To mark International Women's Day, trentbridge.co.uk takes a look at the burgeoning opportunities for female coaches in the professional and recreational game.

“If you can’t see it, then you can’t be it.”

From World Cup-winner Lydia Greenway to those at the grassroots, that ten-word phrase is a common refrain when it comes to women’s cricket.

With cricket now played more widely in schools, women’s and girls’ leagues growing in popularity and ever-increasing television exposure for the stars of the sport, visibility is becoming less of a talking point when it comes to attracting the next generation of players.

The next objective is to nurture a crop of coaches – and work is well underway.

“Last year we ran our first ever all-female foundation 1 coaches’ course,” says Graham Redfern, Nottinghamshire’s Women and Girls Officer.

“In years gone by we’d have been scrapping around to make up the numbers, but we had around 12 or 15 women on the course.

“This mirrors what I’ve experienced across women’s cricket really – in years gone by I was spending so much time trying to convince people to have a women’s or girls’ section, but now it’s flipped completely on its head and I’ve got people coming to me with ideas instead. And that’s what we want to see.”

The desire is for these Nottinghamshire-led female-only courses to bear fruit across the county, with female coaches becoming a more common sight across the recreational game.

“The demand is there, so we’re looking to help clubs by providing extra coaching and training,” says Graham.

“We can support and mentor female coaches in an environment where they immediately feel comfortable, before they go on to take on roles in the community.

“We’re currently working on setting up two development centres – one at Worksop, and one in the south of the county – which will help to provide us with those environments to allow female coaches to develop.

“There are some brilliant people at clubs across Nottinghamshire, and I’m sure we’ll be able to continue to drive forward big changes in women’s cricket.”

“When I retired, I quickly realised there was a lot of value in young female coaches going into schools and clubs.”

Lydia Greenway

Greenway herself has first-hand experience of the power female coaches can wield.

“When I retired, I contacted some clubs and asked if I could go and do some coaching for them; and I quickly realised there was a lot of value in young female coaches going into schools and clubs,” she recalls.

“I’ve seen how it breaks down barriers for young girls. When I go into a mixed school to coach, the boys are changed and ready to go, and they sprint outside; the girls tend to follow slowly behind them.

“But when they see they’ve got a female coach there, you suddenly see their demeanour change. Their eyes are bit wider, their shoulders go back a bit, and suddenly they realise that this is a sport for them. I’ve seen that countless times.

“Now that I’ve stopped playing, I definitely appreciate the work that coaches do – and, as role models, female coaches are priceless.

“Now is definitely the time to get a cohort of female coaches in – from the top all the way down to the grassroots.”

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To find out more about opportunities for female coaches in Notts, email graham.redfern@nottsccc.co.uk.