ACTIVITIES
ALL STARS CRICKET
So the cricket course has started. We signed up for the All Stars Cricket – an initiative by the England and Wales Cricket Board to provide children between 5 and 8 the opportunity to experience cricket. It is 8 sessions for £40 and that includes a backpack, personalised t-shirt, bat, ball, cap and activity pack. There was much excitement before the first session, which was all ‘Catching’.
Turning up to the first session, I was vaguely aware that I had read something somewhere about parent participation being encouraged. I thought this would mean throwing a few balls at the beginning and showing the odd sign of encouragement from the sidelines. The playing fields where our cricket sessions are taking place are handily positioned so they get the afternoon sun. A few of my friends have also signed their children up for the same cricket session and I was looking forward to sitting on the bench in the sun and having a good old natter.
Well, it turns out the parent participation is a little more than I anticipated. I actually had to do some running and batting. I was very ill prepared for this and had totally the wrong footwear and clothing on. However, The Child had the best time and he really enjoyed the fact that I was also joining in.
The second session was last night and this time I was better prepared – well, I had some trainers on anyway. This session was about communication and the children got to do lots of work with their partners (the parents) and practised the core skills of throwing and bowling and balancing and all sorts of good things. It is all done in a really fun way and the children seem to love it. Joe and Rob who run our sessions are fantastic. They manage to keep 20+ children active, engaged and listening for an hour, which is no mean feat.
I actually really enjoyed joining in again. I am however a little stiff this morning from the miniscule amount of running I did yesterday which is slightly alarming. Perhaps this is also a good lesson for me that I need to up my fitness levels. Hey, perhaps I can justify a new pair of trainers and some sports gear then J
I have just looked in the activity book and next week’s session is batting – I had better start limbering up now!
All Stars Cricket gets a big tick from me and a big tick from The Child.
Useful Information:
You can find out more about the All Stars Cricket here: Link: www.ecb.co.uk/play/all-stars
Yorkshire Cricket Links:
www.facebook.com/YorkshireAllStars/
www.facebook.com/eycricket