Saint Lucia’s cricket landscape is buzzing with activity, and emerging coach Dalton Polius finds himself at the heart of things. Fresh off being honoured at the Saint Lucia National Cricket Association awards ceremony earlier this year, he has continued building an impressive CV, one that now includes his first head coaching role with the Windward Islands Under-15s and participation in a Cricket West Indies (CWI) training camp.
For Polius, a Castries Comprehensive Secondary School alumnus and former off-spinner, these opportunities represent more than just career milestones; they’re part of a growing momentum in local cricket.
“That was a really good learning opportunity for me, mixing with the different coaches, experienced coaches from different islands, as well as working with the best young players, up-and-coming young players on the island,” Polius, 35 this year, said.
“In regards to the West Indies springboard bowling camp, it was very beneficial, because there’s a big drive for West Indies to produce a lot more leg spinners. I was one of the fortunate few coaches who got the opportunity to work with a coach from the UK, Omar Rashid. Incidentally, he is [England bowler] Adil Rashid’s brother, and his coach as well. So I think I learned quite a bit.”
Polius has already begun sharing his knowledge. As an assistant coach with the Saint Lucia Cricket High Performance Centre (HPC), he has been passing on tips to leg-spinners Cody Fontinelle and Isiah Jones. He noted that they’ve been surprised by how quickly the techniques can yield results.
The HPC’s impact is becoming increasingly visible. Since its second cohort was inducted last November, Saint Lucia has seen unprecedented representation in regional cricket: three players in West Indies Under-19 training, six in the groundbreaking Breakout League, and seven earning first-class call-ups. This surge coincides with a packed domestic calendar featuring the Prime Minister’s Cup, Saint Lucia Premier League and the recent conclusion of the two-day competition.
Adding to the movement, head coach John Eugene is currently with the West Indies A team as they host South Africa A in Saint Lucia for a six-week tour. But Polius emphasises that the goal is for both players and coaches to keep striving for more.
“That’s the reason why we are here: to develop our players, to get them to different levels and also to help our coaches move on as well,” he said. “So I think that was already being planned, that we’re going to have coaches away sometimes, and players away sometimes.”
The programme has been structured to ensure sufficient staffing for local training while creating pathways for everyone to gain higher-level experience abroad and bring that knowledge back, he explained.
The proof is in the schedule. With the Under-19s preparing for August’s regional tournament, the women’s Under-19 team bound for July’s Trinidad and Tobago tour and the Dream11 Saint Lucia T10 Blast launching this month, Mindoo Phillip Park hums with activity.
Saint Lucia’s hosting of two regional first-class matches and the South Africa A tour has created unique opportunities. Young bowlers, especially, benefit from serving as net bowlers for visiting teams, an experience Polius considers invaluable.
“Because we had so many teams visit Saint Lucia, they are always in high demand to do net bowling,” he said. “That’s a great part of development – to bowl against a lot of top players, first-class players, a lot of our players got to brush shoulders with the South Africa team and the West Indies team.”
He added that the increased local cricket activity allows players to test the skills they’ve been developing at the HPC. “It has been a lot more practical in a sense, where last year we did a lot of training with not enough matches, maybe. Also, we just came from a tour in February to Sint Maarten, which was very successful. So I think that the HPC has been growing from strength to strength and giving players opportunities to move forward and gain experience.”
Polius has played, coached, and studied in England, the Netherlands and Australia before returning home, where he has worked with Grande Riviere Primary School, Entrepot Secondary School and the national programme. A former first-class cricketer with one appearance for West Indies Under-19s, the young but experienced coach is excited about the volume of cricket being played and the resources available to young players.
It’s a rich learning environment, Polius said, with players returning from West Indies age-group teams, the Women’s programme, the Academy and Breakout League enriching the collective knowledge pool.
As Saint Lucia cements its reputation as a development hub, Polius’ outlook captures the sentiment: the preparation is good, the opportunities are multiplying and the future looks brighter than ever.
