By Bethany Smith
The England and Wales Cricket Association will recognise a young man from Leicester at the end of the month after taking on a major role at his local club.
Ethan Hawkins, 22, of Leicester Road, pitched nominees to the post when he was named Leicestershire and Rutland’s young volunteer of the year for his commitments to Cropston Cricket Club.
He said: “I still can’t get my head around it, it hasn’t sunk in yet. When I received the letter saying I’d won it I was literally so surprised.”
After taking on a new role as Junior Co-ordinator which involves coaching three junior teams, finding club sponsors, promoting participation and managing the website, Mr Hawkins was put forward by his colleagues to receive recognition.
He said: “The club treasurer put me forward for it, I had no clue that they’d done it, things like that do make you feel appreciated. I’ve been at the club for six years now both playing and coaching over 60 juniors from six to 17 years old and have loved every second of it.”
An awards ceremony will be held on the 30th October at the Athena theatre, Leicester where he will be presented with an official framed certificate.
Mr Hawkins, along with other regional winners, were also invited to the Natwest Outstanding Service to Cricket awards at Lord’s Cricket Ground for a guided tour and three course meal in celebration of the sport.
He said: “As soon as we got there we were greeted with champagne and made to feel special. We heard numerous influential guest speakers and were personally shown round the grounds, the whole thing was just surreal, definitely an experience that I won’t forget.”
As a coaching graduate from Sheffield Hallam and now a teaching assistant he says the skills he picked up in doing his degree has helped him to win him the award.
The England and Wales cricket board awards players each year both regionally and nationally in 12 different categories including Coach of the Year, which was also won by a Leicestershire man, Club of the Year, Heartbeat of the Club and Outstanding Contribution to Coaching.
To learn more about the ECB awards, visit http://www.ecb.co.uk/
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