If the Proteas showing at the recent T20 ICC World Cup is anything to go by more talent needs to be unearthed and leadership in cricket fostered at grassroots level. This is what the “Ek n Jy” Street Cricket Programme is all about.
The cricket programme in partnership with the local non-profit “Ek n Jy” and the Sporting Chance Foundation, has seen more than 90 boys and girls from the local Koringberg community, near Moorreesburg, take part in a nine-week-long programme, which aims to offer a healthy and positive alternative to social evils.
The street cricket programme’s aim is to give children in rural communities who are passionate about sport, and who want to be involved, the space to display their skills without having to travel too far.
According to the role-players involved, sport provides the opportunity to keep these children occupied while living in an environment that seldom encourages self-improvement. The street cricket programme offers a platform for these talented youngsters to have fun and display their skills on the very streets where they live.
It has been rolled out in a number of phases, starting with the recruitment of players and selection of coaches by the “Ek n Jy” team, a meeting with parents in the local church to showcase the upcoming programme, then the coaches’ training by the Sporting Chance team travelling from Cape Town before matches officially started on Tuesday 11 October.
Girls and boys aged 7 to 13 years were structured into teams to play this six-a-side adapted version of the traditional game. Training on how to play the game and specific cricket techniques have been passed on by the Sporting Chance team and the improvement shown each week has been encouraging.
Through hard work and dedication to get the project funded through ‘Ek n Jy’s’ sponsors Marrian George, Advanced Cleaning Services, New Direction and Paradigm Connect, “Ek n Jy” and Sporting Chance have employed street cricket coaches, produced playing shirts and supplied bats, balls and recycled metal drums that act as wickets. The streets, which serve as the pitch, are closed off each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon attracting spectators and creating a positive community vibe.
After weeks of competition, the league will culminate in a festival finale on Saturday 3 December from 09:00, when the top teams battle it out for the coveted “Ek n Jy” Street Cricket Champions title.
This inaugural street cricket programme has been an excellent launch pad for “Ek n Jy” to continue their ongoing interventions in the Koringberg community and they shared the following: “We are super proud to have had the sponsor backing and the expertise of Sporting Chance to launch this massive undertaking in our small village. The change among our village kids and coaches has been palpable and we hope the future ripple effect will afford us the opportunity to launch more of these programmes. We definitely have talent here and we hope to nurture these kids on to successful sporting futures,” said “Ek n Jy’s” director, Cecilia Mackay.
Sporting Chance, one of South Africa’s leading sports coaching and development organisations, have enjoyed the opportunity to work away from the cities.
“As our name suggests we’re all about giving as many South Africans a sporting chance and it’s been fantastic to work with ‘Ek ‘n Jy’ to empower the Koringberg community by developing their coaches and providing a platform for the children to play in a safe and structured environment,” said Sporting Chance General Manger Natalie Pollock. “The Swartland is synonymous with hidden talent, specifically with rugby, and now it’s also time to find those cricket gems and lay a future path for them.”
