Big drop in participation
- Thread starter Greavsie
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smoker
Striker
Odd comparison.
Many kids (are encouraged to) take up Judo and Karate so they can defend themselves from bullies.
Other than a valid excuse to carry a big stick of wood, cricket has limited value in that department.
A better comparison would be golf. Similar equipment costs, but better terrestrial TV exposure. Or Fencing...nuff said.
The Spezial One
Striker
Think a T20 format is the easiest and best way to encourage participation at school level to start with.
How hard would it be to arrange a mini inter school league like mate? What kind of permissions etc do you need?
Also, would an indoor league format be easier to do, especially in winter? Something similar to this:
Greavsie
Striker
Time is the biggest factor. 10 yrs ago, i would run a few things after school. Now, its all about booster classes. Same most places.
Indoor league may be a great idea mind
The Spezial One
Striker
Sorry mate, not specifically you, I just mean in general?
Greavsie
Striker
No mate. I was generallising too. There is far less school competitive sport than there was 20 yrs ago. Its the nature of the job that hasled to this. The sports thrmselves are also to blameby not recognising it and adapting the way that they make contact with kids.
I found Whitburn CC in 1991. Today, the clubs need to be searching for the kids. Schools will be more likely to welcome you if it involves 0% extra work for themselves
smoker
Striker
Does your school encourage cricket in regular PE lessons?
My daughter is in y4 and they haven't played cricket at all yet.
They get one period of PE a week (usually gymnastics), one of swimming and no sport. We used to play football or cricket once an afternoon every week at juniors, on top of PE, and swimming at y6.
Schools seem to be foisting off responsibility for sports provision onto external providers.
Greavsie
Striker
We do a half term in y4 and 6. Unless Im doing it - and tbf I rarely do - there are no cricket specialists in school.
It is our responsibility to provide 2 hours of PE per week. Many schools struggle to provide this in an already packed timetable. Your daighter is lucky. It isnt our responsibility to promote a particular sport. Cricket is in a packed market. In recent years, bodies providing specialist coaching in dodgeball, hsndball, cycling, skipping and both rugby codes have contacted me regarding getting into school. As long as its cheap - preferably free- we'll take them up on it. Ive never had a cricket club in sunderland contact me.
The additional sports funding is now available to us which should help but as I say, there's a lot of sports out there who we are activly trying to reach out.
Im not sure whether the problems I describe are unique to inner city sunderland or not. I was disappointed to read Houghton's difficulties in accessing local schools. As I mentioned in an earlier post, when I worked in Peterlee, themselves, Blackhall and Castle Eden were extremly proactive in approaching us.
Hope this makes sense. ive had a few this sfternoon
Bri
Striker
When I was at school many eons ago Sunderland CC was just opposite in fact when I was about 13 I could look out of the class window from my desk directly into the entrance gate and yet in all my time there I never heard of any contact between the club and the school. I've always thought that was such a wasted opportunity.
And if you count up the schools now that are in less than a 2 mile radius, I'd think there would be around 7 or so. Now if the ECB had some funds surely spending a bit of coin linking clubs up with schools would be good.
Sounds like Smoker must have gone to Durham School or Barnard Castle, swimming. Ye gads!
And if you count up the schools now that are in less than a 2 mile radius, I'd think there would be around 7 or so. Now if the ECB had some funds surely spending a bit of coin linking clubs up with schools would be good.
Sounds like Smoker must have gone to Durham School or Barnard Castle, swimming. Ye gads!
L
Live In Hope
Guest
My interest came from my dad too. I was about 7 year old and had no babysitter, so in 1992 got took along to watch my dad play cricket and get looked after by the tea ladies. Got hooked on that afternoon and went home to watch England play on the BBC. My primary and secondary school had no cricket teams, I once had a 40 minutes of cricket in a P.E lesson, that was it.
To play for Sunderland and Durham youths, I had to get school headmaster to write a letter of somekind of dispensation (cant remember exact reason) to play for them because I was only player who never got picked via school cricket team because we hadnt one.
Monkey see, monkey do I believe, stick cricket free to air on mainstream channel and people will play it. But there are other problems tbf
The Spezial One
Striker
Seems strange that clubs aren't actively getting their pros involved at least!
As mentioned, I grew up between the Uk and Oz so started playing aged 12 over there. Every summer that's all we done, before school we'd meet up and play in the nets using a tennis ball wrapped in gaffer tape (class) and at break times, dinner times, after school we'd reconvene to keep the game going. After school we'd take a wheelie bin with a line drawn on it to use as the stumps in the middle of the street.
During class we would sneak into the science block and put a TV on to check the scores if a test was on. Everyone was engrossed by the game, at test level especially.
alicante mackem
Striker
Free to air Cricket would and should be the start. Although which ever channel won the rights would have to treat it with a little more respect than the BBC used to, it was a shambles at times. Cutting off the last half an hour of the days play for the news etc.
That was an era of 4 channels though. They'd stick it on BBC3 or something now, job done.
Was listening to radio this week where the Surrey Chief Exec said people were starting to twig things needed to change. Current contract ends 2017 but SKY have an option to extend to 2019.
Bri
Striker
BBC 3 is being scrapped quite soon, rather it's going internet only.
Cricket instead of Eastenders would be a sound idea though.
alicante mackem
Striker
Yes, I did think that whilst typing. Hopefully something will happen and the satellite domination can be broken, or at least shared with free to view channels.
smoker
Striker
We are NW County Durham and primary sport also seems to focus on cheap options like dodgeball and rounders. Football is well provisioned, mainly on account of franchises like little kickers. Also a bit of interest from SAFC. Durham CCC have been into the school twice: once to display the CC trophy and once to arrange an art-based initiative which seems to have been an elaborate way to sell T20 tickets. You'd think they might have organised a quick game. Shotley Bridge CC are 2 mins down the road and - to the best of my knowledge - never had owt to do with the school.
Greavsie
Striker
Safc foundation are a brilliant resource for primarys with great programmes which have only recently become chargable -£120 approx for a 6 week course.
Its a shame that the picture doesnt look much better out in the sticks
There are a load of factors:
It is an expensive sport. Membership aside, with football, you have kit, boots, shinpads and off you go. For a martial art, you buy whatever suit you wear, a jock strap and a box. Crickets buy their shirt, boots, bat, pads, batting gloves, jock strap, box, thigh pad, helmet and a couple of sweaters for starters. More for wicketkeepers.
In league cricket, without travel, it is a six hour day. Football is a two hour event, and you can get your martial arts lesson in an hour. In an age where most young uns are the star [player on their own Playstation, fielding for two and a half hours and batting number 9 is not an attractive proposition. In this respect, it could be argued that T20 cricket has served to just to highlight how slow the longer forms of the game are, rather than attracting new players.
The drinking culture in the UK has changed. In my day, most cricket clubs were supported by a bar, and players socialised there after the game at at evenings when nets were on. Even towards the end of my career, players finished the match, had literally a swift half (if that), then departed in the 4x4 to do the Tesco shop with the missus.
The lack of exposure on terrestrial TV isn't helping. I could imagine that most England Test players could walk down any High Street and not be recognised.
Perhaps it is a game that belongs to a bygone age, when life was slower, and there was less competition for people's attention. I hope not though.
It is an expensive sport. Membership aside, with football, you have kit, boots, shinpads and off you go. For a martial art, you buy whatever suit you wear, a jock strap and a box. Crickets buy their shirt, boots, bat, pads, batting gloves, jock strap, box, thigh pad, helmet and a couple of sweaters for starters. More for wicketkeepers.
In league cricket, without travel, it is a six hour day. Football is a two hour event, and you can get your martial arts lesson in an hour. In an age where most young uns are the star [player on their own Playstation, fielding for two and a half hours and batting number 9 is not an attractive proposition. In this respect, it could be argued that T20 cricket has served to just to highlight how slow the longer forms of the game are, rather than attracting new players.
The drinking culture in the UK has changed. In my day, most cricket clubs were supported by a bar, and players socialised there after the game at at evenings when nets were on. Even towards the end of my career, players finished the match, had literally a swift half (if that), then departed in the 4x4 to do the Tesco shop with the missus.
The lack of exposure on terrestrial TV isn't helping. I could imagine that most England Test players could walk down any High Street and not be recognised.
Perhaps it is a game that belongs to a bygone age, when life was slower, and there was less competition for people's attention. I hope not though.
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