Today's guest article is from club cricket development expert Greg Wright.

Being qualified and certified to coach cricket is not an ideal it’s a MUST, here's why.

First things first; if you're dealing with children, it's common sense and best practice to ensure coaches are certified. This covers both insurance and peace of mind.

More importantly it enhances your knowledge in challenging circumstances. Certification means attending child protection courses and learning first aid. Parents leaving their children in your care can trust you to know what to do if anything happens from an injury to bullying.

Of course, we all hope we never have to deal with such things, but it’s good to know you have the tools if the worst happens.

Secondly, there are courses to suit all levels of ability and experience through your governing body. In the UK that’s the ECB Coaches Association. In ECB shorthand it’s called Coach Ed.

Coach Ed offers coaches the chance to take and improve on qualifications and career prospects as you grow in experience and ability. The programme plugs coaches into some great resources to get you started, help you along and keep you up to date with the latest news and information.

You may coach your club 10 year olds, or you might be involved with high performance players, there are Coach Ed resources for you.

Becoming qualified and certified is like passing your driving test; it teaches the basics. You learn how to do it the right way, improve weak spots and iron out bad habits whilst learning the accompanying theory.

Like driving, after you're a qualified coach is when you really start learning. But unlike driving, coaching allows you can add your flair and ideas to enthuse those around you.

So whether you've played the game for 20 years or never played the game at all, don't miss-out: Get qualified and certified and make a difference!

More information can be found on ClubCric.com and the ECB's Development pages. 

image credit: Complete_Cricket