IAS profile on Caelan Smith

Caelan is 100% committed to everything that is asked of him and works hard to continually improve his ability, especially with his batting.

Caelan is extremely passionate and dedicated to his cricket and has a unquestioned commitment to his development. A tremendous young man to work with.

The standout moment in the 2015 season was being part of the Keira Lions U16 team that won the Illawarra district premiership.  This was the third season in a row our team had made the grand-final and it was great to be able to win the game and celebrate a very successful season.  I personally had a good game and was able to bowl well with results of 2/14 from 12 overs.   

As the academy program for cricket is in the offseason it was great to keep my batting, bowling and fielding skills fresh as sometimes it’s easy to put the kit away and focus on winter sports.  I’m hoping this extra preparation will give me a head-start into the upcoming season.  

As I was one of the eldest in the program I was able to develop and apply my leadership skills assisting younger players with drills and correct batting technique as well.

I’ve had a couple of seasons now where I have made 30s and 40s and not been able to get those really big scores.  So this year I’m keen to convert 50s into 100s and hopefully selections into other representative teams will flow from that.

 I’m also really excited about the opportunity of playing higher grades for Keira this season and I’m hoping to learn as much as I can from playing on turf on a consistent basis.

❏ THE Illawarra has a rich history in developing and elevating athletes to higher representative honours, with the Academy a significant vehicle in the process.

In 2016 the Illawarra Academy of Sport offers Sports Scholarships in programs as diverse as  cycling, golf, lawn bowls, hockey, netball, rugby union, triathlon as well as non-sport specific programs; Athlete Scholarship Program and Athlete with a Disability Program.

All scholarship holders receive the best coaching and learning experiences with the Academy devoted to the holistic development of young local talented athletes.

Established in the mid 1980s, the Academy has produced 11 Olympians who has combined to win 13 medals, plus 17 Commonwealth Games representatives (25 medals). 

Many other athletes have attended Commonwealth and Olympic Games. 

 Eleven highly-talented Academy graduates have gone on to become world champions, plus 69 Senior National Team reps over the past 3 decades.