Jody Martins – cricket coach to toddlers
FONTAINEBLEAU – Jody Martins develops cricket appreciation among young ages.
If one were to visit the Randburg Action Sports Arena in Fontainebleau, on a weekday afternoon, one would find a man throwing balls to a small group of toddlers.
Holding them spellbound like their parents never could, he wins their complete attention with a quiet understanding among them.
They obey his every instruction without a word, hitting balls off stationary cones, learning how to swing a bat the correct way, catching and bowling.
He is of course, teaching them how to play cricket and they are learning from a trainer of future champions.
Jody Martins (34), has coached for cricket clubs, schools, the Gauteng Cricket Board and even for the International Cricket Council – Africa for the last 16 years and players up to the age of five are his speciality.
“I prefer to coach really young players so you can develop them a lot,” explained Martins. “If I coach a small groups, by the time they are 10 or 11 [years] one could be a decent cricketer.”
He explained that it is very important to teach young players the correct basics of cricket and if players continue to receive adequate technique coaching. He added that when they are 14 and older it is more important to reinforce their mental strength, something he focuses on for the Gauteng Strikers (Gauteng provincial cricket team).
Martins is currently the Randburg Cricket Club Juniors head coach and academy manager, and still finds the time to coach privately and provide mental coaching to sport and corporate groups. “I want the club to produce great cricketers. We have the best ideas, and no club is like ours. We have 24 employed coaches and detailed selection policies, however, improvement is everything. If we come last in a league it does not matter, as long as we improve each year.”
The club’s junior winter cricket season runs from 10 May until August, and its summer season is between September and April.
Details: Randburg Cricket Club Juniors Head Coach and Academy Manager Jody Martins 079 527 4243, growchampions@icloud.com
