Cricketer brings his experience to Penryn
White River-born cricketer, Ryan Tate, has had his fair share of highlights in his career. These include a double hundred for Mpumalanga against Limpopo in 2006.
The 34-year-old matriculated at Penryn College after having been a pupil at Lowveld High School.
At the age of 16 he started playing provincial cricket for Eastern Districts and has represented his province at various provincial weeks. He made his breakthrough during his matric year when he was offered a contract with Hampshire County, England.
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He represented MCC, Trojans, Fair Oak and was part of the Hampshire Stragglers touring group for three seasons.
He played alongside South African test cricketer Steven Cook and former English cricketers, Allan Mullally and Jonathan Trott to name a few.
“I was shell-shocked playing with these guys. I learnt a lot and met so many new people. It was a great experience, but I was not interested in going back, purely because of the weather.”
Tate, after one season in England, was invited to join Cape Town Cricket Club and played for Western Province. He also stepped onto the field for Eastern Province before heading back to Hampshire for the last time in the 2008/09 season. He has 16 years of coaching experience and will join Penryn College as a private coach from next term.
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In 2007 while playing as an overseas pro, he was appointed as coach of the Hampshire Hawks disabled team which taught him a great deal on working on strengths and weaknesses that players might have, as well as the psychological aspects involved in creating confident and positive players.
“It gave me a lot of joy and it was an eye-opener. Here I really started enjoying coaching.”
Tate made his first-class debut against the Lions in 2006. He represented the South Africa A associate team between 2008 and 2012 in one-day and three-day cricket.
“I might move in seasons, but I am not planning in going anywhere soon. I just love the Lowveld. Cricket has opened so many doors and it was an honour to play against some serious cricket players and on some of beautiful cricket grounds.”
At Penryn College he will concentrate on motivating cricketers and ensure they gain confidence in their ability and also develop an enjoyment for the game from a young age.
