Jeff Vaughan

Jeff Vaughan is a highly rated Australian cricket coach who represented South Australia as a player before transitioning into coaching. His background as a professional cricketer taught him how to guide sporting teams to win, via strategic game planning, strong leadership, and coaching/training. He now coaches elite athletes at national level.  

Born in Sydney in 1974, Vaughan grew up in Broken Hill where he spent plenty of time playing backyard cricket and where, he says, his two older sisters taught him both patience and (since they wouldn’t let him bat) how to bowl.  

Jeff Vaughans’ cricket career began as a star junior player when he moved to Adelaide from Broken Hill. His excellence as a schoolboy cricketer, and at the North Broken Hill Cricket Club, landed him in South Australia's under-17 and under-19 teams. In 1997 he was invited to join the Australian Cricket Academy. His first season in 1998-99 was outstanding, with scores of 121 and 157. As a cricketer he was described as having a ‘sound temperament’ – a great asset in the long game of cricket – and for ‘playing equally well off the front and back foot’. 

Vaughan played for South Australia for a number of years before his transition into coaching. He then coached the Hobart Hurricanes from 2017-18 and became head coach of the Tasmania Tigers in 2020. His dedication to the sport has made him a respected leader of high-performance teams that deliver outstanding results.  

Jeff Vaughan’s contributions to Australian cricket include:  SA Representative, Australian Cricketers Association Executive Committee 2001 – 2002; Batting Guest Coach Australian Cricket Centre of Excellence; Foundation Member, Milo ‘Have a Go’ program 1992 – 1998; Country Elite Cricket management, grass roots program 1998 – 2002; Member of the Prospect District Cricket Club Committee; Member of the Hope Valley Cricket Club Committee. 

Jeff spends time in Broken Hill every year visiting his mother Patricia, one of his greatest supporters, who is very vocal on how the game should be officiated and played. For instance, ‘Pat will have an issue with some of the umpiring’, says Vaughan. ‘She'll be telling me to pass onto the batting group to watch the ball and move their feet.’ 

Of his hometown Vaughan says: ‘It means a lot to me; I love everything about Broken Hill and I love staying connected.’

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