On Feb. 14, Sandra Ibarra, Ryan Harrison and USYCA President Jame Harrison brought an American Cricket Champ set to the St. Philip Neri School in Linthicum, Maryland. The USYCA team, which had been invited to the school by PE instructor Travis Bateman, spent the morning instructing students in cricket and leading them through their first matches.

The children had a great time learning the game, and asked many questions of USYCA team members. As a result of this outreach, the St. Philip Neri Sports Committee has now taken up the idea of launching a new introductory youth cricket program this summer, in between the softball and soccer seasons.

Her duties will include recruiting and liaising with coaches and community volunteers, organizing the program’s sessions, seeing that each program’s material needs are met and visiting each site regularly to ensure that the programs run smoothly. Of course, she’ll also be spending some time putting her Level I credentials to use as well.

Sandra shares the USYCA vision of grassroots development and outreach to new demographics, and looks forward to her new responsibilities.

“I am delighted to take on this new leadership role with USYCA and join forces with (USYCA President) Jamie Harrison to share our passion for developing cricket in the US,” said Ibarra. “The first thing I learned from Jamie, and the thing I admire most, is that he has a ‘can do’ attitude, and I commend him for what he has accomplished in such a short time.”

For USYCA, Sandra’s addition to the team is a major coup.

“USYCA feels truly fortunate to have someone of Sandra’s talents and experience working with us, and more importantly working with the youngsters who will come out to play cricket this summer,” said Harrison. “The success of these new programs is vital to our mission, and I feel reassured knowing that Sandra will be at the helm.”

With summer only months away, Sandra is eager for the launch of these groundbreaking programs.

“Now that I have relocated to the Maryland/DC area, I can see to it that USYCA’s efforts introducing cricket kits into the schools here are taken to the next level,” Ibarra said. “As a pioneer in US cricket, having played for the US Women’s team and now becoming an ICC Level 1 Certified Coach, putting my efforts to begin turning these kids into champions will be a very rewarding experience.

“We have a lot of potential here in the US; it is just a matter of putting in some extra effort to see it through. I have a vision of where I see this sport in America’s future and working with our youth is the right way to start.”

From usyca.org:
USYCA is pleased to announce the opening of its first national headquarters, located just minutes from Baltimore-Washington International Airport in Glen Burnie, Maryland, along with a new dedicated phone number. The building is located in the Madison Park professional development, which features fashionable buildings in a park-like setting.

“On behalf of the Northern Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, I am delighted to welcome the United States Youth Cricket Association to Glen Burnie,” said NAACCC CEO Fran Schmidt. “We are looking forward to working with the USYCA to help promote good health and an active lifestyle for children in our community.”

“We are very proud to put down roots here in Anne Arundel County, and we look forward to the headquarters building becoming a focal point for youth cricket development in the United States,” said USYCA President Jamie Harrison. “Now that we have a physical location from which to base our activities, we anticipate an even greater impact on cricket in America.”

USYCA contact information:

United States Youth Cricket Association, Inc.
1405 Madison Park Drive
Glen Burnie, MD 21061
Phone: 240-487-9224 (240 – 4 USYCA 4)
info@usyca.org

Below are photographs of the headquarters building, both inside and out:

The USYCA National Headquarters building in Glen Burnie, Maryland

The USYCA logo appears next to the front door of the headquarters

Upon entering, there are stairs decorated with photographs of American children playing cricket

Looking upward from the stairs at the large USYCA logo

The stairs have a landing that lead to another set of stairs

At the top of the stairs are more photos of kids playing cricket

Looking back down the stairs toward the landing

Inside the office itself you'll find hot beverage service and wireless internet access

There's plenty of space for documents, people and cricket sets at the USYCA National Headquarters

The cricket bug is catching on quickly in Maryland, as is evidenced by new cricket programs now being planned for next Summer.

The programs at the Bowie (MD) Boys and Girls Club, the Winfield Recreation Council and the Lutherville Timonium Recreation Council run from early July to mid-August as an instructional clinic, and will be offered for less than $50 per child, with USYCA supplying the equipment at no cost. Players participating in the program will receive a hat and tee-shirt, in addition to six weeks of cricketing excitement. The organizations will be opening up registration for cricket early in 2012, and will advertise the program in area schools, many of which began playing cricket in 2010.

“This will be a great opportunity for children to get involved in a sport starting from scratch,” said Andrew Karnes of the BBGC. “All of the children will begin on a level playing field. I feel that with some good marketing and more schools in the area providing cricket as a unit of study, that the sport will really catch on. We’re also hoping to attract players outside of the Bowie area.”

Karnes also noted that there are not many chances for children to play cricket outside of school at this time, due to a lack of equipment and knowledge of the game. The BBGC program should help to change that.

WRC President Ed Beane said, “Cricket provides youth in our area with another alternative in recreation council programs and activities, and we are willing to support and assist USYCA to help make it successful by offering field space as well as help promoting planned activities.”

Kris W. Mervine, Community Supervisor at Baltimore County Department of Recreation & Parks said, “The Lutherville Timonium Recreation Council and Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks are excited about this new program offering. LTRC already has an adult cricket program and so it is a natural fit. Both programs may be able to help each other as they look to promote this sport locally.”

“This is a groundbreaking moment for youth cricket in America,” said USYCA President Jamie Harrison. “This is just the beginning of what I believe will soon be an avalanche of cricket programs at community youth sports organizations.”

USYCA Partners With ICC-Americas To Offer Level I Course in November

ICC-Americas Regional Development Officer Wendell Coppin will lead this three-day program that hopes to improve the quantity and quality of local cricket instructors in the region. Possession of an ICC-Americas Level I Cricket Coaching Certificate sets graduates apart from their peers in this rapidly expanding market.

This ICC-designed Level 1 course is indispensable to those who wish to coach at the club level or with a youth program. With the rapid growth of schools cricket in the United States, PE teachers are also encouraged to add this critical certification to their resumes.

Attendees will learn how to teach basic batting, bowling, fielding, and wicket keeping skills, in addition to the art of coaching, planning, and how to communicate effectively.

The course will be conducted at the Greenbelt Sportsplex, 10011 Good Luck Rd, Glenn Dale, MD 20769. The registration fee is only $50, and for those staying overnight, there are a number of hotels in the area. The dates are October 28-30.

Enrollment is limited to the first twenty paid registrations, so send yours in today!

The registration fee of $50 can be paid through the donations link at:
http://usyca.org/support_youth_cricket.cfm

There’s a place to make notes once you’re ordering; just let us know that you are signing up for the Level I course.

Checks are also accepted at:
USYCA
1211 Aster Drive
Glen Burnie, MD 21061

Greenbelt Sportsplex

]]> http://mdyouthcricket.org/2011/09/23/icc-level-1-coaching-program-to-be-held-in-maryland/feed/ 0 jamieumbc ICC_Logo Sportsplex http://mdyouthcricket.org/2011/08/26/two-more-maryland-counties-add-cricket/ http://mdyouthcricket.org/2011/08/26/two-more-maryland-counties-add-cricket/#comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:23:00 +0000 jamieumbc http://mdyouthcricket.org/?p=1882 Continue reading →]]>

Baltimore County PE Teachers

This week, Physical Education teachers in Baltimore and Wicomico (Maryland) counties attended cricket training sessions in preparation for the start of the new school year. During the sessions they learned the history and rules of the game, and then got a chance to play an informal game against each other. At the conclusion of the session, teachers were given USYCA cricket sets and printed material supplied by the International Cricket Council.

“As the new supervisor for physical education and originating from Newcastle, England, I wanted to bring a new, engaging activity from my homeland to my teachers that they could easily integrate into their strike and field unit for the upcoming school year,” said Michael Charlton of Wicomico County Public Schools.

“The session was highly interactive, energetic and the feedback I received from my teachers was extremely positive. I would like to personally thank the (United States) Youth Cricket Association for a fantastic in-service that delivered relevant and rigorous instructional techniques that can be utilized throughout the elementary and middle level, ” Charlton said.

The Baltimore and Wicomico school systems join Howard, Carroll, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s and Kent counties, along with some schools in Baltimore City, in offering cricket to Maryland physical education students.

Wicomico County PE Teachers

Here’s Justin with the campers. He’s in the back center, wearing sunglasses:

Written by Myah Hale, with contributions by Shakara Sapp & Kiersten Stokes

Edited by Danielle Chew- Martinez

“At Kenmoor Elementary School in Prince Georges County, Maryland on May 27, 2011 Ms. Buck’s fourth grade talented and gifted class participated in an Asian cultural showcase. The classes’ country choice was India.  They used the USYCA donated cricket set to display Cricket as the national sport in India. Representatives from the class talked about what cricket is about, and the students even displayed Cricket so people can see an example of what it looked like and to how play it. Another reason that the class displayed Cricket was to inspire fellow students to play the sport as they grow up.

One student was quoted as saying. “It really inspired me to want to try to play the sport.” Some students said that they would want to try cricket when they grow up. It was a good idea to use this as a display because it excited and informed people. In addition, because the class had a lot of people come through the display, it provided a lot of exposure to the sport within the school. This author personally enjoys cricket and thinks everyone should try the sport because they will fall in love with it.”

On May 3, Jamie Harrison delivered a USYCA American Cricket Champ set to Linthicum Elementary School. Jamie spent the morning teaching the students and PE instructor, Shawn Behegan, the basics of the game. The children, as always, picked the game up quickly and had a great time.

Mike Thomas, USYCA Treasurer, member of the British Officers Cricket Club and the C.C. Morris Cricket Library Association, spent two days last week with students at St. John’s Episcopal School in Olney, Maryland. Mike’s time was spent primarily with 5th & 6th graders. The school was so pleased with the program that it is now considering expanding it to its Middle School and also promoting it to fellow private Episcopalian schools.

“We are grateful to Mike Thomas and the United States Youth Cricket Association for introducing our students to the exciting sport of cricket,” St. John’s Athletic Director Kim Hutcherson said. “At St. John’s we are always looking for ways to enhance and expand our curricular offerings and expose our students to a variety of activities. Cricket certainly is new for our students and assists our students in thinking about the global picture of sports. The enthusiasm and passion that Mike brought to his presentation was infectious. As cricket continues to grow in this country, I would highly recommend contacting USYCA.”