I recently completed a week’s work experience with Cricket Leinster under the guidance of Cricket Development Manager, Brían O Rourke. It was a very varied and busy week, working with many different coaches in several different locations.
We coached children of all age groups in both Primary and Secondary schools across Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow. The pupils were taught how to bat, bowl and field and the sessions always involved the much loved mini-matches. Some of the children were beginners, while others were accomplished cricketers. A lot of the schools were busy preparing for both the Leprechaun Cup and Super league that started throughout the province last week.
One of the highlights of the week was the delivery of Table Cricket sessions in West Dublin. Table Cricket is a modified game of cricket offered to those with disabilities. This game is played on a table tennis table. It consists of six player’s per-side: a batter, a bowler and four active fielders that move around on sliders controlled by the players. With lots of introductory sessions now delivered, Cricket Leinster are now in the process of arranging matches between the different institutions where the coaches work.
It was great to see the work Cricket Leinster are doing for disability groups, promoting the sport to all abilities and it was very inspiring to see.
The schools I and the coaches visited during the week included:
It was great to see and experience first-hand, the current efforts being made to develop the game at the different locations throughout Leinster. My final session of a busy week was with the Leinster Girls U15 group who have a series of activities and games planned for later in the summer.
Anna Kerrison
Mount Sackville Secondary School
4th year Transition Year student