Community Cricket finds more friends

The latest partnership to form in Community Cricket is between the New Zealand Institute of Sport (NZIS) and a few of Canterbury Cricket Association's metropolitan clubs.

The partnership has mutual benefits whereby the NZIS students are trained as MILO Kiwi Cricket coaches and then proceed to coach children in local Primary Schools. This coaching forms part of their course and the NZIS students are accredited on their performance. The NZIS students in turn receive high quality coaching on their own individual games.

This new relationship is one of the creative ways that Community Cricket is able to provide coaches in the field. The Canterbury Cricket Community Cricket Programme already has implemented the New Zealand Cricket Schools Leadership initiative, and a strong relationship currently exists between Sport Canterbury and Community Cricket. Sport Canterbury provides a scholarship for a College of Education student for which the student provides 50 hours of cricket coaching within the community.

The NZIS students will be coaching at Hillview Christian School on Tuesday, August 26 from 10am until 11.45am and at Bromley School on Wednesday, August 27 from 9.45am to 12.30pm. The students will receive coaching from Garry MacDonald at Canterbury Cricket's indoor facility on Thursday, August 28 from 1pm to 3pm. Members of the media are welcome to attend any of these sessions.

The long term intention is that these and other relationships continue to grow and prosper so that many more cricket clubs can enjoy the mutual benefits.