Case Study | Jack
Jack (13) has osteogenesis imperfecta (also known as brittle bone disease) and has had 48 broken bones. Because of the high risk of injury, Jack’s opportunities to play sport had always been limited, but when he joined Ralph Thoresby School in Leeds just over two years ago he was introduced to table cricket.
Jack loved the game from the beginning and soon made good friends with other players, attending every training session and often spending break time discussing cricket!
His commitment was put to the test when the team qualified for the national finals at Lord’s in 2016: just weeks before the competition, Jack broke his right elbow. Devastated by the prospect of not being able to play, he pleaded with his mum to let him make an early return to school so he could begin practising with his left hand. Luckily, mum agreed and Jack’s determination paid off when he made a valuable contribution to the winning team with his excellent fielding.
We’ll leave Jack to sum up the positive impact table cricket has made on his life:
“I love being part of the table cricket team and being able to compete in competitions. I don’t feel different now.”
Samina first came across Wicketz when her children started attending sessions 3 years ago. At the beginning she just came along to watch, but over time she became more involved as a volunteer. Before Samina had her 3 children, she worked full time as a report analyst. When the opportunity arose to be more involved with Wicketz and coaching, she was delighted to know that she could learn new skills and still be there for her children, striking the perfect work-life balance.
From knowing almost nothing about cricket, Samina is now a Level 2 qualified cricket coach and very much in demand to coach girls, not only through Wicketz but also other programmes and at county level. Samina has also won a national coaching awards, and she can see that having a female coach at Wicketz is encouraging more girls to become involved.
She ran online Wicketz sessions during lockdown and has added Head Coach of Luton’s first girls team to her ever-growing list of roles. Samina’s confidence has soared, she has new skills and a new career.
Click here to listen to Samina's story and how coaching has changed her life.