With the holiday season over and the new year upon us, the buzz and excitement for the upcoming new season is here, writes Matt Barrett. What better way to sharpen your skills than by having an hour or so a week to practise and have fun at Mill Hill Village’s indoor winter training?

These sessions are a fantastic opportunity to remind yourself of the batting fundamentals:
:: Head position
:: Front foot
:: Weight transfer

At our winter nets, you won't have to figure this out for yourself: There will be plenty of adults and some qualified coaches there to guide the development of our juniors. It feels great after months of work to go into the season feeling confident you'll score runs for fun!

Bowling, of course, has its own fundamentals:
:: Non-bowling arm
:: Swing and seam
:: Front and back foot contact
:: Spinning the ball with variations

Work on these and by the time the season rolls around, your hard work will pay off.

The nets give you the chance of four months of solid practice that you can take away and use when the season starts at the end of April.

How to make the most of winter nets
As great as smacking the ball as hard as you like, throwing it down like a rocket or tweaking it like Nathan Lyon is, these sessions are here for you to answer a few questions:
:: What do I want to focus on this session?
:: How will I be able to improve my skills?
:: Once I feel I have been able to do this, what do I want to improve or try next?

Every cricketer needs the right mindset. Each session should focus on one area you want to improve, allowing the adults and coaches to guide you through small, achievable steps. The reward comes when that new skill clicks and becomes part of your game.

:: Everything you need to know about our winter nets
:: Become a volunteer coach at Mill Hill Village Cricket Club

Make sure you come to each session with an intention, so the question of why you're attending gets answered before you even pad up or take your mark with ball in hand.

Of course, there's also a social aspect to our winter nets: It's great to see people that you may not have spoken to for a while and have fun with them.

Indoor nets for juniors begin on January 16. Timings for the Friday sessions are as follows:
:: Soft ball group (under-9s, approx)
1740 – 1855 (75 mins) in the Mill Hill School Sports Hall downstairs
:: Younger hard ball group (U10s & U11s approx)
1740 – 1830 (50 mins) in the Gallery Nets upstairs
:: Older hard ball group (U12s & U13s approx)
1835 – 1925 (50 mins) in the Gallery Nets upstairs
:: Oldest hard ball group (U14s-plus)
1930-2030 (60 mins) in the Gallery Nets upstairs

New members are always welcome. For more information, email info@millhillvillagecricketclub.co.uk.

We'll see you soon! Here's how to book. Details about our indoor winter nets for adults are here.

Mill Hill Village Cricket Club's Matt Barrett is an ECB Core Coach - Level 2.

Photo by Mustafa Fatemi on Unsplash