The skipper as the student: Lanning lauds the ACA's Education Grants

The Aussie World Cup winning skipper is using her time in isolation to upskill herself, utilising the Australian Cricketers’ Association’s Education and Training Grants.

Late last year, Meg Lanning completed her Bachelor of Exercise and Health Science and is now halfway through her Level Three Coaching Course.

“I think it [studying] just gives you something else to focus on when you're playing cricket, especially when you’re away on tour or things like that which can get pretty hectic,” she said.

“It's very easy just to think about cricket whereas when you've got that [something to study], on the other side, I guess it just takes your mind away from cricket and keeps you engaged in different things. And also exercise and health science was actually related to sport and cricket, so I found that really interesting.”

Lanning began her Bachelor of Exercise and Health Science degree in 2011, originally studying full-time. However, a call up to national team pushed her studies back a little, so she switched to part-time study while utilising the university’s online resources to the complete her course.

“It was a three-year course which took me eight years to do,” she laughed. “It very much became a part-time course that became pretty much fully online by the end of it, so I was able to keep that ticking along, even if it was a just one subject per semester, and I was finally able to finish that off late last year.”

Lanning has now been capitalising her time at home, getting through her Level Three Coaching Course. About 18 months ago, the Victorian travelled to Brisbane to complete the practical side of the course and is now working through the remaining coursework.

“Now I’m just working through all the logbook stage, doing a bit of research and then the final stage is doing a mock interview, and these are really the last few things I need to do to finish it,” she said.

“At the moment with this break we’ve got coming up, I’m trying to work out what that looks like. I’ll try and work through perhaps a business course or something like that, just to give me a better understanding of that area because I haven't really done anything there yet. I'm just working through that at the moment and what that looks like but I’m definitely looking at doing something else.

Each ACA Member is able to apply annually for a grant of up to $4,000 to be used towards professional development and formalised learning. Lanning explains that the ACA and its Education Grants have provided a great deal of assistance to her off-field, and she encourages other players to take advantage of the resource.

“The education grants are amazing really. To sit back and think about the opportunity it gives players to study, and not just giving us some funding for that, but it's also opportunities and being able to work in different places and try new things. A lot of my friends who have gone through Uni have a pretty big HECS debts,” she said.

“Sometimes you can forget how lucky you are to have that pretty much covered with the ACA grants. It’s certainly such a great thing to take advantage of. I think you'd be silly if you if you didn't at least try something and then work out if you didn't like it. I think that's better than going through your career and not really try anything.”

ACA supports players engaging in relevant educational study, with ACA Education Grants available to eligible players throughout the year. If you want to learn more about what study options are available for you please speak with your PDM or email GamePlan Administrator Elesha Te Paa on etepaa@auscricket.com.au.