Finn Vemis has gone from averaging 13 runs in the 2016/17 season to 72 and winning the U14's and U12's best batting average for the team, and the best U12's Division 1 batting average in the league in 2017/18.
From the get-go, Vemis was adamant on improving his batting and to convert his starts into bigger scores.
“I just wanted to make a lot of runs. While I may not be the strongest kid, I wanted to concentrate yet play fresh all the way through, bat for longer, be able to find the gaps, and get my timing better when batting,” Vemis said.
The season saw many highlights for the opening batsmen and wicket keeper with a career highlight making his first 50 in the U14's.
Taking part in the Mornington Peninsula Australian Cricket Institute (ACI) Academy meant Vemis was able to channel his energy and focus his goal setting accordingly with the help of ACI Head Coaches Nick Fitzpatrick and Joel Hamilton.
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“Finn has really improved his awareness and ability to bat for longer periods of time. He came to us wanting to work on converting his starts into scores, and that has really shown with a lot of his not-outs and also by scoring his first 50,” Fitzpatrick said.
During the pre-season, Vemis attests his mental preparation to the ACI sessions and online weekly challenges. He even said it helped with his confidence when meeting new players.
“I liked how we had to do different challenges against other people, and then when it came time to meet other players from other clubs, I felt really good,” Vemis said.
Being able to transfer skills learnt at the ACI academies into game play and seeing young players like Vemis achieve their goals is the overall objective for Hamilton and Fitzpatrick.
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“The thing that has impressed me most is that Finn really makes an effort to take what he learns from our environment at the Australian Cricket Institute and put that into practice in his own training; whether that be at club sessions, on his own or with his brother,” Hamilton said.
This coming season, Vemis hopes to work on his overall fitness and make the rep team. He also wants to gain a few more dismissals and give more attention to his wicket keeping.
When asked if he had any advice for other young players looking to better their upcoming season, Vemis said the ACI is where to further your knowledge.
“If you’ve got opportunities like the ACI, go onto their webinars and watch their training videos. They will make you a much better player,” he said.
Author : Kara Bertoncini