ACC Compton Cricket Foundations & Youth League approved to begin July 18 by City Council !

Coach Gerald Pickens & Mustafa Khan receiving their American College Cricket Hall of Fame Induction Awards in 2014, with CBats Baseball boys, & Mama Sheenaway & some of the Sheenaway school kids. Photo by David Sentance

The Compton City Council, and the Compton Parks & Rec Dept, have approved an American College Cricket Fundamentals of Cricket Program, to start on July 18th at Jackie Robinson Stadium, to teach cricket officially to local kids. The Compton Cricket Youth League has also been approved to start this summer, and will involve teams of Compton youth of various ages playing. Details are being worked out.

The Fundamentals Program will draw on the work done by American College Cricket’s David Sentance, Mustafa Khan & Coach Pickens & from the syllabus designed by Hayat Khan & Lloyd Jodah and implemented by Hayat for Course Credit at Boston University starting in 2012. Whilst colleges will be on summer break and students away on internships etc, it is hoped that a few players from local American College Cricket teams may be around to assist. Other cricketers who wish to coach may contact David Sentance , Lloyd Jodah or Mustafa Khan.

Additionally American College Cricket has been in discussions with the Compton Sheriffs Youth Athletic League about adding cricket to its list of sports offered, and their representatives will be in attendance on July 18. Its envisaged that the Sheriffs Dept involvement will be similar to the NYPD’s role with the NYPD United Cricket League.

For years David Sentance (individually & through the Southern California Junior Cricket Association), Mustafa Khan, Coach Gerald Pickens and Mama Sheenaway have been quietly teaching cricket to kids in Compton . Their reward has been in providing an option for play in the area, to kids who may not have many options. As challenging as it has been to have continuity for kids for whom even attending the coaching sessions regularly was difficult, these life/cricket coaches persevered.

In the past 2 years, under the auspices of American College Cricket, the ‘program’ has grown, and last Fall authorization for cricket at Jackie Robinson Stadium on an ongoing basis was secured. A UCLA vs Claremont Colleges cricket match was then played (the first cricket game in Compton), as well as a youth game, attended by local kids who got a chance to interact with college students and watch them play a real game. As a result a team of Afghan cricketers are also now using the Stadium as a home field.

Last summer, a team of Australian “Oldies” (over 60 years old) cricketers had joined David, Mustafa, Coach Pickens and Mama Sheenaway in coaching the Centennial High School Baseball team, and other youth, cricket. Centennial High School Baseball team is an Honorary American College Cricket member.

The Southern California Junior Cricket Association provided key support for the American College Cricket West Coast Regionals in 2010 & 2011 and David Sentance, Mustafa Khan & Coach Pickens are all Inductees in the American College Cricket Hall of Fame.

To Sponsor or coach contact : American College Cricket, David Sentance, Mustafa Khan or Lloyd Jodah (American College Cricket Founder & President) on Facebook.