WCB runs Chance to Shine Street youth cricket sessions all year round in hubs across Birmingham. Every half term holiday young cricketers from these youth projects come together and compete against each other in a street cricket tournament. This February half term, the tournament took place at the Forward Drive cricket centre in Birmingham, with Chance to Shine Street teams competing from Aston, Saltley, Sparkhill and Walsall.
In a new development from previous half term events, this tournament also included wellbeing workshops for participants to attend in between their matches. The sessions are part of a new wellbeing pilot being coordinated by Waqas Khan, WCB Community Coach and Mental Health specialist within the NHS.
The pilot aims both to give participants information about mental health services, but also looks to gain feedback from young people about the daily mental health challenges they face. As part of the pilot, Waqas was joined at the camp by fellow mental health professionals from Forward Thinking Birmingham.
Waqas explained the aim of the wellbeing workshops in more detail after the tournament. “We have delivered six separate 25 minute sessions today to small groups of participants. Instead of them sitting around waiting for their next match, we have been keeping participants engaged, using the time between their matches positively.
The sessions included information and discussion about subjects such as healthy routines and staying safe online. They have gone down well with participants, and we have gained lots of useful feedback and experience to apply to future events.”
Chance to Shine Street youth programmes cater for ages 8 – 15. For the purposes of this tournament, the morning session involved ages 8 – 11 and the afternoon session ages 12 – 15. The morning session also saw a number of girls participating in the tournament for the first time, to the delight of Eaton Gordon, WCB Community Participation Manager. “For me,” he said, “that’s been the biggest plus of the day, seeing the girls taking part and competing with the boys.”
The morning tournament was won by Saltley A team whilst the afternoon delivered an exciting final between Aston A and Aston B teams (both coached on the day by Siraj Ali). The Aston B team were ultimately victorious and received their medals in the awards ceremony following the final. Presenting the medals, Eaton Gordon congratulated all the participants and coaches, especially Siraj Ali who, he suggested, “must be doing something right to have got both his teams into the final!”.
Feedback from the young cricketers involved in the tournament was positive. Kamran, aged 11, said, “I really enjoyed playing in the tournament. It was fun to get vengeance on the team that beat us last time we played. I wasn’t nervous and was happy to have scored 3 fours and a six off the bowling of a county player. I thought the wellbeing session was good too. It reinforced what we have learnt about in school.”
Twelve year old Mubashar also enjoyed the day. “It’s a fun thing to do in half term and I enjoy playing cricket. I like batting and bowling, but I’m more of a bowler. Even when we were losing a match, we were saying to each other it’s ok to lose sometimes and we were still supporting each other. The wellbeing session was useful, and we talked about establishing a nice routine so we could sleep better and stay safe online.”
Eaton Gordon talks passionately about the Life Skills programme which forms part of Chance to Shine Street. “It is generally accepted that sport develops valuable life skills alongside physical and mental wellbeing. Seeing that combination encouraged, formalised and developed across the Chance to Shine Street programme in Birmingham is a hugely positive step. After a difficult couple of years for us all, it is great to be back delivering cricket tournaments. We’re bringing young cricketers from all parts of the city together, developing life skills, and considering their wellbeing in addition to providing opportunities for them to enjoy their cricket.”
For more information about WCB’s Chance to Shine Street youth cricket programme contact [email protected]
CLICK HERE to view the event video.
Photo Credit – Mohammed Arif
