Kids that participate during the recent all-day cricket camp.
National Youth Cricket Day
Around 900 students at Riverside Junior High School in Fishers, Indiana, were introduced to the sport of cricket, during a recent all-day cricket camp during the school’s PE class and wellness program. Cricket is now a part of the school’s official curriculum.
Coaches with the host school team pictured (Left to right) Heidi Stan, Matt Mayhew, Parag Pandya, Jatin Patel, Scot Houck and Jamie Andrews. Not pictured Nick Bizila.
The all-day camp was led by Jatin Patel, who is a Cricket Australia & ICC Certified Coach, President of Indiana Youth Cricket, 2nd Vice President USYCA, and a member of the Advisory & Judiciary Committee of the American Cricket Federation (ACF). He was assisted by Parag Pandya, President of Indy Legends; an ACF member club. The duo provided cricket demonstrations with the help of visual aid presentations, and helping the novice scholars to better understand the game through basic cricket skill drills, and other training techniques.
The local school host team’s spokesperson summed up the school’s appreciation, saying, “The instructors did a great job of showing us many different drills and parts of the game, including how to break down certain aspects of cricket, and implementing the skills learned individually, as well as in small or large groups.”
Jatin Patel said, “We tried to keep this event close to “National Youth Cricket Day” week and were able to adjust our schedule close to that annual day for US Youth Cricket. It was exciting to see kids playing during this hard hit winter period,” adding, “This was our first cricket event before the spring season begins.”
