The Warwickshire Cricket Foundation, Deaf World, ECB and England Cricket Association for the Deaf (ECAD) partnered earlier last month to organise an ECB Foundation Coach course specifically designed for deaf individuals. The National Asian Cricket Council (NACC) has also supported the course.
The majority of participants were from Deaf World, a Birmingham charity that aims to enable and empower hearing-impaired young people to access challenging opportunities. To learn more about Deaf World and their work, click here.
The course was held at Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School in Acocks Green on October 5th and 12th, where two BSL interpreters assisted in running the course.
This is the first time in Warwickshire that a cricket coach education course has been specifically designed to develop cricket knowledge for individuals who use British Sign Language to support their communication.
Those who attended included a mix of individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, and BSL interpreters interested in working in the deaf cricket environment.
The course was opened to BSL interpreters who want to improve their understanding of cricket coaching and develop the correct BSL cricket terminology, enabling them to be deployed in the ECB disability cricket framework.
The training consisted of a combination of e-learning and face-to-face training, both of which were made accessible to learners.
Dan Handscomb, a course participant, said “The course was an excellent introduction to coaching. It was fun and engaging, with each skill clearly explained and practical demonstrations of best practices shown to us.”
“I am considering volunteering as a coach at a local cricket club, applying the content learned in the course to benefit others.”
Sam Wyles, Workforce Development Manager, said: “The course has been an enormous success due to the engagement of the nine participants. It is the first of its kind and we look forward to monitoring our progress in this area.”
“The course has not only improved the tutors’ understanding of deaf awareness, but it has also enabled us to train coaches who can now deliver sessions to new groups of people in Warwickshire and Birmingham.”
For more information about accessible cricket in Warwickshire and Birmingham, click here. Alternatively, to learn more about the England Cricket Association for the Deaf (ECAD), click here.