Students Complete 7th batch of Level 1 Cricket Coach Certification
INDIANAPOLIS, IN: As many as 12 undergraduate students with Physical Education as their Major at the Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) attended the USA Center for Excellence in Cricket Education program this past week. All Participants who attended the practical field sessions will be awarded Level 1 cricket coaching certificates by American Cricket Federation (ACF).
Indianapolis based Jatin Patel, founder USA Center for Excellence in Cricket and a pioneer in cricket coaching education conducted the coaching clinics during two sessions this year, and on two different days. Coach Patel is a certified international cricket coach with many other sport coaching credentials in the USA.
IUPUI (mostly Indiana University students) is the only university with a cricket education program in the USA, and for the last eight years. The primary goal is to help future PE teachers by training undergraduate students with Physical Education, Sports Management or Tourism as their major. In the latest edition of the cricket education program at the IUPUI, more undergraduate students were trained in this the seventh series of clinics. Jatin Patel said “These are our future Physical Education teachers and our goal is to provide them with the cricket coaching knowledge they need to have for the rest of their teaching career. It’s the best way to equip them to train many future scholars and youths for many years to come.
“It’s all about passing on the knowledge associated with the sport and needed to help them learn the game as well as get ready to deliver the knowledge to others in the future, through coaching for cricket scholastic programs.” opined Jatin Patel.
The sessions covered basic physical fitness and introduction to the sport of cricket which has a worldwide following. Practical skills sessions followed by an hour-long game itself to cover rules, basic techniques, and bowling action. Some students have softball and baseball backgrounds and they easily made the adjustment to the basic cricket skills and terminology.
The students were thrilled and enjoyed the game. Active students asked a number of questions as it was a new sport for them. Coach Patel responded to each question in detail and to the satisfaction of the students who were in attendance at the clinics.
The importance of running well between the wickets (a 22-yard strip) was covered, as well as how many ways a batsmen can be given out. A batsman is allowed to hit the ball to any part of the field and without any restriction. The students had the feel of the actual batting equipment. The students were shown the wooden bats, leather balls, safety equipment, including wicket-keeping gloves, pads and helmet etc.
Some of the students had first-hand experience of wearing the full kit and held the actual bat (which they found heavy). They also tossed the leather ball to their colleagues to see and feel the ball used in a match.
The Cricket Coaching Education program to educate America is primarily designed with the two main considerations – as to how the educators like to understand and learn this game and how they want to teach or deliver game knowledge to future scholars and youths.
Jatin Patel provided cricket education resources to all participants and remarked, “If any student wants to enhance his or her cricket knowledge, there are various websites available for reading, and the willing students can also attend various level of cricket coaching clinics, adding, “I am available to help and assist any student who wants to adopt cricket coaching as his or her career,”
The ACF will be awarding the certificates in due course of time to all participants. The session ended with a group photograph with some of the participants.
Christopher Ray Rash, Faculty Instructor, Physical education for the Department of Kinesiology under IU PETM (Indiana University Physical Education & Tourism Management) was the Instructor who has taken over from Sandra Barnett who retired after completing the first five batches of training during the past seven years.
Those who attended the year’s cricket coaching program for educators were: Skyler Dillon, Sean Eghazi, Teresa Lopez, Cameron Marsh, Olivia Morales, John Pasch, Adrian Ross, Kyle Stockton, Joel Strickler, Thomas Weber, and Lauren Ryan (a faculty Staff member).
