Cricket Reaches The Southern Extreme Of The Continental United States

Received From The Mary Immaculate Star of the Sea Basilica School in Key West, Florida:
The Cricket unit was taught for the first time in the beautiful Florida Keys!!! Our students at the Mary Immaculate Star of the Sea Basilica School enjoyed a three week unit playing partner cricket and learning a different game than regular American baseball. The students caught on to the skills quickly and were ready for game play after two days of instruction.

Kids from Mary Immaculate Star of the Sea Basilica School during their introduction to cricket.

Greg Barroso and Debbie Buenger Mack introduced the unit to all of the students who were anxious to engage their skills of pitching, catching, throwing, batting, running and implementing strategies of the game. The students had to get use to carrying the bats with them when partners switched positions in the playing field. They soon learned that communication with their partners was essential to gaining successful runs.

Our cricket unit was extended to grades 2nd through 8th grade. All grades found the sport quite competitive. Each class period that teams were changed to enhance sportsmanship among all students and to help each other be successful.

An assessment was given to see if students could distinguish between the similarities and differences between cricket and American baseball. Many parents were able to observe the students playing the game and were so excited that their child was learning a new sport, something that they had never played before.

We are planning to incorporate cricket into our Field Day scheduled for the end of the school year and will definitely play is again next year.

Thank you to the USYCA for sending us the sets of equipment and hope that other public schools will become interested in playing cricket as well.