Local handpicked for mini-cricket seminar
The highlight for Nanan, was to see the vision of the programme moving towards a focus on including rural schools and producing quality cricket, and development of better skills and technique.
Newcastle KFC Mini-Cricket volunteer coordinator, Rishi Nanan was one of the 160 people, out of 12 000 coordinators in the country, selected to attend the Prestigious National Mini-Cricket Seminar held in George, Western Cape.
Nanan represented the Northern KwaZulu-Natal inland region, along with seven other delegates from Pietermaritzburg, Matatiele and Richmond.
“The seminar was to honour, recognise, acknowledge and celebrate mini-cricket coaches and coordinators from around the country. It extended its appreciation toward the continuous hard work by the persons involved in the mini cricket programme.”
Travelling almost 2 000 kilometres across the country, Nanan said the three-day seminar was action-packed with entertainment, activities and interactive workshops.
“This year also marked the 10-year partnership of the mini-cricket primary sponsor, KFC,” he added.
The highlight for Nanan, was to see the vision of the programme moving towards a focus on including rural schools and producing quality cricket, and development of better skills and technique.
“At the seminar, the Cricket South Africa and KFC vision and strategy emphasised the development and future of the sport, and possible Protea players in generations to come. Many current Protea players have been part of this grassroots programme in their early years.”
One of the topics discussed, was the involvement of girls in the sport.
“When we visited schools in the township, it was exciting to see the confidence girls had when holding a cricket bat, and the joy of them hitting the ball.
“The aim is to introduce girls to the program from a young age, and to continue to let them play and compete in a male dominated sport,” said Nanan.
Nanan also had the opportunity to meet a young national female cricketer, Tumi Sekhukhune, who started playing at a mini-cricket level and is now named as one of the players in the Powerade Women’s National Academy intake for 2019, by Cricket South Africa.
South African cricketer, Reeza Hendricks, who plays for the Highveld Lions, and also played for the South Africa cricket team, attended the seminar and gave motivational talks to the attendees.
“Our Newcastle vision is to get children playing during school time as well as after school and on weekends, getting more games played, and to get our townships schools involved in the program and to give/assistance to those coaches and children there,” he said passionately.
For Nanan, attending the seminar has given him and other coordinators a new-found respect for the sport, and he felt empowered to encourage young cricketers to fall in love with the sport.
“Overall, it was an honour and privilege to be part of the national seminar, learning and keeping ourselves motivated to give back to the children, interacting with fellow coaches, delegates and professional players, to learn new skills and to advance our coaching techniques and styles. Most of all. to let children have fun and at the same time let them continue playing and learning the game better each day,” he concluded.
ALSO READ: KFC Mini Cricket honours local talent
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