At only 25 years old, Marie Kelly is one of the most well-known faces in women’s cricket in the Midlands. Most of the Warwickshire Cricket family would recognise Marie as the Warwickshire CCC women’s captain and more recently as one of the Central Sparks’ contracted players. Marie is also, however, making a name for herself as an accomplished coach in the women and girls’ game. Three years ago, Marie was asked to start a women and girl’s section at Knowle & Dorridge CC, more or less from scratch. In our fourth case study as part of Women’s Big Cricket Month, Marie talks about her work coaching and managing the women and girls’ section at K&DCC.
How would you describe the last three years?
Busy! In addition to my playing career with Warwickshire Women, Southern Vipers in the Kia Super League and now Central Sparks, I have also been coaching and developing a women and girls’ section at Knowle & Dorridge CC. When I started at K&DCC in 2018 there were 16 girls playing at the club. In just four seasons we have grown the girls’ Friday night sessions to over 60 women and girls. Even last year, when there were Covid restrictions, numbers were still growing. That figure of 60 participants doesn’t include the many more girls we also have on a Friday night in the All Stars & Dynamos sessions.
We started with U11 and U13’s teams, then added an U15 team as the first cohort of girls got older. This year we have a women’s team for the first time, playing in the D league of the Super 8’s competition.
How have you achieved such fantastic growth?
I think there are a number of factors in our growth but the most important has been to have the support of the club, the parents and volunteers. John Mitchell and Paul Fogarty in particular have been amazing. John has coached and managed many of the teams, while Paul has scored matches and uploaded all the results.
Our approach of growing organically each year as the initial girls got older has made growth a lot smoother. Having All Stars and now Dynamos on a Friday night too has also had a big impact. Younger girls involved in All Stars and Dynamos sessions can see the progression for themselves and if they ask what comes next their coaches can signpost them over in my direction.
Now numbers are so high, we get new players coming through word of mouth. Girls tell their friends, parents share details on WhatsApp groups etc. It wasn’t so straightforward when I was starting out in 2018. In those days I was doing a lot of coaching at schools so I prepared a generic letter which could be sent home (by hard copy or via school email) to those girls who showed interest in cricket.
The generic letter was signed by me and would give the child and their parents more information about how to get involved in club cricket. It encouraged parents to contact me for more information about local clubs. I was coaching in and around Solihull so I have encouraged girls to join many local clubs, including Blossomfield and Earlswood. At Bentley Heath Primary School, however, I had a woman on the inside – my mum! My mum (Mamie Kelly) has taught at Bentley Heath for a long time and has always supported and developed cricket in PE, at lunchtime, and through Chance to Shine sessions and festivals. So, of course, lots of the letters from Marie Kelly were sent home via Mrs Kelly at Bentley Heath and most of the girls joined K&DCC as it’s their local club.
How do you recognise the girls’ achievements?
The girls and their parents really enjoy having their own presentation evening at the end of each season, separate from the boys. There are so many girls and boys playing cricket at K&DCC that it makes sense to have the girls and boys presentation nights separately. The girls’ presentation nights include a popular video montage of the season. I ask a pro player such as Amy Jones to come along and present the awards, which the girls love. I also put my own playing kit from the KSL etc in the changing room at the end of the season and tell the girls to help themselves. That’s another popular event!
What would you consider the major challenges of establishing a women and girls’ section?
The biggest challenge for any club is to get a good solid chunk of numbers in each age group so you have enough players to field a team within each 2-3 year age band. Getting enough coaches, once numbers start to grow, is another challenge. Last Sunday we fielded four U13 teams! That is where the link to Complete Cricket has helped me in terms of access to coaches, organisation and administration. Having parents such as John and Paul who are willing to step in and help in those situations is essential and hugely appreciated.
What are you most proud of about your work at K&DCC?
I am proud to have facilitated some girls making the journey from after school club, to local cricket club, to hardball cricket, to country trial and then playing for Warwickshire U13s. Seeing the first girl from K&DCC reach county level as a result of one of my letters was my goal as a coach and now I have seen a few more girls make the same journey. I know, without that initial encouragement, many of those girls wouldn’t otherwise have taken up cricket seriously.
I am also proud of the K&DCC U15s girls’ team for winning their league, considering they lost every game of hardball cricket they played during their first year as U13s.
What are you looking forward to this season?
From a coaching perspective, I am looking forward to the girls at K&DCC having an enjoyable and successful season. From a personal point of view, I would like the Central Sparks’ early success this season to continue. Over the years the Warwickshire Women have enjoyed amazing support from Warwickshire members and supporters. I am hoping those members and supporters will also now show their support for the Central Sparks, given that so many of us in the Sparks have come up through the Warwickshire ranks.
Women and girls’ cricket is firmly established at K&DCC. It has been a team effort, but Marie Kelly’s creative approach to growing the women and girl’s section has been a key component in the process. She is the Central Spark who provided the spark at Station Road!
