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VICTORIAN
JUNIOR CRICKET ACADEMY
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VICTORIAN
JUNIOR CRICKET ACADEMY
Please Note - The 2025 Victorian Junior Cricket Academy has not yet been finalised. You can register your interest by clicking HERE or filling out the form below and you will receive details when they become available around mid April 2025. The information outlined below the form relates to the 2024 Academy and is only an indication of the programme.
Register Interest
Cricket HQ is the home of the Victorian Junior Cricket Academy (VJCA).
The academy is an intensive 8 week training programme for junior cricketers and targets talented, ambitious and passionate players who have played or aspire to play representative cricket for their local cricket association. The VJCA provides a high performance environment for junior cricketers aged 8 to 14 and provides both technical and tactical instruction. The VJCA is run in a professional and disciplined learning environment and has a proven record of producing representative players, Premier first XI cricketers and players who have gone on to represent Victoria and Australia in under-age teams.
Please note, numbers in the VJCA squads are strictly limited. Unlike our 2025 Winter Programme, acceptance into the Academy is not automatic and players need to be of a certain standard to be accepted. The Academy is for high-end talented players and every applicant is assessed. In some cases players will be invited to a trial session for assessment. To apply, simply complete the application form and email it to cricket@cricket-hq.com.au
In 2025 there are 3 separate groups within the Victorian Junior Cricket Academy based on the player's age as at August 31, 2025:
- 8 and 9 year olds (Rookie Rockets)
- 10 and 11 year olds (Junior Jets)
- 12, 13 & 14 year olds (Pathway Players)
The Victorian Junior Cricket Academy (Winter Version) includes weekly training sessions through June and July
with players training in small groups. The weekly sessions run for an hour under the watchful eye of our Cricket Australia accredited,
experienced coaches. The curriculum covers most aspects of the game including batting, bowling, running between the wickets and tactical
game day strategies.
The VJCA is a high-performance training programme top end talented junior cricketers. The joy of making a representative team or Victorian
underage state team or the heartbreak of missing out on selection starts weeks if not months before the actual trial process. Selection can
come down to small things and experience tells us that minor tweaks in technique can produce significant improvement in power, output of
runs, pace or spin of the bowler.
The Victorian Junior Academy is designed to help players prepare for representative cricket and compete with
the state’s best young cricketers in their age group. Players will work on the technical, tactical and mental aspects of their game,
build confidence and emerge as better players - guaranteed!
Talent doesn't guarantee success, it’s earned through dedication, lots of sweat and persistence. Every training session and every extra
ball you hit, bowl or catch prepares you for that key moment in a game under pressure. Cricket is the toughest game on earth that punishes
mistakes and stars are made through hard work and dedication, they are not born or overnight sensations.
TECHNICAL |
 Cricket
is a very technical game and our experienced and accredited coaches will put your batting technique under the microscope in our ‘Batting
Lab’. They will work through your batting set up and lay the foundations to help you generate more power and score runs to every part of the
ground. You will work through the full array of shots (front foot and back foot) plus address how to play spin. Our coaches will also
examine your bowling action with a focus on injury prevention. . |
TACTICAL |
In the weekly group training sessions we challenge players by creating game day scenarios to simulate pressure situations. The sessions are designed to get players 'match ready' which means working balls into gaps, turning the strike over, dropping and running plus hitting boundaries and improving running between wickets. Bowlers also work on strategy including how to bowl at the ‘death’ plus set their own fields. They are taught how to create more variation in their deliveries and focus on executing their skills by bowling yorkers, slower balls, in-swingers and out-swingers (for pace bowlers) while the spin bowlers work on getting more revolutions on the ball to generate more spin and drift plus variation with balls like a wrong-un, slider and arm ball. |
MENTAL
|
Cricket is a tough game that punishes lapses in concentration and small errors. You need to be focused, have a positive attitude and be a team player. Players also need to build resilience and be mentally strong to deal with game day pressure plus the inevitable 'failures', set backs and disappointment. The game of cricket also teaches players valuable life lessons including, the harder you work, the luckier you get! Success builds confidence (on and off the ground) and cricket is more than a game, it’s a microcosm of life. The Academy helps players to overcome their fears, push themselves to achieve their goals and develop a healthy attitude to competition and failure. Players can expect their match day results to skyrocket and potentially become match winners and leaders with a success mindset. |
Watch some Under 12 players at the academy - click here
You can read TESTIMONIALS from players and parents here.
Please Note:- Unlike the
Winter Programme, acceptance
into the VJCA is not automatic. You need to download the Application Form and email the completed form to cricket@cricket-hq.com.au
We will then acknowledge receipt of your application and assess the suitability of the player.