HASHIM AMLA HOSTS A COACHING SESSION AT ANKERVAS PRIMARY SCHOOL.

When you think of Hashim Amla, you naturally think of the spearhead of the Proteas batting line-up. A man who humbled the English with his blistering stroke play, a man who frequently heads up the ICC batting world rankings, and a man who is adored in cricketing circles local and abroad.

Growing up though, young Hashim was no different to the over 100 000 kids currently involved in the KFC Mini-Cricket programme, cutting their cricketing teeth at the KFC Mini-Cricket level so to speak. It is only fitting then, that he should return to it again in hosting a KFC Mini-Cricket Coaching Session at Ankervas Primary School, in Uitenhague on Thursday. 

KFC ran a competition last year on SuperSport during the IPL whereby entrants could win one of six exclusive coaching sessions with a member of the Proteas team. Gert Swartz, a teacher at Ankervas Primary, was one of the lucky winners and immediately nominated the kids he coaches to receive the prize with Hashim Amla.

“These children are from disadvantaged backgrounds and most of them are orphans who are now being raised by relatives who don’t always make the best role models. I chose the school because I believe the visit will restore hope in these kids as well as a love for the sport altogether”, said Gert on the reasons behind his prize nomination.

While studying Human Movements Science at the University of North West, Gert was tasked to choose four sports to coach. One of them was cricket, and more specifically cricket coaching for kids from the ages of 7 to 9 years.

When asked about the boys’ reaction to the news, Gert had this to say; “Everyone at the school could not believe that we could pull off something this major. The kids were even training so that they could be fit and ready to be on the same field with this international sporting hero.”

A select group of youngsters from Ankervas got to participate in a 50 minute session made up of four cricket stations, with Hashim coaching from one of them. After that the Proteas batsman shared a few inspirational words with the kids, who each got to spend some time with the star player.

“It feels like so long ago since I was in the mini-cricket programme, but being here today quickly made me remember growing up and the fun I used to have learning the game. It’s so great that KFC Mini-Cricket offers the kids this experience, and it’s really great to see so many of them getting active with it around the country each year,” said Hashim after his experience with the kids of Ankervas Primary School.

This latest KFC Coaching Session is yet another fine example of how getting kids active and kids doing what they love leads to memorable experiences. By bringing kids closer to the game, and indeed their cricketing heroes, KFC Mini-Cricket is committed to creating an active lifestyle for the youth, and one that will no doubt enrich all those that are involved.