Indianapolis: The American Cricket Federation has developed a comprehensive American coach-education system. Indianapolis-based Jatin Patel, an officeholder at both ACF and US Youth Cricket, a national leader in coach-education and a graduate of Cricket Australia’s Level 2 Coach training program, will lead this groundbreaking initiative.

With implementation of this programme, rather than remain dependent on occasional and sporadic one-off coach-education sessions conducted for Americans by foreign cricket bodies, today American cricket takes control of its own future through the establishment of its own comprehensive American coach-education system.

ACF Chief Executive Officer Jamie Harrison said, "There has always been a vast, unmet need for coach-education in the United States, one that we have tried to fill, unsuccessfully, by asking others to do it for us. Now, those days are gone.

"The United States, through the leadership of the American Cricket Federation, is capable of conducting and managing its own coach-education system that will produce American-trained coaches for the American cricket market.

"We are also committed to helping match our trained coaches with volunteer and professional coaching opportunities through the ACF coaching database. As cricket grows in America, this will become a critical resource for coaches and teams alike.

"Cricket in the United States is advancing on all fronts, and the ACF coach-education program is just another example of that progress."

Jatin Patel is confident that the ACF coach-education program will make a positive impact across cricket in the USA. Cricket education and its regulation by ACF is a key step forward to better cricket ahead..

"ACF’s initiative will provide many opportunities to existing and potential coaches in the USA, and is also needed to educate and develop new home-grown coaches at all levels. In addition, youth and women’s development programs in USA lacks coaches and this will provide the needed jumpstart in these areas," said Jatin.

"I am looking forward to leading this first-ever American cricket coaching education and certification system, one that will help cricket rapidly expand in America."

As a national governing body for cricket in USA, the American Cricket Federation is properly placed to advocate a single national standard for the cricket coaching certification. As such, it is clear that ACF should develop, maintain, promote, and administer a nationally accredited certification and recertification program for cricket coaches, in keeping with its mandate to create an environment that will advance safety and education.

ACF’s certified coaching accreditation program will also include renewals, recertification and disciplinary enforcements and standardized national cricket coaching accreditation.

Other salient features of the programme to provide certification and recertification of cricket coaches, school instructors & trainers; organize a minimum of one coach-training event for each of ACF’s member leagues and academies per year, more where practicable; provide online resources for coaches and employment opportunities for coaches; establish national standards, regulations and policies; provide ongoing support for coaching education; provide a vehicle for integration and acceptance of international coaching credentials in the USA and oversee coaching development and management at all levels, including the maintenance of a national coaches database.