Now that Christmas is over and we’re into the New Year, the focus returns to harvesting the next crop of NCU cricketers. NCU Boys Talent Lead Ian Butler sheds some light on the next year of activity in the NCU Talent Pathway which features an exciting trip to the Chennai Super Kings Academy in India next month.
Something we speak about frequently in the office is creating depth in coaching. How do you see that happening?
Firstly, we must put value on coaching. Great coaching is life-changing and those who can motivate athletes in a way that makes them enjoy their sport, are keen to challenge themselves to see how far they can make it, and be excited for their next session are so valuable. Regardless of whether our athletes want to play sports professionally, the life lessons sport gives us all will set people up in everything they do in life. And the fact is, a lot of coaching is done at the tough hours, late afternoons, evenings, weekends, and school holidays.
If we want people to be brilliant coaches for us, we must value the sacrifice they make, and show them that there are rewards and careers for those who want to become great. Over the next year, we will continue to expand what we can offer to our future coaches, and we would love to add another aspiring coach to each pathway.
What makes the NCU Coaching group so passionate?
The opportunity to equip players with the tools to succeed, to be there to listen to them, and to ask the right questions that guide them to their answers is incredibly motivating. We have a responsibility to all our players—whether they simply want to be the best cricketer they can be and enjoy a solid club career or those who aim to represent Ireland. Both groups are equally important to the NCU.
If we promote the game in a way that fosters a lifelong love of cricket, we strengthen the cricketing landscape in the NCU. More players making it to senior levels will create greater depth, which in turn feeds into the Premier League, the Knights, and, in the long term, hopefully to the international level.
I truly believe no place in the world offers a better chance to play international cricket than the NCU. Looking at the reality of it, take cities like Sydney or Birmingham, for example. The sheer number of players you’d have to compete with just to make a representative side in those places is staggering. With our lower playing numbers, the opportunities here are much higher. But what sets the NCU apart? I’ve never been anywhere else with so many top-level coaches in one place.
The resources and offerings here can take players to the next level. There’s year-round training, we collaborate with winter sports to manage players, and those who aspire to represent Ireland will likely be involved in our EPP, with a Sunday IP squad session and an Irish session during the week. If playing for Ireland is your dream, what’s not to love about that?
A lot seems to be happening in the NCU Talent Pathway, can you tell us more about the 2025 plans?
We’ve been impressed by the enthusiasm for experiences across the entire pathway. Last year, we initiated a partnership with some UK county sides for the U-15 Boys age group, to make it a regular part of their development. We’re now in discussions with these counties to take a Girls’ age group the week after as well, offering the same schedule of matches the following week, as the facilities and accommodation are excellent.
This Sunday marks the start of our specialist skill sessions for a selected squad of players across all age groups. We’ll be covering Batting, Fast Bowling, Spin Bowling, and Wicket Keeping in-depth, ensuring that players develop a comprehensive understanding of their skill sets. It’s a great opportunity for coaches to see players from different age groups learning their craft together, while also giving senior players the chance to mentor the next generation of stars.
There are more tours in the pipeline, but it depends on how many weeks we can utilise, given the scheduled IP competitions for each age group. We’re committed to pushing boundaries and continuously improving the experiences we offer our players.
Ideally, we’d like to take six girls on the 2026 India trip, and we’re also focusing on upskilling female coaches, as that will be an important staffing requirement to take the girls on that tour.
What are the keys to us continuing to grow the depth we are now seeing in our age groups?
Depth can certainly be a double-edged sword at times. For instance, our current U-15 age group has 50-60 players who could easily be part of our pathway. We do our best to accommodate them and have even reached out to other unions about playing matches for players just below the IP squads. But even with that, we’re still only able to schedule matches for our top 26 players. While this is more than we’ve had in the past, and we hope to see it come to fruition, the Challenge Series has been a vital tool in allowing us to keep track of players across different age groups.
The Challenge Series gives us an important window with players in the U-13, U-15, and U-17 age groups during the summer. It allows us to watch them in action against each other in match scenarios, simulate game phases repeatedly, and generally assess how players are developing throughout the summer.
We’ve also made a concerted effort to stay connected with the right people at each club, ensuring regular communication to keep everyone up to date with upcoming events and season schedules. We’re always eager to hear about talented players coming through who we haven’t yet seen, and we’ve uncovered some fantastic players over the last six months. For me, the key is maintaining open communication with clubs and schools about emerging players. We appreciate the effort clubs put into keeping that dialogue alive.
Lastly, I’d highlight the importance of maximising Talent ID. Our philosophy is to create a broad programme that benefits more than just the IP players. No matter how confident you are in identifying future talent, your U-13 side in five years won’t necessarily be your U-19 side. Players mature physically at different rates, understand the game at different ages, and some may take alternative sporting paths. School pressures, university, and jobs are all factors that can affect a player’s trajectory. Because of this, we’ve designed a structure that allows us to cast a wider net and, as mentioned earlier, we want as many players as possible to develop a lifelong love of the game and continue playing.
Tell us more about how this India tour became a reality.
Over the past year, we’ve been focused on creating meaningful experiences for our players, giving future elite athletes a taste of the challenges international cricket presents. They’ll be away from home for 10 days, navigating travel, jet lag, climate changes, new food, and different cultures—while also facing the physical demands of training in an unfamiliar environment with high intensity.
It started as an idea, and then it was all about figuring out how to bring it to life. Fortunately, we had connections at CSK, and from there, the planning kicked into gear to ensure it all came together!
Why India?
The goal is to push our players to improve in every aspect, and to take them out of their comfort zones. Chennai will offer a completely different challenge compared to Jordanstown!
Hearing coaches from the CSK Academy discuss their philosophies on playing spin, bowling spin, and their overall cricketing strategies will keep our players constantly thinking about the game. It will challenge them to refine their game plans and put them into practice on turning wickets, facing high-quality spinners and batters—an invaluable learning opportunity.
To explain why India, I don’t believe there’s a richer cultural experience in the cricketing world than what India offers. When you also consider the skills and insights our players can gain, it becomes a truly career-defining opportunity. On top of that, it’s an unforgettable life experience.
Early February fits well with the school’s half-term break and allows the learnings from the tour for the players and the coaching staff to come back to the rest of the IP squads in the last 6 weeks of preseason.
The tour looks to be very similar to what an international side would undertake…
The planning for this trip has been to the same level, no matter the age or level of the players involved and every detail has been considered. We’re staying at an amazing hotel, have our dedicated bus, and have off-site catering when necessary. There will also be a local physio on hand, working closely with us throughout the trip, as well as CSK coaching staff and net bowlers for training sessions. Our philosophy is simple: if you’re going to do it, do it as well as you possibly can.
Stay tuned on the NCU socials for updates on the India training camp and the progression of all age groups in the Talent Pathway throughout 2025.
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