PARTICIA MATIMBE IS THE KFC MINI-CRICKET COACH OF THE MONTH FOR JULY

Patricia Matimbe of the Mamelodi region is the KFC Mini-Cricket Coach of the Month for July.

Patricia is an administrative assistant and is a KFC Mini-Cricket coach and coordinator at Mogale Primary School. She holds a level 1 coaching qualification and has been involved in the programme since 1990.

She was recruited into the programme by Emily Vuma, the Mamelodi Area Coordinator and would recommend her as administrator of the month because of the hard work that Emily has put in over the last 25 years.

Patricia’s involvement in cricket began when she started to wonder where the South African players she was watching on TV came from.

“My favorite player was Jaques Kallis. I liked the way he both bowls and bats,” she says. “When I became more involved and I began to understand that the Protea players also belong to teams like the Nashua Titans, Cape Cobra, Lions, etc. I started to engage myself with Nashua Titans because it was our home team.

“It was then that I realised that I love the game. KFC Mini-Cricket was introduced to our school, and with the help of the principal, we started the programme, and it was successful. It's then that we met Mrs Emily Vuma, the coordinator of Mamelodi Area, and I became more involved and committed.”

“In 2005 our under-11 and under-13 teams beat all the schools in our province and I was invited to the National Seminar because of the job I had done. The seminar was in Bethlehem in the Free State and there I met many dedicated teachers from different provinces, people that I share the same passion with, we shared views, ideas and had lots of fun.”

Patricia also became involved in girls cricket at Mamelodi Cricket Club as a team manager, and was appointed as the Northerns under-16 girls team manager in 2008. Dane Van Niekerk who is currently playing for the SA Women’s team was in her team.

Three of the cricketers that she has coached have received bursaries to further their studies at Cornwall Hill College through Northerns Cricket Union.

“Most of our learners are from disadvantaged areas, and their parents are very supportive. I try to involve them in assisting me so that they can understand what the game of cricket is all about,” Patricia says.

The school provides transport so that the pupils can attend Titans and National team matches to broaden their cricket knowledge and become involved in the cricket culture.

“I would like to thank our principal, Mr Mathabathe, the educators at the school and the parents for letting me use their children to participate in cricket,” Patricia says. “My aim is to involve more parents in the development areas and to help the learners to become more efficient and effective, through the game of cricket.”

The purpose of KFC Mini-Cricket is to get as many children as possible onto the cricket field to live active and balanced lifestyles.  There is nothing more exciting than a game of cricket with friends and the thrill of bowling someone out, hitting a six and taking that vital catch while having fun.

During the 2011/12 season the programme grew by 20 percent and now over 100 000 kids are getting active by getting into KFC Mini-Cricket.  Credit must go to the over 7 000 volunteer coaches in the programme who generously give their time and skills to ensure that the children from over 4 500 schools that participate can be coached 365-days a year. 

For more information or to register your school for KFC Mini-Cricket log on to www.kfc.co.za/minicricket or contact CSA at (011) 880 2810.