Cricket experience
Participation in organised sports provides an opportunity for young people to increase their physical activity, improving fitness levels and developing motor and coordination skills for example. It is also an opportunity to develop psychological and social skills. Otago Cricket identified that young Pasifika, a growing ethnic group in New Zealand, are under-represented in cricket, so the organisation partnered with Sport, Exercise and Health student Jaden Dowling to try and address this.
Jaden undertook background research which he then used to develop a six week programme to introduce young people to cricket. The first five sessions in the programme followed the same format but with different activities each week:
- A warm up game;
- Drills to practice batting, bowling and fielding; and
- Playing a short modified version of cricket.
The sixth session was a longer cricket game. Jaden trialled the programme in several Dunedin schools. The resource he developed is available to Otago Cricket and he recommends that it be offered with Pasifika community groups and churches.