Acomb Cricket Club’s experience.
Over the coming weeks we’re taking a look at some of the success stories to come out of the introduction of the All Stars program (an ECB initiative aimed at providing children aged five to eight with a great first experience in cricket) in cricket clubs across Yorkshire. We begin with Acomb CC.
Nestled in the outskirts of York, Acomb Cricket Club is a club with several thriving senior teams as well as a well-established youth section. But, like many clubs, Acomb had never taken on children between the ages of five and eight for cricket training before. Initially, there was some apprehension about the prospect of taking on such a large group of children – all younger than they have ever coached before. But, after attending a session in Leeds which gave Acomb a chance to see what the program was all about, they decided to go ahead.
Acomb saw it as “a fantastic opportunity to get younger kids involved and deliver their first experience of cricket” as well as helping to get more volunteers involved at the club and increase the interest in the junior section to help develop players for the future. Acomb were pleased to get involved with the All Stars program and help provide great experiences in cricket for local kids (as well as getting their hands on all that shiny new kit the kids love!).
To prepare, organiser Neil Grant along with Lead Activator Joe Dale attended training sessions as a number of other volunteers came forward to get involved. Acomb promoted their program in local schools to help get as many kids involved as possible. It was important that everyone was made to feel welcome. So, emails were sent to all the interested parents explaining a bit about the club, the organisers and volunteers who would be involved so those new to the club and new to cricket could feel more of a part of the whole experience. Acomb also explained their key objective, which was so valuable in their success: that everyone has fun!
Acomb had originally set a target of getting 30 kids down to the sessions but they got 45! The feedback from the kids and parents was that everyone loved the games played in the sessions; so, they were focused on more and more as the weeks went by. As a little added bonus for Acomb, the All Stars sessions also helped the club out financially as the bar made over £700 from providing hot dogs and chips on the night of the sessions!
Looking back on how things went at Acomb this year, Neil’s advice is to “Just do it! And be prepared.” As Neil, Joe and the Acomb volunteers found, the important thing was to “ensure the focus is on the kids having fun rather than extensive coaching – as they will get that coaching as they progress.” But all that being said, one of Neil’s highlights from the program was watching the kids bowl with a straight arm for the first time after coaching them in the sessions!
If you think your club could benefit from getting involved with All Stars or you would like to get involved yourself, either as a parent of the next Joe Root or as a volunteer, please take a look at the website (https://www.ecb.co.uk/play/all-stars) and follow the YCB All Stars Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/YorkshireAllStars/) for more info (including the dates and locations for the upcoming roadshows, currently travelling around Yorkshire!).
There have been so many successes with All Stars cricket this year. If your club has a story to tell and would like to be featured, please email J.Stockdale@yorkshirecb.com for more info.