BCA spreads cricket to Francistown schools

NELSON DIRENG & MOGOMOTSI BUZWANI
Correspondents | Thursday June 3, 2010 00:00

 

BCA chief executive officer, Girish Ramakrishna said this is a positive step in their development plan. He said with the increasing number of children in the sport, there is need to empower teachers.

'Every pupil wants to take part in the game and it is putting pressure on the teachers. We must spare a thought for the teachers who are new to the game and need to make adjustments,' he said.  The programme is currently aimed at children in the Under-13 age group. Ramakrishna said they would gradually introduce the game in the Under-11 category.  He said they want to afford the pupils enough time to learn the basics of the game.

'We will have to give them enough time to learn, enjoy and play the game in the right team spirit,' he said. He said they would start friendly games among schools before introducing a formal competition. 'Our objective is to spot and nurture talent,' he said.

Ramakrishna said currently, they are using the same model, which they engaged in Gaborone, to promote cricket in the northern city. 'We have a coach, Clement Chipanga, who is based in Francistown on a full-time basis''. He said their recent admission into the Botswana Primary Schools Association (BOPSA) came at a right time as they plan to include more schools and regions around the country. BCA coach Chipanga expressed satisfaction at the project although he said more could be done. Besides the government schools participating in the programme, there are four private schools that are part of the project.

'At the moment we are receiving a good response from both Government and private schools though this is still a new sport. The turnout of kids who are interested in this sport is quite positive,' Chipanga said. Conference of Heads of Primary Schools (CHOPS) manager Omar Mahomed said they organise regular games for primary schools, which they use to select a northern squad.

'The dedication these young boys are showing is pleasing. We encourage them to play cricket from an early age of nine years or under. We are using these games to select strong players who can build South and North teams,' Mahomed said.