Within these age groups the main emphasis is providing children with a fun and active involvement in cricket.
As children progress through these age groups they will become more equipped to start playing cricket matches, but in their more formative cricket years they will mainly take part in coaching activities that help develop discrete batting, bowling and fielding skills.
By the end of this period, they should have the building blocks necessary to start playing more competitive matches.

U9 - U11 JUNIOR CRICKET

The Club’s role in U9 - U11 cricket is to inspire this age group to love the game of cricket, to enjoy both training and learning and to begin to understand the values/benefits of playing competitive cricket at a club such as Hoddesdon.
We want to build a supportive and social environment that gives equal opportunities for young players to learn the skills of learning, to develop their cricket-specific technical skills and to have a set of foundation skills that enable them to play matches. During this period, their cricket moves from soft-ball to hard-ball.
The skills they learn at this stage will help prepare them for when the game gets faster, harder and more competitive, to participate in healthy sporting activities and to build friendships with players within the club.

U12 - U15 JUNIOR CRICKET

Generally, by 12-15 years of age children will generally start to focus on a smaller number of sports that they take more seriously. The development of the children remains paramount, but the competitive nature of the games will increase and there are more likely to be competitions, especially at U15, where teams will be selected on ability. However, there will be competitions where all abilities will compete.
The main aim within these age groups will be development. If players are thought to be ready to play above their age level, then this will be reviewed on an individual basis.