City Cricket Club Peterborough Development & Sport England Support -Tackling Inequalities Fund-Case Study By Jabeen Maqbool Chairwoman & Dave Summers Diverse Communities Officer Cricket East
City Cricket Club Peterborough’s is an evolving cricket club with participants from the heart of the City with a vision to bring together children/ young people (CYP) and their families, predominantly from diverse ethnic communities (DEC), to encourage greater involvement and enjoyment in the game of cricket.
Aims:
We hope to create increased opportunities with the aims of:
Breaking down barriers for CYP and adults to integrate, by playing cricket within their local area
Building confidence in all CYP and adults to perform to their best and get maximum enjoyment from the game of cricket
Having a greater focus on DEC females, by engaging and supporting under-represented groups to participate in the game of cricket by providing culturally appropriate sports activities and facilities
Identifying and developing talent amongst all our CYP and adults, so that they have an opportunity to engage in cricket at local, district and county level
Providing learning opportunities for parents and older young people to acquire skills and gain accreditation in coaching, scoring and umpiring
Using the game of cricket to promote social cohesion and create opportunities in diverse communities affected by youth crime and anti-social behaviour
Providing aspiration, showing cricket as an accessible and inclusive sport
Empowering DEC communities to have a ‘voice’ and contribute to the running of sports activities within their local area
Creating a ‘family friendly’ cricket club where there is shared contribution from club and families
Working in collaboration with local stakeholders and partners to deliver our vision
DELIVERING OUR AIMS:
City Cricket Club will fulfil their aims by supporting the CYP to meet the club expectations and standards. These are for all CYP to:
Aspire – CYP to be excited to play cricket. To have fun, develop a positive attitude towards sports and gain greater confidence in their abilities
Participate – CYP to understand the longer-term benefits of sport participation; increased confidence, well-being, building friendships and a sense of belonging
Discover – CYP to develop skills needed to support achievement, collaboration, communication, motivation and resilience
Educate - CYP supported to sustain cricket in their community club. We will train parents to gain accreditation to become coaches and parent volunteers. In particular, training up female coaches and volunteers. We will also provide a safe space for CYP to discuss topical social issues with designated adults and address these challenges in a practical way
Compete –CYP to gain experience competing in cricket through inter club, city wide and league fixtures. The club has gained affiliation through Hunts County and also aims to participate in games via the Hunts and Border Youth League We will encourage parents and families to attend and support CYP at games. We hope to create a family friendly club encouraging inter-generational play through mums and girls and dad and lads sessions and games
Evolve – CYP are motivated and supported to continue playing cricket in to their adulthood both at a local and national level as well as cricket for fun
WEEKLY TRAINING SESSIONS:
City Cricket Club provides weekly cricket training sessions to CYP at u9s, u11s, u13s and u15s boys and girls. The club now runs a weekend adult side. The training sessions are delivered under the supervision of our male and female head coaches, and we look to develop further coach development opportunities. They are supported by trainee coaches and parent volunteers. The club’s female head coach Farida Chaudhry has wide coaching and playing experience and serves as a role model for the girls. City Cricket Club has 148 registered members:
City Cricket Club have received a donation of soft ball cricketing equipment from Cricket East on behalf of the English Cricket Board. The equipment is being used to support our girls only training sessions.
The club is currently in discussion with Cricket East to develop a city-wide cricket participation strategy for DEC. We aim to evidence a case for future investment and support from the ECB in accordance with their ‘South Asian Action Plan’ 2018 and the ‘Inspiring Generations’ Programme 2020.
The Tackling Inequalities Fund-Impact on the organisation:
This funding secured from Sport England allowed City Cricket Club Peterborough to offer weekly cricket practice sessions over the summer of 2020 in a Covid safe manner, which would not have otherwise been possible. The sessions at Woodlands Castor enabled the club to work with current members as well as attract new participants to help increase membership. They allowed the club to build and develop old and new relationships by reaching out to a diverse group of young people and their families drawn from the heart of the City. On average the weekly sessions were attended by 40-50 young people and their families. The attendance was high, particularly given the COVID situation. The sessions were split in to age based categories (Under 11’s &girls, Under 13’s and Under 15’s) and were supported by the club’s volunteer and parent coaches. The girls and Under 11’s session were delivered by Dave from Cricket East, alongside City Cricket Club coaches. Cricket East is responsible for developing participation and growth of the game across Huntingdonshire and Bedfordshire and Dave’s work currently includes projects in communities in Huntingdon and Luton as well as Peterborough.
The practice sessions enabled City Cricket Club to form two competitive cricket teams, one for the Under 13’s and one for the Under 15’s. Both teams were able to undertake local friendlies in lieu of the cancelled youth league. This was the first time the club entered any form of competitive cricket. The young people were provided with an opportunity to play as a team and experience the game at a competitive level. Parents and families were encouraged to attend the friendlies, particularly mums, siblings and grandparents, as the club wanted to positively engage and create a family friendly environment. Match days provided a real carnival like atmosphere.
The project also involved running a two-day summer camp which was delivered in Central Park. The club made preparations for the camp, however, torrential rains resulted in the first day being cancelled. The second day was facilitated by colleagues from Cricket East and our female coach who ran two, 90-minute taster sessions; one for the under11’s & girls and the second for U13’s. Both sessions provided an opportunity to engage with existing and attract new participants and their families. Having a central location, allowed the summer camp to receive great publicity through the club’s social media channels. Both sessions were fully booked and attended by 30 young people.
Impact on participants:
Case study 1:
A 13yr old shy, unassuming boy who was described by his father as “timid, lacking confidence, only playing computer games’ and not wanting to take part in social activities. The lockdown period had an adverse impact on him, due to missing the minimal social interaction within his school environment.
Due to his father’s love of cricket and eagerness to help him ‘come out of his shell’, he attended the CCC Summer Cricket sessions. The natural ability was quietly evident, but he had a distinct lack of confidence and self-belief. Over the course of the Summer, his interactions with his peers became more common and animated and he began to recognise his own strengths.
He has grown in confidence, no longer confined to his bedroom and his games consoles. He is now keen to practice in his own time with his father and younger brother and has developed a keen eye for detail whilst watching cricket on television. Furthermore, he is now more conscious of his health and fitness, eager to put himself in contention to make the team and perform well.
Case study 2:
A 11yr old girl who is on the Autistic Spectrum. Her mother explains that she finds it very difficult in social situations, particularly when required to communicate and interact with others. Her elder sister is a keen cricketer and plays for her school team. With her elder sister present and with the comfort of a female coach, she also agreed to attend the summer sessions.
With knowledge of her needs, the coaches ensured that she was placed into a smaller group when undertaking various activities, and only encouraged to take part as much as she was comfortable with. With the familiarity of the coaches, and her sister, she has grown in comfort and confidence and is able to positively interact with her peers. Her mother has commented that the girls have really bonded through this shared experience. The mother has also used this opportunity to spend some quality time with her daughters, encouraging them from the side lines; something she has been unable to do given her additional commitments to extended family members, especially during lockdown.
Testimonials:
“I’d never played cricket before, so I didn’t know if I would like it. My best friend told me about the club and I came to the summer camp. I realised I’m a really good batsman and enjoy playing!” (Boy - 12yrs)
“As a young Asian girl, I didn’t think sport was for me. But having attended the summer sessions run by our female coach, an England international, I was inspired! Now my dad and my brothers also come with me. My dad has even rediscovered his love for cricket” (Girl – 15yrs)
“Taking my kids to all their clubs can be real chore, however, I can honestly say coming to City Cricket Club has been a really enjoyable experience as it’s a fun and family friendly environment. The atmosphere is sometimes electric” (Parent)
“Having played cricket throughout my youth, my love for the game started at a very young age. When I heard City Cricket Club were looking for coaches this summer, I jumped at the chance to get involved in cricket once more and give back to the community” (Club Coach)
“I like coming to the weekly cricket club as I have made lots of friends. We get on together and have the similar interests outside of the club. The coaches are really friendly and motivate us to keep working hard” (Boy – 13yrs)
“The clubs boys youth sides have made impressive strides in this their first season of competitive matches and I witnessed memorable scenes as they secured their first win. All club officials and players alike excellently led by Chairperson Jabeen, who has been inspirational in leading the development of the club including the growing girls section, were rightly able to celebrate their months of hard work getting to this point.” (Dave Summers Cricket East)
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