Pre-identified qualifying children between 11 and 12 years of age are scouted from local schools in the Helderberg region. A mandatory selection criterion is that each player must come from an underprivileged background. Girls and boys are both eligible for selection to the programme.
Since the inception of the programme in 2019, each year’s cohort of players meet once a month at Somerset College, an independent school in Somerset West.
At every visit, all players receive top-quality cricket coaching in a tranquil environment, equipped with nothing but the very best cricketing facilities. Coaching lessons vary from individual ‘one-on-one’ sessions, to the all-important group and team sessions too.
Once the players are done with their cricket coaching sessions, they attend a variety of educational and life-skills sessions where English, Maths and Information Technology (IT) lessons are taught—all presented by qualified school teachers and specialist academic tutors.
From time to time, opportunities exist for our players to showcase their learned skills at cricket tournaments and festivals—giving them essential ‘match time’ to compete with some of the very best local Western Cape players within their age group.
The core principle underlying all of our engagements with the players, is to make it a fun, meaningful and pleasurable learning experience. Our coaches spend considerable time planning each session—this we believe is what makes our programme so unique and authentic. As such, our sessions are designed to match each individual’s needs, thus making many of the sessions a true masterclass learning experience.
We believe that at The Leading Edge Sports Foundation, our players deserve nothing short of a world-class experience that any child of their age would get elsewhere in the world.
Admittedly the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world in so many ways— particularly when it comes to sporting activities at schools. Whilst we accept that the opportunity to go on tour has not been possible, we look forward to the time when we will be able to freely do so again—hopefully in the not too distant future. It is our aim to afford our players the opportunity to go on at least two cricket tours during their term of stay on The Leading Edge programme.
There are 3 available ‘cricket-ready’ venues scattered around the Helderberg region. As such, these will be booked for sessions for smaller groups, allowing players to meet with their coach, at least once per week. This caters to the essential requirement to allow all players to train regularly and consistently..
When an event (or mini-event) is hosted, it’s all about giving every player much needed exposure to real ‘game time’ or ‘match time’. The events are all about bringing children together and affording them the opportunity to experience something different, thereby facilitating their own personal growth in skill and confidence.
Wherever possible, we aim to assist our players with a possible high school placement. As such, the relationship we have with each and every player who attends the programme, does not end once they’ve finished the programme. Maintaining a long term relationship will be key to fostering ongoing learning and development in our children. For this reason, where reasonably possible, it is our intention to assist the players leaving the program with their personal development—on a protracted, ongoing basis. Holistic development of each and every child remains at the forefront of our vision and mission for all who pass through The Leading Edge academy.
The foundation will host or send coaches for training on a quarterly basis. We aim to train and develop our coaches, thereby fostering a strong inner-drive to invest in their own communities. We wish too, for all our coaches to land a job opportunity that sees them employed on a more permanent/consistent basis, particularly within the sporting environment.
