Over the last two decades, Derek Perera has
become one of the most iconic names in the
world of cricket in Canada. To add to that, the
cricketing fraternity outside Canada has been full
of praises and has applauded his contribution to Canadian
cricket ecosystem.
Derek believes in the process of nurturing talent from a young
age and this belief of his along with an eye for talent scouting
has helped him and the Ontario Cricket Academy (OCA)
produce some of the brightest stars in the sport in Canada.
As a Canadian-born cricketer, Derek rose to great heights as a
player at a young age. He made a rapid rise through the system
and graduated from Canada’s U-19 and U-23 teams at the age
of 17.
This was just the beginning though. Next year, he went on to
represent the Canada national senior cricket team at the age
of 18 when he got a chance to try his skills against Bangladesh
in 1996. In the same year, he also played against India and
grabbed eyeballs among the cricket fraternity all over the
world.
He has played cricket around the globe including club stints
in England (county league), Sri Lanka (national league) and
Australia (grade cricket). His experience of playing international
cricket at the senior and first-class level has helped him evolve
as a coach and a mentor to a lot of cricketers in Canada.
As a coach, Derek has been plying his trade since 1998. Like
his playing days, Derek has displayed equal dedication towards
becoming a great coach. He has coached Canada U-15, U-19
and U-23 cricket teams already and was also the first ever
Performance Analyst for the Canadian national senior cricket
team helping them qualify for the World Cup in 2007. The ICC
recognized him as one of the leading coaches in the continent
by naming him as the Head Coach of the well-renowned ICC
Americas combined team in the 2016 West Indies Cricket
Board ‘Nagico Super 50” tournament.
Derek is one of the most qualified and reliable coaches
in Canada and is immensely respected worldwide in the
cricketing circle. He has a proven track record and possesses passion
for the game, second to none.
Apart from his playing experience as an international cricketer, he is
a certified ICC Level 2 cricket coach as well. Most recently, Derek
received his Level 3 and 4 Elite Level Coaching certification from Gary
Kirsten’s CoachED program. In addition, he has undergone specialist
cricket coach training at the MRF Pace Foundation under Dennis
Lillee and has been a part of ICC High Performance Workshops with
the late Bob Woolmer and Richard Done.
One of his key strengths as a coach is his background in Sports
Science with an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and his Masters
in Sports and Exercise Science and Health Promotion. Not only does
this gives him an edge over other coaches in Canada, but also helps
him understand the player and his performance better.
Derek’s vision and passion for the game along with his undying efforts
to improve the standard of cricket in Canada and help the country
get back to the elite level has already reaped fruits.