Nadia Bacciochi recently posted on Instagram a photo of her playing an adult league cricket match for Four Oaks Saints CC alongside 13 year old Alex Hume, who she has coached since he was seven years old. Nadia describes how she was taken aback by the incredible response to that post from many who saw it. “It was only when lots of people started commenting that I realised the effect the post had. I can understand now how it resonated with so many people. It’s a great story of a young player coming through club age group cricket and into the adult team to play alongside their coach. The fact that the coach is female adds an even more positive aspect to the story. For me, it was just normal, but it’s nice that lots of people have reacted so positively to it.”
Alex’s journey in club cricket
Nadia is passionate about club cricket at Four Oaks Saints CC and particularly the development of young players. “It’s an important landmark when someone who you’ve coached since the age of seven makes the transition into adult cricket. Many don’t, for a variety of reasons, often simply because they don’t know anyone in the adult teams and don’t feel comfortable as a result. Having your coach playing alongside you, as a familiar presence, to put their hand on your shoulder and provide guidance, is so valuable.”
Alex joined Four Oaks Saints CC when he was seven, with his older brother Will. Nadia remembers coaching Alex indoors at winter nets when he first joined, and then at Friday night training the following summer. They developed a good coaching relationship and as the years progressed Alex also had a number of 1:1 sessions with Nadia to work on his wicket keeping and bowling (he does both). “In some form or other,” explains Nadia, “I have been involved in Alex’s development as a cricketer every year since he joined the club. He has now made the transition to senior cricket at Four Oaks Saints CC and is one of the few juniors who plays adult cricket regularly, mainly for the 4th team but he has also played in the 3rds. Alex has stuck with it and enjoys playing adult cricket. He’s not a county age group cricketer, but he’s a sporty all-rounder who plays hockey too. Alex also has a lovely manner about him and a nice sense of humour, which means he can talk to people of all ages, and this has helped him to make the transition to playing cricket alongside adults.”
Alex talks positively about the experience of playing senior cricket at Four Oaks Saints and how he has been able to settle well in the adult teams. “At first, I felt a bit nervous about playing the senior games, but the team has integrated me into it - and now I feel like they are family to me. I couldn’t ask for more about how they support me through the highs and lows of my cricket career. I really enjoy playing senior cricket.”
Alex also plays junior cricket in the club U14 age group team and trains with them on a Monday evening. Nadia is particularly impressed how Alex now volunteers on Friday nights at junior training with the younger players. “It’s great to see him giving something back and volunteering. I can remember him being in that group of players himself and now he’s helping the coaches. In years to come, I hope Alex will continue to volunteer at the club and even become a member of the committee.”
A Club “Diamond” – Alex’s Dad Neal Hume
Nadia attributes Alex’s willingness to volunteer and his ‘can do’ attitude to the positive influence of Alex’s dad, Neal Hume. She describes Neal as an “absolute diamond” who puts in many hours at the club and will turn his hand to anything that needs doing – administration, scoring, communications, fixing things in the club house. “Neal really understands the importance of volunteers in order to keep cricket clubs going. He isn’t a cricket coach himself, but he will help with all the things the coaches don’t have time to do and is invaluable in organising teams. Neal is also passionate about helping junior cricketers transition into the adult teams, as the future of the club. It was actually Neal who took that photo of Alex with me, and then sent it to me, because he recognised what a great moment it was.”
Balancing Act – Bringing New Players Through
Bringing new players through is a passion Nadia shares with Neal. “It’s so nice to have homegrown players who will stay with the club because they love the people and the community here. It’s not all about the cricket. We are not a high flying club in terms of our cricket performance, but we have a lot of good people here and it’s a great place to be.”
Bringing the junior players through, however, is not without its challenges, acknowledges Nadia. “We want to encourage juniors to play in the adult teams, but it involves them making a regular commitment, as Alex is doing. Sometimes junior players have other commitments which can make it hard for the captains to select them. It’s a captain’s dilemma, isn’t it – you want to involve a junior player, but you can’t drop someone who’s been available every week so far.”
Neal also reflects on how the culture in clubs needs to facilitate the development of younger players. “It’s important to make sure the environment is right for the juniors playing in senior teams, and that the captain fully appreciates the ability of the young player. It’s the captain’s role to make sure all players are put in the correct environment – allowing them to flourish, but also challenging them to improve. The same goes for our junior volunteers. For example, we ensure junior volunteers will umpire only at square leg as there is less pressure over making the wrong call.”
Female Coaching Team
The photo of Nadia and Alex is symbolic of Four Oaks Saints CC in more than one way. Not only does it reflect the number of junior players making the transition into the senior teams, but it also symbolises the significant number of female coaches at the club, who provide positive role models to girls and boys. Nadia points out that five of the six coaches at junior training night so far this year are female. She is joined by Em Farmer, Ruqaiyyah Gulzar, Rhiannon Harries and Anisha Patel as part of a coaching team that coaches the boys as well as the girls. “We are a young coaching team and are all still playing ourselves, so we are good role models in a number of ways,” Nadia summarises.
Lighting Fires
As well as being a qualified cricket coach, Nadia also has a successful career as a fire fighter. Although her main job is to put fires out, when it comes to Four Oaks Saints CC, Nadia is in the business of lighting fires. Alongside others, such as Neal, Nadia has inspired many young players like Alex to continue playing cricket and to transition successfully into adult teams as part of a supportive club. She didn’t realise initially when she posted the photo with Alex on Instagram that it would resonate so well with people. Spend a few minutes talking to Nadia, however, and it is very clear to see why it did. Congratulations to Nadia, Neal, Alex and all their colleagues at Four Oaks Saints CC who are doing brilliant work in club cricket.
