Head Coach/ Player – Excelsior’20 Cricket

Department: Cricket
Period: Fixed period (April - September)
Reports to: Board member Performance Cricket
Date: 24 October 2023
Closing date: 27 November 2023

To apply for this role, please email: excelsior20cricket@live.nl

Excelsior’20 is a combined football and cricket club in Schiedam, The Netherlands. The club has approximate 1000 members of which 150 active cricketers.
The cricket club fields at the moment 5 senior men’s teams (of which 2 are recreational), a women’s team, a U11 youth team and a large group of tip-and-run youth.
The men’s 1^st team plays at the highest domestic level in both the 50-overs format and the T20 format. The first team has celebrated 12 championships since 1990.

Excelsior’20 Cricket wants to expand and strengthen the club across all age groups and develop itself into a club that is attractive to players of all levels and genders and builds youngsters that will play cricket their whole life.
For this the club is inviting ambitious cricket coaches to apply for the position of Head Coach/ Player.

Overview of the role

The Head Coach/ Player will be the most important role at Excelsior’20 Cricket in coming years and will ensure that players are able to consistently deliver their best cricket for their team, themselves and their club.

The Head Coach/ Player will be an inspirational leader who works hard to identify, nurture and develop cricketing talent. At Excelsior’20 we believe that player welfare and a team culture is key to delivering cricketing success and the Head Coach/ Player will play a vital role in producing a welcoming and winning culture at the Club.

The Head Coach/ Player will ultimately be responsible for creating sustained success on the pitch and across all competitions and formats of the game within the club.

The Head Coach/ Player will have played cricket at a minimum level of Premier League amateur level that is equivalent to, or higher than KNCB Topklasse.

Specific Tasks and Responsibilities

The Head Coach/ Player will oversee strategy delivery and the performance management of 4 key areas:

1. Team performance and planning
   2. Coaching and Management
   3. Strategy and Reporting
   4. Culture

The Head Coach/ Player will be an integral part of the leadership team at the Club and will act as an ambassador for Excelsior’20 Cricket at all touch points and with all stakeholders.

A key relationship is the one held with the Chairman; together they will set the cricket strategy and be jointly accountable for the delivery of the strategy and the maintenance and growth of cricket and cricketing success across the Club.

1^st & 2^nd Team Performance and Planning:

• Along with the Chairman set the strategy and vision for the respective Excelsior’20 squads with the intent of winning championships on regular basis from 2025.
• Develop players of the caliber to be able to represent The Netherlands in the future.
• Establish the vision and strategic direction based on evidence based analysis.
• Identify the coaching support required to deliver high performance seasons.
• Meticulously plan and prepare for the season and individual matches.
• Run forward-thinking and innovative training sessions to best prepare playing squads for matches.
• With the respective captains plan for and select the starting XI for each fixture.
• Support squads throughout all match days.
• Review all areas of performance post-match.
• Work across and fully understand the talent pathway to best develop the next Excelsior’20

Coaching and Management:

• To actively coach players (individually and as squads) both on a technical and a game intelligence basis.
• Identify and prepare an individual coaching and development plan for all members of the 1^st & 2^nd team squads.
• Actively work across the talent pathway, sharing knowledge and helping to identify new talent.
• Work closely with the Women’s Coach to ensure that there is a clear and consistent set of practices and expectations for all players.
• Work closely with Youth coaches to ensure that there is a clear and consistent set of practices and expectations for all players and coaches.
• Organize and execute regular coach development sessions for all coaches.
• To line manage the work of all cricket coaches.
• To work with the Chairman in liaising with the Head Groundsman on pitch and practice facilities.

Strategy and reporting:

• To develop and implement a rolling three-year high-performance strategy (or such a period that relates to funding)
• To prepare a strategy (in conjunction with the Chairman and Chairman of Youth Committee) which not only allows for the development of individuals and the winning of championships across all teams (senior and youth) but also builds Excelsior’20 Cricket as a club where players of all levels can play cricket.
• To regularly report on the progress of this strategy to the Board, playing squads and other coaches
• To be able to clearly explain all areas of cricket planning and decision making
• To make full use of data and analysis and use it as a tool for appraisals, player development, talent ID and match preparation
• Actively look for new initiatives, (the one percenters) that can improve Excelsior’20 cricket performance

Culture:

• The Head Coach/ Player must embrace and help develop the culture that exists within Excelsior’20 Cricket.
• To progress and live the Excelsior’20 culture and to embed it across the organization.
• To work closely with the captain(s) on an on-going basis to ensure consistency of message from Head Coach/ Player and Captain(s), and to provide leadership and direction to the Players in order to achieve the goals for each match and competition which have been set by the Head Coach/ Player in conjunction with the captain(s)
  To understand and champion the wider Club strategy
  • To be an ambassador for Excelsior’20 Cricket at all times
  • The Head Coach/ Player will have a very high emotional intelligence and will work with players to find the right tools to get the best out of the individuals and the team around them.

To apply for this role, please email: excelsior20cricket@live.nl