Why Pre-Season Is Where Summer Is Won — Introducing Summer Ready

Every October, the same thing happens at junior cricket clubs across Melbourne. Two players of similar ability walk out for Round 1. One has spent winter away from the game; the other has spent six weeks sharpening technique, building fitness and facing hundreds of balls. By the third over, you can tell which is which.

Round 1 doesn't reward talent. It rewards preparation. That's the idea behind Summer Ready — Elite Cricket Academy's six-week pre-season program, running through August and into September at both our centres and designed to become a permanent fixture in our calendar each year before the season starts.

The problem with turning up in October

Most junior cricketers get their first serious hit of the season at their club's opening training session — often just days before their first match. The result is predictable: rusty technique, soft hands in the field, and a month of the season spent finding form instead of showing it. For players chasing selection, that first month is exactly when squads are decided.

Pre-season fixes this. Six weeks of structured, progressive training is enough time to rebuild rhythm, add new skills and arrive at Round 1 in mid-season form — without overloading a young player's week.

What Summer Ready covers

One session a week, 1 hour 45 minutes, for six weeks. Every session runs on our full-length indoor synthetic lanes with bowling machines, and every player trains in an age-specific group — Foundations (9–11), Development (12–14) or Performance (15–17) — so the work is always pitched at the right level. Boys and girls welcome.

• Advanced batting concepts — shot selection, strike rotation and power hitting against the machine and live bowling

• Advanced bowling concepts — consistency, variations and building a plan for each batter

• Game awareness — match scenarios every week: chasing, defending and batting under pressure

• Fitness, strengthening and conditioning — age-appropriate athletic work so bodies are ready, not just techniques

• Pathfinder access — every player is benchmarked in Week 1 and re-tested in Week 6, with a progress report delivered through Pathfinder, the Elite Cricket Academy player portal

That Week 1 to Week 6 comparison is the part parents value most. It turns six weeks of training into something you can see: measurable improvement, written down, ready to share with a club coach or selector.

Two locations, one program

• Pakenham — Saturdays 9:00–10:45am, starting 1 August, led by Senior Coach Dhana and his team at our new South East centre, 14/99 Bald Hill Road. Ideal if weeknights are already full.

• Hoppers Crossing — Fridays 6:00–7:45pm, starting 7 August, with the ECA coaching team on our 40m indoor lanes at 87 Elm Park Drive, the largest indoor nets in the West.

The curriculum, the standard and the price are identical at both centres — just pick the day and location that fits your family.

The details

The full six-week program is $528 including GST — about $88 a session for elite indoor coaching, bowling machines every week and the Pathfinder progress report included. No hidden extras. Places are capped at 12 per group and filled in order of payment, and no selection or trial session is required to join.

Enrol online at elitecricketacademy.com.au (search Summer Ready in our store), call 0485 043 092 (Pakenham) or 0485 043 094 (Hoppers Crossing), or ask at the desk at either centre. Tell us your child's age and we'll confirm their group and hold a spot for 48 hours.

Develop. Perform. Succeed. We'll see you in the nets in August — and at Round 1 in October, ready.

Enrol Now!