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Case studies
- Jordan’s story
- Ian’s story
- Farah’s story
- Danny’s story
- Gareth’s story
- Tai’s story
- A Tyneside school’s story
- Great Ormond Street Hospital
All of our case studies are provided by our coaches who implement and see first hand the effects of Chance to Shine.
Jordan’s story
Jordan, 11, had changed primary schools 10 times and was expelled from the last two. Both her parents were in prison and several foster placements had been tried without success. Jordan had frequent episodes of violent and verbally abusive behaviour, but then through a Chance to Shine coaching scheme she discovered a talent for sport.
Jordan was in the school team for a one-day Kwik Cricket Festival and attended after-school cricket sessions at the local cricket club. Her outbursts reduced considerably and she has recently taken her Year 6 SATs. Her school attendance is now 100 per cent and she has shown talent in Maths, Art and other areas of sport.
Ian’s story
Ian, aged 10, was classed as morbidly obese. He avoided physical education at school since his experiences had been so negative. He was always last to complete any physical task and, as a result, the other children in his class avoided being partnered with him.
In the first Chance to Shine lessons Ian was completely disinterested. The coach tried to encourage the youngster by giving him one-to-one attention, but he rejected it, saying that cricket was ‘boring’.
The coach persevered and rather than asking the youngster to take part in the physical side of the game, he encouraged him to approach it from a tactical point of view. Ian was asked to identify gaps in the field or ways that teams might score more runs.
After a few weeks, he became frustrated with the players’ inability to see run scoring opportunities, and eventually decided to take matters into his own hands and get involved. He did this successfully and cricket became his favourite lesson. For the first time in his entire school life Ian joined an extra-curricular club: the cricket club.
He further progressed into the local cricket club and took part in competitive house matches. Ian’s mother and grandmother came to watch him, and he took great pride in wearing his club shirt. His house team won the cricket cup at the end of the season, and he collected his medal - his first ever sporting achievement. Ian lost weight and, two years on, continues to enjoy cricket both within and outside of school.
Case study provided by Rebecca Ayton.
Farah’s story
Farah, aged 9, is an Asian girl from a poor family. She was extremely conscious of her body image and had never taken part in any school teams.
Farah was very shy and lacking in confidence and self-esteem. She participated fully in the cricket lessons, but was always set apart from her peer group. The coach recognised early on that she would benefit from one-to-one attention and throughout the term gave her individual support and suggested that she contributed to the de-brief at the end of the sessions.
The breakthrough came when the girl suddenly started to participate in class de-brief sessions, answering questions such as ‘what did we learn about fielding today?’ Her responses were accurate and the class even gave her a round of applause.
Her confidence went from strength to strength. Teachers commented that, away from cricket, she had started to contribute in the classroom and they had discovered she was a very bright and articulate young lady.
Her peer group also realised this and began to involve her more fully in group activities. She continued to participate in cricket lessons, gaining confidence in her physical ability as well as her personal skills.
Farah joined a lunchtime cricket club and was part of the school team to enter, for the first time in its history, into the local Kwik cricket festival. She had been picked for after-school events before but had never asked her parents for permission to attend. Farah not only asked for her cricket team, but gained permission to take part and was delighted when her father came to watch her play.
Case study provided by Rebecca Ayton.
Danny’s story
Danny, 11, has multiple behavioural problems, including Asperger’s, Tourettes and Attention Deficit Disorder, but according to his Primary School teacher he has been transformed by the Chance to Shine programme.
“He used to get frustrated, lose his temper very easily and struggled to cope with losing or being told he was wrong” says Tracey Miller, a teacher at St John’s Primary School, Bethnal Green, London, “He would throw tantrums, everything was unfair or someone else’s fault.”
For Danny the clarity of the controlled environment of sport has been therapeutic. A gifted sportsman, he is now learning to control his impulses through the discipline and enjoyment of competitive team sport and even captains the team.
“I’ve built a relationship with him through cricket,” says Tracey,” we tell him he’s captain now, he has to be responsible and has to be sympathetic if a player drops a catch.
“Sport is clearer, more defined”, continues Tracey,” so that children can see clearly that the same simple rules apply to all. The raised finger of the umpire is final and this is an authority that is comprehensible to youngsters.”
Gareth’s story
Gareth Walton, 20, overcame taunting and physical disability due to Poland Syndrome, which meant he was born with no left arm below the elbow, to excel in the sport he loves: cricket.
As a teenage cricketer he defied the odds to become one of County Durham's most celebrated young players and acted as a volunteer Chance to Shine coach for his club’s junior section.
He firmly established himself in the squad at Willington Cricket Club as an accomplished bowler, batter and fielder. Gareth became vice-captain and first bowler for the club's under-18 team.
Darren Brown, the club's development officer, said: "Gareth is a fantastic inspiration. He regularly plays for the first team because he’s an excellent cricket player. He is talented in all aspects of the game and never lets us down. He is a real inspiration for younger players."
The respect Gareth has earned on the sports field flies in the face of his life as a toddler, when he and his sister Laura were teased about his disability.
Gareth said: "I wouldn't say I was bullied but there was teasing, and once I started playing cricket I came in for some real sledging from other teams. At first they thought I would be easy to play against so they'd bat towards me and even my own team used to try to protect me.
"But I've made some good catches and taken plenty of wickets so now everyone knows me for my cricket, not my arm. I live for cricket and hope to pass that on to others."
He gained the first level of coaching qualifications needed to work with children at Willington and has plans to coach blind youngsters at Durham Cricket Club and hopes to become a full-time coach.
Tai’s story
Tai Duc Pham, 12, moved to England from Vietnam in 2003, when he was seven years old, to live with his grandfather. He was given his first taste of cricket at Grafton Primary School, one of the schools involved in the Chance to Shine initiative. He quickly fell in love with the game and showed a raw talent which led him to captain the school’s 1st XI team.
Tai was selected to play for Islington Cricket Club’s Under 11s and was part of the team that won the Middlesex East Area Cup and finished runners-up in their league.
In 2008 he took 16 wickets and scored a total of 100 runs, with a top score of 25, batting at number eight. Always polite and respectful, Tai is considered an excellent role-model by his coaches and teachers and was one of the players to represent Islington borough at this year’s Arundel Festival.
Tai won the Chance to Shine Young Leader of the Year Award in 2008.
A Tyneside school’s story
Chance to Shine champions good sportsmanship and works closely with MCC Spirit of Cricket. The below school encapsulates all that the Spirit of Cricket stands for and actively and inventively incorporates it in lessons and coaching sessions.
One Chance to Shine North Tyneside school, in an area of deprivation where over 75% of the children receive free school meals, has already embraced the Spirit of Cricket.
The school has a number of children with behavioural special needs and after a fight broke out one day between pupils in a PE class, the sports teacher created a special Spirit of Cricket lesson. She even introduced role-playing cards that dealt with sportsmanship.
The students were asked to think about how to make a person that loses a game feel better. The coach then took their suggestions away and printed them onto flash cards. “I thought this was the best way to educate the children about how to react to winning and losing”, explained the coach.
From then on, after each game the winning team were each given a flash card and had to go to a member of the losing team, shake hands and say what is written on the card.
“Although initially this was an artificial situation and the children treated it as a bit of a joke,” says the school coach, “it eventually became a natural process and the cards were no longer needed. They are a completely different group now and cricket has taught them life skills.”
For the first time in the school’s history the teachers entered a team into the local Kwik Cricket festival, something the children’s behaviour had prevented in the past. Although they did not win the festival they did win the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ award by judges who were unaware of the background to the team’s story.
Case study provided by Rebecca Ayton.
Great Ormond Street Hospital
The Cricket Foundation is proud to have introduced a pioneering cricket coaching scheme at Great Ormond Street Hospital’s school.
Led by a dynamic coaching duo, Denise O’Neill and Ray Tudor, the project has benefited a number of sick youngsters, many of whom would not get the chance to be involved with games and PE in a hospital environment.
The Chance to Shine sessions use games and skills that can be adapted to suit a wide range of ages and capabilities. Some children have severely debilitating illnesses. “To see them come out of their shells and see them with a smile on their face, I feel I’ve achieved something”, says Ray.
Sessions involving batting, throwing and catching in the classroom or playground are followed by ward visits to work with young people who are too sick to make the trip down to the hospital school. Denise says, “coaching at GOSH is totally different to anything I’ve ever experienced. I’d love to do it every day.”
There are many cases where Chance to Shine has made a real difference to children’s lives, none more so than Jake, an 11 year old receiving treatment for leukaemia, who looks forward to the sessions every week. His mother has no doubts about the benefits of the scheme. She says, “having the opportunity to come down to the school and be outside and play cricket. It makes it a whole lot more bearable for Jake.”
Tell us a story
If you or a friend have a story to tell about how Chance to Shine is positively affecting the lives of young people, we would love to hear from you. Contact us here.
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