Yorkshire Cricket Board

Matt Tyas is hugely enthusiastic and displays a great deal of dedication to junior cricket, especially at Sheffield Collegiate Cricket Club. He’s ever present at a huge range of cricketing sessions; schools cricket, holiday camps, junior club training, Regional level coaching, Root Academy camps… the list goes on. Matt leads large numbers of sessions which can contain several dozen children of mixed ages and abilities. He has an uncanny ability to keep their attention, have them focus on the drills being undertaken and, most importantly, all the children look to be having fun. He puts smiles on the faces of all the children, clearly having a great rapport with cricketers and non-cricketers alike. He has been hugely successful in encouraging young children, boys and girls, to pick up and bat and ball and get involved in cricket.

Sheffield Collegiate is a large club, but it would not be as successful if not for coaches like Matt – many of its junior players will probably first have experienced cricket at one of Matt’s school coaching sessions or sports days. From that moment on, many of them are hooked. He simply has to be applauded for the amount of grass-roots work that he undertakes. He rarely employs the same coaching techniques twice. He makes the sessions fun, different, challenging and always includes and encourages each and every child. He knows all the names of the kids, recognises new faces and ensures that he gives them special attention too. He pushes talented kids and challenges them individually, without favouring any one child. None of the children ever appear bored, cry, leave the field through a lack of interest or appear upset in any way. That has to be testament to the effort, enthusiasm, encouragement and support Matt offers along with his friendly personality.

Matt is a hugely likeable young man and the children love him. His love of the game rubs off on everyone around him and the children clearly thrive on this. When practicing in the nets outside of usual training sessions, if Matt is at the ground playing in the adult teams, he always makes a point of coming over and saying 'hi' to the kids and giving them some encouragement. Children look up to Matt and clearly view him as a role model within junior cricket.

Well done to Matt - a credit to Yorkshire cricket and a very worthy winner of Young Coach of the Year.