Mark O’Leary named full-time Head Coach

Western Storm are delighted to be able to announce that Mark O’Leary has been appointed full-time Head Coach.

It was announced recently that he would fulfill the role for the remainder of the 2020 season, but the management at Western Storm believe that he is the person to lead the team into the new professional era and therefore the decision has been taken to make the appointment permanent.

O’Leary is no stranger to Western Storm having acted as Assistant Coach during the last year’s successful KIA Super League campaign.

He has a wealth of coaching experience having previously held the position of Head Coach of Cardiff MCCU at Cardiff Met, which is made up of three constituent Universities including Cardiff University and USW. He has a proven track record of helping players to achieve their dream of a First Class contract during his time in that role and he has also worked as an ECB Coach Developer.

After agreeing to take on the role, Mark said: “I’m really excited to have been named as permanent Head Coach. I loved working with Western Storm last year as Assistant Coach and really enjoyed every moment. It was great to win the competition, but to be involved in the women’s game with the squad that we had was outstanding. To be able to have the opportunity to lead Western Storm into a new era is something that I’m really looking forward to.

“I like to think that I run a tight ship, but at the same time allow the players to have a bit of fun too. The key is that I’m very passionate about what I do.

“It’s vital that we enable the players to develop and reach their potential with the goal being to produce players who go on to play for their country.”

Western Storm Regional Director of Women’s Cricket, Lisa Pagett said “I’m delighted that Mark will be leading Western Storm as Head Coach on a full-time basis. He brings a huge amount of knowledge and experience with him and is hugely respected by both the players and the coaching network within the region.

“Mark has done an outstanding job in leading the Cardiff MCCU programme, which has developed some brilliant talent in the female game and developed an impressive number of players who have moved onto First Class cricket.

“The passion, desire and vision for Western Storm he demonstrated throughout the interview process made him the stand-out candidate in a very competitive field.”

Will Brown, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire CCC said: “We are thrilled to welcome Mark to Western Storm. The women’s game is on an exciting journey and to have somebody of Mark’s calibre and experience developing the best talent across the South West is hugely exciting.

“Mark is hugely respected in the region and I have no doubt that he will have a huge impact on the players, the programme and the staff group to ensure that Western Storm is a force to be reckoned with in the new Women’s Elite Domestic Structure.”