Jamie Harrison is back !
Jamie Harrison
MYCA LAUNCHES “CRICKET PARTNER” SCHOOLS PROGRAM
Glen Burnie, Maryland – March 25, 2010 – The Maryland Youth Cricket Association announced today the inauguration of its “Cricket Partner” program for area elementary and middle schools. This first-of-its-kind program is designed to both promote the playing of cricket in physical education classes and to provide a material support network for partnering schools.
Cricket, the world’s second-most popular sport, has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States, where it hasn’t experienced widespread popularity since the early 19th century. This resurgence is primarily due to an influx in immigration from cricket-playing regions such as India and the Caribbean; now the sport is spreading to the American mainstream.
Last week, for example, saw the playing of the 2nd annual American College Cricket National Championship at the Central Broward Regional Park Cricket Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In May, the Broward grounds will host three matches between the national teams of New Zealand and Sri Lanka, and Pakistan seems ready to play there as well. The city of Indianapolis is about to begin construction on a 40-acre cricket facility, and other communities are considering the possibilities for cricket as well. Cricket, it seems, is no longer a game of America’s past – it has now staked a firm claim to a place in America’s future.
With this in mind, the time seemed right to introduce the sport to youngsters in Maryland, which is already home to two adult cricket leagues and thousands of cricket fans. The “Cricket Partner” program will supply to schools all of the cricket equipment and will also provide material support to participating schools through its extensive network of cricket supporters, many of whom are college-educated professionals. This national and global community is anxious to see cricket taught to American schoolchildren, and is excited at the potential for the Maryland program. To MYCA Director Jamie Harrison, a former high school teacher, it seemed like a perfect match.
“In these challenging economic times, schools need partners in the community they can turn to in times of need, whether it be as simple as a routine fundraiser, or as dramatic as upgrading the computers in the media center,” Harrison said. “The cricketing community is ready, willing and able to provide that support network for partnering schools.”
Cricket, as it turns out, is well matched for physical education classes. It can be played indoors or outside, on a basketball court, asphalt or grass. It allows the instructor to observe students both as individual participants and as parts of a team.
Cricket also possesses the unique potential to appeal to all athletes, not just those who are typically large, strong or fast. (In a gym class, this propensity causes many disaffected students to shrink away from active participation. This means less involvement and a discouraging, awkward experience for the student; it also makes the task of assigning that student a fair grade more difficult for the instructor.) Cricket rewards patience, technique and intelligence; stature has very little to do with eventual greatness. This encourages all students to participate, and draws out those typically disaffected students.
The MYCA has secured a key sponsorship agreement with Dreamcricket.com, the American cricket community’s number one source for cricket news and the home of the Dreamcricket Pavilion, its comprehensive online cricket superstore. Dreamcricket also operates the Dreamcricket Academy, an indoor training facility in Hillsborough, New Jersey.
“Without the backing of Venu Palaparthi and Dreamcricket, what we are doing would simply not be possible. He is demonstrating his commitment to the cause of youth cricket in the US,” Harrison said.
Schools that are interested in exploring partnership opportunities with the Maryland Youth Cricket Association are asked to contact them by email at mdyouthcricket@gmail.com, or to visit them on the web at http://mdyouthcricket.org.
Contact: Jamie Harrison
Maryland Youth Cricket Association
Mobile Number: 443.835.0619
Email: mdyouthcricket@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=101921749847808
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MdYouthCricket.
28 Mar 2010, 2:17 am
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