With the start of the season fast approaching we're delighted to introduce Karan Parmar as our new Lead Coach for the Young Player section.
Karan, 26, has been involved with coaching at Radlett since 2018 and is delighted at the chance to lead the coaching team for our juniors at every level.

A batter and leg-spinner he is doing a sports coaching degree at Oxford Brookes University, where he plays for the MCC as well as Premier League cricket. Having come through the Essex pathway and played for Essex 2nd XI Karan knows junior cricket from the top level down.

He said: "I'll be focusing on all the age groups from the new kids we'll have at under-7 to the academy players at under-17. My big thing is player improvement, it's about empowering the players, giving them the confidence to know they can execute something really well, trying to put the technical, tactical and mental aspects together in a player.
"With the really young age groups it's about teaching the fundamental basics of cricket, the really simple stuff - fielding we've got to learn to catch, stop and throw; batting we've got to learn to hit straight off the front foot and back foot; bowling can we have a strong technically sound action so you're not throwing, and moving in straight lines as much as possible.

"Technique can be really over complicated but I think it's about being able to deliver a skill over and over again, it might not always have to look textbook, but it has to work with your body. It's about understanding what each player can do well, and what they can repeat. We start with a blank canvas and let's see what a player wants to do and what works - some want to bowl as fast as they can, some want to spin it like Shane Warne.
"At the end of the day the kids want to have fun and that's what we're going to do to keep them coming back to cricket because ultimately we want them from under-7 to go all the way through the age groups at Radlett. We want to have a positive environment where they're having fun and learning as they go and making it feel as if it's an activity they want to do.

"I also want to cultivate good team environments, Radlett traditionally is one of the strongest cricket clubs in Hertfordshire and we should be competing for trophies. To do that you need to create a strong team, the best clubs always have three or four very strong players but what they have above other teams is a sense of identity.

"That's what I want to build, through warming up together, getting to know your team-mates, knowing who is good at what and what we need to improve on. I want to develop and build a camaraderie within lots of group training, working on skills in a way so we can get some game experience in training which we can transfer to their games in the summer.

"Cricket is an individual sport and also a team sport and the best teams have a clear identity with everyone working towards something. If someone's struggling we can pick them up and if someone's doing well we can shine a spotlight on them.

"Ultimately what we want to do is bring people to enjoy the game, hopefully be at Radlett for a long period of time and if they do well we want to push them as far as they can go and see where they can get to."

Having seen English cricket rejuvenated by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes' thrilling 'Bazball' philosophy Karan is keen to bring some of their ultra-positive philosophy to our junior teams.

He said: "It's about allowing someone to express themselves and not be afraid of failure, be willing to try things. It's about being positive, committing to something and really giving it a good go. Part of it is skill, part of it is effort, enjoyment and intent. If we can get that then hopefully the results will follow.

"Now we see children playing reverse sweeps, switch hits, running down the track, trying all sorts. The youngsters are the ones with the new ideas and if they want to try something we're here to give them a solid foundation from which to try it. Cricket's fun when you do something people don't expect, I want to develop that. It comes from strong basics and then you can explore and express yourself. If you're confident in it and you've trained to do it then why shouldn't you try it?."

Fitness will be another priority and Karan said: "Cricket is becoming more and more physical and faster game in general since T20. I see fielding as something that is potentially game-winning, can you get a run-out, can you get a diving catch? When you're batting it's not good enough just to hit the ball, you've got to run fast between the wickets, turn ones into twos and the best bowlers are the fittest bowlers, just look at Jimmy Anderson.

"We want to work on balance, strength and coordination, that's something I want to drill into them throughout the whole programme. We want to ingrain into them good habits from the warm-up through the whole session that they can then take into their games. We want a culture where kids are enjoying their fitness.

"Good training equals good success in games, it's not just that you turn up and play a match and expect good things to happen out of the blue, what you do in training will translate across."

Parents can do their bit to help build a positive atmosphere, and Karan said: "What I would love is to hear encouragement rather than criticism, if your child gets something wrong that's how they learn. It's about allowing the kids to be free to make mistakes, making sure they're supported and encouraging them to keep coming back and keep trying things."