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The ECB have appointed a new head of coach development © ESPNcricinfo Ltd
The ECB have appointed John Neal as Head of Coach Development – a new role encompassing coaching strategies from grassroots cricket to the senior England teams.
Neal has extensive experience both inside and outside sport as a performance psychologist, and faculty member at Ashridge Executive Education, in a range of roles in cricket, with the Rugby Football Union, and the Premier League.
“We see this as a very significant and exciting appointment,” said Andrew Strauss, the ECB’s director, England cricket.
“As our Head of Coach Development, John will have the opportunity to create a game-wide strategy to ensure that coaches have impact from the moment someone picks up a bat for the first time right up to the pinnacle in our England teams.
“He is a well-known and respected figure in cricket, having worked previously with Middlesex, Somerset, Gloucestershire and as an advisor to the ECB, including in the assessment of our coach development programmes.
“But coaching is about people development as much as technical intricacies, and it was John’s breadth of experience in sport and beyond that made him an outstanding candidate for this role.”
Neal has been a director of the Sports Business Programme at Ashridge since 2001, and in that role he was director of the RFU’s World Class Coaching Programme from 2002-7, before joining the Welsh Rugby Union as National Performance Coach from 2006-08.
He has been director of Sport Northern Ireland’s Elite Coach Programme since 2011, and academic co-director of the Premier League’s Elite Coach Apprentice Scheme since 2015.
He has worked with teams at three World Cups across two sports and both genders with West Indies Cricket, England Women’s Rugby, and the WRU.
“I’m delighted and very proud to have been appointed into a role where I believe I can make a real difference within a sport which is very close to my heart,” said Neal.
“Coaches play a crucial role in the sport and especially ensuring young people love playing cricket and then follow their passion for a lifetime at their local club or through to international level. I am excited to have been given the opportunity to develop our coaches and make an impact on the future of English cricket and its cricketers.”
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