The Jetly Cricket Academy: More Than Cricket

The Jetly Cricket Academy is a Wellington-based cricket academy for young cricketers aged 7 to 25, with coaching at the indoor nets at Hnry Stadium in Wellington.

I’m Xara Jetly, the co-founder. I’m also a current Wellington Blaze player. This is our first post, so I want to keep it simple and tell you who we are, why the website is here now, and what to expect when you come along.

Our tagline is More than cricket.

Our coaching line is simple too.

Train the mind. Play the game.

That means we care about the shot, the ball, the movement, the decision, and the person doing it. If you’re nervous, that’s okay. If you’re confident and want to stretch yourself, that’s okay too. You don’t need to arrive with everything sorted.

A quiet place to start, with space to work at your pace.

Why the site is live now

The website is live because the demand was already there.

Before this site launched, we ran an indoor programme every Sunday morning. There were eight to ten players each week. At the end, people asked when the next one would be.

One-to-one sessions have also run with North City Cricket Club, and sessions are already running at the nets at Hnry Stadium.

So this website is not a big announcement about something far away. It’s a clear place to explain what’s already happening, what we offer, and how you can find the right next step.

If you’ve been looking for girls' cricket coaching in Wellington, or you’re trying to find a place where a young player can build skill without fear, this is for you. We’re co-ed, with a focus on girls and women because cricket needs more spaces where they feel seen, heard, and supported.

Parents are welcome to stay and watch.

That matters. A player should feel safe enough to try, miss, ask, laugh, reset, and try again.

Parents can stay close enough to see the work and the care behind it.

What one hour looks like

Every session is one hour.

The hour is player-led. That means you help lead what happens. The coach does not arrive with a fixed plan and push you through it no matter how you feel. The coach facilitates the hour around what you want to work on.

A session runs like this:

• Check in

  
  

We start by seeing where you’re at. Not a big talk. Just enough to know how you’re feeling and what you’re bringing into the net.

• A quick brainstorm

  
  

We ask what you want from the hour. It might be one shot, one ball, one feeling, one part of your movement, or one bit of confidence you want to build.

• Mobility

  
  

We get the body ready. Cricket is physical, even when it looks still from the side.

• The work

  
  

Then we get into it. The work is driven by your goals for that hour.

Some days that might mean batting. Some days it might mean bowling. Some days it might mean slowing things down so you can understand what’s happening and build trust in yourself.

Our method is built on four pillars:

• Mental

  
  

Mindfulness and mental practices to help you stay present, build confidence, and learn to trust yourself.

• Technical

  
  

The cricket skills themselves, worked on clearly and patiently.

• Physical

  
  

How your body moves, warms up, and supports what you want to do.

• Visual

  
  

How you see the game, notice cues, and make sense of what’s in front of you.

None of this needs to be complicated. Good coaching should help things feel clearer.

Small details can tell you a lot when you slow the game down.

The coaches you’ll work with

There are currently two coaches at Jetly Cricket Academy.

I’m Xara Jetly. I’m a current Wellington Blaze player. I care about helping you understand your game and feel steady enough to try things, not just repeat things.

Dave Simpkins is the academy’s lead technical coach. His coaching starts from no fear of failure. That matters because cricket has a lot of missing in it. You miss balls. You bowl wides. You get out. You try something, and it doesn’t work straight away.

That doesn’t mean the work has failed.

Dave and I coach as equals, with different strengths. The aim is not to make you copy someone else. The aim is to help you learn what works for you, with clear support around you.

If you’re a parent, I want you to know this too: you’re welcome to stay and watch. You don’t have to guess what the session is like from the car park. You can see the tone, the care, and the way the hour is shaped around the player.

What is coming next

This first version of the website is a starting point.

More is on the way, including:

• Fuller detail on how the coaching works

• Deeper dive into the sessions

• Photography from real sessions

• Stories from players and families

• Booking system

• Account login system

• and much more!

  
  

I don’t want to rush that or fill the site with things that haven’t happened yet. We’ll add more as the academy grows and as real sessions give us real things to show.

Start with the sessions page

If this feels like the right fit, learn more on our sessions page.

You don’t need to know exactly what you want yet. You might want one-to-one cricket coaching. You might be a parent looking for junior cricket coaching in Wellington. You might just want a calm place to begin.

You can see the current sessions and enquiry details and take it from there.