The working relationship between Fingal County Council and Leinster Cricket Union continues to expand. Reinhardt Strydom (Fingal Cricket Development Officer) with the help of Stephen Moreton (Cricket Ireland Coach Education Officer) recently presented coaching courses for teachers from both the Dublin 15 and North Fingal areas.
The courses were held at the Corduff Sports Centre on Wednesday, March 23th and North County Cricket Club on Wednesday, March 30th. The courses were attended by 24 teachers who were represented by schools from all over Fingal and also included sports officers from Corduff Sport Centre.
‘Cricket for Teachers’ was run for four hours and explained the basic rules of cricket, how the game works and to show different ball/cricket games that can be played in the school yard. The session started with a demonstration on how the game of cricket is played, the rules involved and also a layout of a cricket field.
Following that, batting was demonstrated with the ‘grip and stance’ followed by the execution of the ‘forward drive’. In relation to bowling the ‘basic bowling action’ was demonstrated and explained. To finish, the teachers were shown hand/eye co-ordination skills and games and also four different cricket games to play with their pupils. These games included ‘Pairs’ cricket, ‘Continuous’ cricket, ‘Diamond’ cricket & the ‘Lords’ game.
Teachers arriving with little to no knowledge of cricket learned a lot over the four hours. They left understanding the game better, had fun, learned to bat & bowl and were all looking forward to trying out these new games with their relevant classes. This will hugely help the growth of cricket in Fingal and special thanks have to go to all the schools and teachers who attended. A very successful course with many positives outcomes came from the day’s activities.
Niall McGuirk, Senior Sports Development Officer with Fingal County Council commented on the teacher training courses.
"The council are committed to developing sport in Fingal and cricket is a major part of that plan. This programme gives teachers the basic skills of the game and enables them to pass on what they have learned to their students through fun and active games"
Further progress was made in West Dublin this week with the opening of the new ground at Porterstown Park near Blanchardstown. Over 50 people attended the official opening (including World Cup star Kevin O’ Brien) where Clonee Cricket Club, Castleknock Communuity College, Setanta College and several local primary schools will use the facilities in the coming months.
Participants at Teachers Coaching Day
Dublin 15 Day North Fingal Day
Grainne Quaid Castaheany ETNS Noel Melia St Cronan’s SNS
Rebecca Hayden Scoil Mhuire SNS Eileen McGovern Balrothery NS
Siobhan Fanning Mary, Mother of Hope Terry Bruton De La Salle, Dundalk
Nicola O’Connor Mary, Mother of Hope Elaine Clarke St Colmcille’s BNS
Sarah Fitzgerald Mary, Mother of Hope Julie Moffett Old Borough NS
Connor Heffernan Corduff Community Youth Project Mary McGuirk St Teresa’s NS
Stephen Hand Corduff Community Youth Project Sharon Whelan St Teresa’s NS
Michelle Butler St Patrick’s SNS Joe Ferry Realt na Mara
John Boothman Corduff Sports Centre Nollaig MacCarthaigh Realt na Mara
Tony Peoples Dublin Business School Sean Byrne St Colmcille’s BNS
Laura O’Shaughnessy Bracken ETNS
Adrian Doyle Gaelscoil Thalach na n-og
Mags Murray Fingal Co Council