The penultimate day

Andy C and Jo on our penultimate day in Botswana.

So as we head towards the end of the trip we moved onto a fresh group of Coach Education headed up by Lee and supported by Andy C. Interestingly this was a different sort of group to work with as we were faced with 19 Students from Maun Technical College, studying a variety of courses from Agriculture to Mechanical Engineering; this led to a different dynamic to the usual teachers we have been coach educating.

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The coach education follows a different style to that of the ECB Level 2 and follows a more traditional Intro/Demonstration/Coaching Point 1, 2, 3/Test 1 & 2 followed by Wrap Up.  This style lends itself perfectly in line with what we are doing as a charity to get our Abstain/Be Faithful/Condomise and Testing our Status against each other and in life if we are HIV Positive or Negative…this reinforcing message throughout the coaching method allows the coaches to work to a structure that is concise and delivers the points needed.

img_8873-01-1280x853The beauty of this group was that they weren’t likely to be coaching children but more about learning the skills so that the game can grow here in Botswana and it was great seeing them all coaching each other throughout the sessions.  As a result the Technical College are going to set up a team and play against the other group of teachers that we had educated earlier in the week, so it hasn’t all been about teaching the teachers to teach the children but this way we are teaching the late teens/early 20s about the game itself and leaving a legacy of a new sport – what was great too was that we were able to leave a set of Stumps and Kit with them – and hopefully we will keep in touch to see how cricket in Maun grows!

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As well as the Coach Education, the rest of the team were off delivering sessions with secondary school pupils.  Despite their ‘too cool for school’ attitude, all of the teenagers here have really got into the activities and had fun.  A bit of silliness from our team while coaching and a giggle over the word ‘condomise’ seems to break down those initial barriers. It’s great to be able to talk to the older children about the HIV message as their English is better than the younger children’s so we can really talk about the importance of getting tested, seeking treatment if needed and ensuring that the girls understand how they can prevent their disease being passed on to their children in future pregnancies.

The afternoon sessions at two primary schools highlighted what our Botswana Cricket Representative Clement has been dealing with in order to get us into the schools over the last fortnight, as both schools hadn’t organised the children for our sessions and there wasn’t a teacher in sight.  Throughout the trip, when this happens we have simply set up our equipment and hit a tennis ball, and the children come flooding!  The enthusiasm of the children, despite the fact that they had no water and it was incredibly hot, was amazing.

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With 100 kids in rows and after a demonstration of the first relay race by Andy C, on the word ‘go’, the entire group just ignored the demo, ran out and grabbed the bats, put the balls on the cones and generally did what they wanted!  So much for our coaching skills!  Their pure excitement at getting their hands on a tennis ball or having the chance to hit a ball is amazing to see.  Our only escape at the end of our session, with kids swarming around the minibus, was to hit a ball as far as we could, jump on board and drive off, leaving the children to battle it out for the ball!

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It feels strange that this is our final day of proper coaching as we are all in the groove and enjoying leading the activities.  But it will be great to see the schools and teachers that we have worked with over the last week come together for the cricket festival to wrap up out trip.