NRWCU Academy

Home to a significant of Germany’s leading cricketers, the sport at the top level in the NRW has always been strong but in the last 5 years, grassroots development has expanded significantly.

In 2008, Xenia SV initiated the first weekly training sessions exclusively for women and girls and more recently has also been helping coach young people with disabilities in schools.

Youth cricket has also taken huge strides in no part thanks to the efforts of individuals prepared to give up their time to coach. In 2011 Raymond Cooray (NRWCU, VCCB) instigated the first proper hardball youth tournament with teams taking part from across the state while clubs such as Bochum CC and Xenia SV (CXCC) have ensured that there is a developmental pathway for young talent to go on and excel at the top level of senior competition.

In 2013 plans were made to provide players of all ages, abilities and experience with access to coaching and in 2014, the NRW Cricket academy was born. The aims of the academy are to develop sporting excellence with a clear player development pathway from grassroots right up to highest level of the domestic game as well as to help other grassroots initiatives retain interest in the sport.

As the NRWCU is financed by member clubs, the cricket academy has only now become possible thanks to the support of generous benefactors such as Ravi Navaratnam and associates, who together with new partners Cricket Deal Direct, other sponsors and highly qualified coaches who have offered their time, providing us with the best chances of making the academy a sustainable success.

We are now in a position to create a player pathway from beginner to the highest level the country can offer while at the same time doing our bit to contribute to raising standards in Germany as a whole. These are exciting time and with thanks to all whohacve supported these initiatives, the outlook is looking brighter and we can very much look forward to future state, national and cross border competitions at all age levels.