Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) has announced that it will launch a cricket program this winter. IPS is the largest school district in Indiana, consisting of 11 secondary schools, 16 magnet K-8 schools and 38 elementary schools.
Jatin Patel of IYCA and Kathy Langdon of IPS.
As IPS joins the Indiana Youth Cricket Association, the schools will benefit from learning a new sport. Teachers will be trained in cricket by Indiana YCA staff; the game will be taught early in 2013. Cricket will also be encouraged as an after school activity in the spring.
Kathy Langdon, Program Director for Indianapolis Public Schools, said, “As a district we are excited to launch the cricket program. This will provide another great opportunity for teachers and the students to have another piece to add to our curriculum for all students to learn and enjoy.”
ICYA will host a teachers-only clinic on January 29 for physical education teachers and after school directors in the district. This training will provide cricket coaching skills & educational tools for use in the classroom.
Newly trained teachers will introduce cricket in schools and also after school. IYCA has recently implemented after school cricket programming with success in other elementary schools.
“Indiana Cricket is on a rapid rise with over 340 teachers already introduced to cricket, and now we are focusing on the next stage, which is to train more coaches and officials to build our youth school teams and to move forward,” said Jatin Patel, president of ICYA and vice-president of USYCA.
“We have a few big cricket camps on schedule for this winter, and the IPS project will be USYCA’s first Indiana district-wide cricket program launch where every district school will add cricket to its curriculum,” Patel said.
