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.
