Matt Crowther
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As a blended professional, Matt has combined his work as a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching whilst continuing to coach cricket within performance and participation contexts. In his role, Matt teaches a number of modules across the degree, including the core coach development modules aimed at helping student-coaches develop their coaching practice. Matt has been an ECB Level 4 qualified coach since 2018 and completed his PhD exploring how learning happens in academy-level cricket in 2021.
In his role as Course Leader of the BSc (Hons) Sport Coaching course, Matt is responsible for overseeing the creation, delivery and ongoing developments of the degree. He also has a hands-on delivery role across all years of the undergraduate programme. As a personal tutor to a range of students, Matt focuses on students' progression towards their job roles post-study, and how they are equipping themselves with the experiences and skills to be successful in the sport coaching industry.
Post PhD, Matt has published a number of pieces with the ultimate ambition that his work reaches coaches who are working in practice with their players. Examples of this type of work come in the form of a delivery at a regional cricket coaching conference, and consultancy work as part of the ECB Level 4 coaching course. He is hopeful that the outcomes of his PhD will have meaningful impacts on the continuous development of cricket coaches and their players.
After completing an undergraduate degree in BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching at Leeds Metropolitan University, Matt continued his coach education as a result of gaining an internship at the university. As an ECB Level 3 coach combining work with the Yorkshire Cricket Board 'Girls Pathways to Excellence' scheme, Lancashire Women's 1st XI and Leeds/Bradford MCCU, Matt successfully achieved an MSc in Sports Coaching in 2013. Matt relocated to Edinburgh for the summer of 2013, taking the Head Coach position of Eastern Premier League side Carlton C.C. After his summer in Scotland, Matt returned to Yorkshire and started his work in Higher Education as a Lecturer in Sports Coaching Practice at Leeds Metropolitan University before moving once again to Preston to take up a Lecturing role in Sports Coaching at UCLan.
Matt was appointed as the Head Coach of Yorkshire Women's Cricket on a 1-year contract in 2018,a role included overseeing the 1st XI in the County Championship and the T20 Blast competition. Matt was responsible for transforming the delivery of the Emerging Player Programme (EPP). In the same year, as a fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), Matt was appointed as an External Examiner at Chichester University.
Since re-locating to the North-West, Matt has embedded himself into the local coaching landscape having held lead coaching roles with Lancaster University, Clitheroe C.C. and Penwortham C.C. Most recently, Matt is working as 'Head of Junior Cricket' at Garstang C.C. and combines this with being 'Senior Head Coach' at Blackpool C.C.
- Course Leader - BSc (Hons) Sport Coaching
- PhD Cricket Coaches Epistemology, University of Central Lancashire, 2021
- PGDip Elite Cricket Coaching, University of Gloucestershire, 2018
- PGCert Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, University of Central Lancashire, 2016
- MSc Sport Coaching, Leeds Metropolitan University, 2013
- BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching, Leeds Metropolitan University, 2011
- Coaching Pedagogy and Practice
- Integrated Psychology in Coaching Practice
- Holistic Player Development
- Qualitative Research Methods in Sports Coaching
- Performance Development Cricket Coaching
- Fellow of the HEA
- External Examiner University of Chichester
- ECB Coaches Association
Matt's current PhD research focuses on exploring the link between coaches practice and their beliefs about the learning process. A key aspect of the research has involved observations of coaches working with their players, and follow up discussions with coaches about their practice. A second key aspect of the study is the differences between coaching in red ball (i.e. multi-day) cricket and white ball (i.e. single-day) cricket.
Key publications:
- Crowther, M. (2023). Exploring coaching epistemology – why do we really do what we do? ECB Level 4 coaching qualification workshop. Cumbria. 11 October 2023.
- Crowther, M., Collins, C., Collins, L., Grecic, D. & Carson, H. J. (2022). Investigating academy coaches’ epistemological beliefs in red and white ball cricket, Sports Coaching Review. DOI: 10.1080/21640629.2022.2101912.
- Crowther, M. and Grecic, D. (2022). Reflecting on reflections of Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA): exemplar experiences and recommendations for new researchers in sport and coaching. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies. 16 (1). 69-86.
- Crowther, M., Collins, D. & Holder, T. (2017). What you think – What you do - What you get? Exploring the link between PJDM and epistemology in cricket coaches. Sports Coaching Review. DOI: 10.1080/21640629.2017.1361165.
- Crowther, M. (2016). Developing committed and determined players. Lancashire ECBCA Bi-annual coaching conference. Conference Presentation, Myerscough, 5th March 2016.
- Crowther, M (2014) “What were you thinking?” – Published in the ECB Coaches. Association newsletter (May/June 2014).
- Centre for Applied Sport, Physical Activity and Performance, University of Central Lancashire
- PhD
- ECB Level 4 Coaching Qualification Workshop, 2018
- Lancashire Coaches Association Conference, 2016
Telephone:+44 (0)1772 894903
Email: Email:Matt Crowther