Youth Cricket
Introducing cricket to the youth of America provides cricket in America a chance to expand its reach and probably carve its way into the mainstream.
The youth with hearts full of ambition, hope and desires are the cultural drivers of any country. They have the power and the capacity to bring about change in the society by breaking away from age old norms and practises of a culture. The youth have the ability to bring in fresh perspectives into a culture by perceiving, communicating and participating in unique ways.
Therefore, if cricket in America wants to break into the mainstream it is imperative that the youth in America take it up.
Considering all the other American sports at their disposable, it would be pretty difficult to attract American kids to a sport which comes from a completely different culture. On top of that the complexity and the long hours of the game make it even more of a task to get the kids interested.
That being said, there are efforts being made by USA cricket in the form of the Rookie League to attract kids to the game.
Poster for the Rookie League organized by USA Cricket.
The USA Cricket Rookie league is the National Entry Level Program aimed to inspire the next generation of kids to become life-long cricket players and fans.
The organization strongly urges and encourages community members to be a part of the league in any capacity, anyone from a professionally trained coach, a school educator, community volunteer, or parents who want to help are welcomed. If cricket in America wants to gain traction it is important that all the members of the community welcome and nurture it.
The objective of the program is to make cricket interesting for the kids. The more traditional form of the game can be stretch for the kids who have never played the game. Keeping that in mind the Rookie League has introduced modified version of the traditional game
In Philadelphia, the members of the British Officer’s Cricket Club (BOCC) have taken it upon themselves to develop youth cricket in Philadelphia. Here is what Ajay, BOCC youth coach had to say about the clubs efforts and youth cricket in Philadelphia. Lets hear what he had to say:
I also thought it would be interesting to bring in a perspective of someone who actually plays cricket on a youth level in America. Hence, I interviewed Aryan Kulkarani, a 15-year-old who passionately plays and follow cricket in America. I asked him about his experience about playing cricket in America, what got him into cricket and where he wants to go with his cricket journey. Here is what he had to say:
