Does your team need more young cricketers?

Many clubs are feeling the pinch these days. Kids have more choice of activity than ever, which is making the pool smaller every year. It's tough to compete with football, PlayStation and iPads.

You can't sit back and wait for a new intake of 11 year old players to arrive. You have to start early and make cricket as entertaining as all the other distractions. That's why it's time to rethink how to bring youngsters into the game.

One British company has taken that mission. So, if you are serious about improving participation levels, you will do well to follow the example of Catch Cricket

Steve Wolfe, MD of Catch Cricket, explained to me that the company has a single-minded focus to introduce kids aged 2-11 the game. Most clubs tend to start older and schools rarely focus on cricket. That leaves a gap to be filled.

The sessions are not about cricketing perfection, but instead focus on picking up a bat and a ball and having a go. Parents are encouraged to help out by feeding balls to budding batters, while experienced coaches help introduce the basics in a fun environment.

For me, this is the strength of the system. The sessions are not a crèche. With the parents involved it becomes social and family focused, meaning the kids enjoy it more.

Any young player showing an interest in playing is passed on to their local club. The sessions act purely as a way to provide a pool of enthused youngsters and parents. and it works, with many more young people trying cricket clubs in a Catch Cricket area.

It certainly got me thinking that there is scope for these kind of sessions all over the world.

Catch Cricket are currently focused on Kent and London, with 7 centres providing sessions. Although they plan to grow fast, you have to wonder if you should borrow their model for your area.

With less kids taking up the sport, it's certainly time to get creative.

So here are the top tips for improving participation:

1. Speak to local schools and run a 6-12 week programme for kids aged 2-11 Who have never played before.
2. Organise the sessions so parents join in.
3. Split the players into broad age groups and put abilities together, but always do variations of the same activity to give a feel that everyone is joining in.
4. Make the sessions so quick-fire that no one is standing still for more than 30 seconds.
5. Forget tradition and doing things the proper way and focus on running, throwing, catching and hitting.
6. Get the names of the most keen players so you can sign them up to your club.

If you prefer you could also get the Catch Cricket team to do the hard work. If you want to find out more about Catch Cricket coming to your area, drop an email to kent@catchcricket.com