, delivered by Neil Rollings of Independent Coach Education (ICE), at the PCA’s Edgbaston office last week.

Rollings and Ted Sandbach, also of ICE, put the players through their paces as they learned what independent schools are looking for when recruiting for Sports Professional and Director of Sport roles.

The group were taken through every stage of the job application process, and also took part in mock interviews to give them a flavour of what to expect when applying for job roles in the education sector.

Teaching and coaching are both popular career routes for professional cricketers to go down, with PCA data showing that approximately 35% of players leaving the game since 2012 have chosen one of the two career paths.

The Working in Independent Schools workshop forms part of the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP), which aims to enable individuals to excel and develop sustainable performance within and outside of cricket.

Supporting professional cricketers as they prepare for life outside the game is a cornerstone of the PDWP, and the PCA has assisted 268 players into their second career since 2012.

Derbyshire CCC’s Mattie McKiernan said: “I found the Working in Independent Schools workshop extremely beneficial, especially when it came to learning how to go through each stage of the job application and then the interview process.

“Both Neil and Ted were brilliant in delivering their respective parts of the day so I would like to thank them both for delivering such an insightful session.”

PCA Lead Personal Development Manager Lynsey Williams said: “It’s been a really insightful day. Many thanks to Neil and Ted for sharing their knowledge of the independent school sector with the players.

“It’s been really useful for members to better understand what schools are looking for when recruiting for Sports Professional and Director of Cricket/Sport roles, and how to successfully prepare for and navigate both the application and interview process.”

Independent Coach Education Director Neil Rollings said: “I was delighted to travel to Edgbaston for an enjoyable session with PCA members. It was an enthusiastic and collaborative group of individuals, who clearly were really interested in what they were doing and wanted to improve their skills. Every single player participated fully and wholeheartedly in the session which was great to see.”

Full list of players in attendance: Mattie McKiernan (Derbyshire), Dan Douthwaite, Andy Gorvin (both Glamorgan), George Rhodes (Leicestershire), Will Rhodes (Warwickshire), Ed Barnard, Tom Fell and Jake Libby (all Worcestershire).

Find out more about the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme.