MORNE MORKEL HOSTS A COACHING SESSION AT CRAWFORD PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Not so long ago, a young boy by the name of Morne was enthusiastically playing Mini-Cricket with his school mates, enjoying the active environment it provided and dreaming of one day playing for his country. Fast forward to present day and that boy has now grown into a world famous international cricketer, a world famous international cricketer that just shared his expertise and experience with a current generation of young hopefuls at Crawford Preparatory School in Lonehill, Gauteng.

Morne Morkel is one of the current Proteas heroes actively involved in the KFC Mini-Cricket programme. In a competition aired on SuperSport during last year’s IPL tournament, viewers could enter to win a coaching session with a Proteas player at a local school, and De Wet Van der Walt was one of the six winners.

As a big cricketing fan and an amateur player, De Wet has always wanted to meet a Proteas player, so he tried his luck in the competition. But as someone who had played Mini-Cricket growing up, he had another plan to make the most of this great prize. “I have 2 nephews in Crawford Preparatory School, Lonehill,  so I opted to nominate them for the prize as they have such great facilities there”, said De Wet who is no doubt now a serious contender for uncle of the year with his nephews.

“Both Michael and Daemon were very excited and couldn’t wait to meet Morne. Michael in particular couldn’t believe it and kept asking when he was coming!” added De Wet when asked about his nephews’ reaction to the news.

With over 100 000 kids involved in KFC Mini-Cricket around the country, special coaching sessions such as these with cricketing heroes of today go a long way in creating the heroes of tomorrow. Something that KFC takes great pride in as they focus on an active lifestyle for South Africa’s kids.

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

“Having been involved in Mini-Cricket growing up, it’s great to be able to come back to schools with KFC Mini-Cricket and get active with the kids on days like these. There always seems to be a healthy amount of talent on show which is always so encouraging,” said Morne about his experience on the day.

The next KFC Mini-Cricket coaching session will involve the hugely popular Hashim Amla, with the winner of that unique experience being named in the upcoming weeks.

 

KFC MINI-CRICKET GROWS BY 20 PERCENT AND KFC MINI-CRICKET COACH OF THE YEAR IS ANNOUNCED

The KFC Mini-Cricket programme grew from 83 638 participants in the 2010/11 season to 100 702 in the 2011/12 season, an increase of 20 percent ,which far exceeds the 10 percent target set by KFC and Cricket  SA for its Unions.

KFC partnered with CSA two years ago with the aim of reaching as many children as possible to promote an active and balanced lifestyle.  It is important for kids to develop an active and balanced lifestyle at a young age because it becomes a habit that can be a benefit for a lifetime. 

The increase in participation would not have been possible without the 6 000 or so coaches who manage the programme. Each year KFC Mini-cricket salutes one of these volunteers by naming him or her the KFC Mini-Cricket Coach of the Year. This year that person is Angela Cilliers of the Matatiele district of KwaZulu-Natal.

Cilliers was given this prestigious award in recognition of her passion for the programme and for the boys and girls she coaches. Her leadership, organisational and motivational qualities have been commended in the running of the programme in her district.  She has not been involved for as many years as some of the former winners, but her commitment, quality of her work and the drive to get children leading an active and balanced lifestyle makes her a worthy recipient.

Cilliers, who is a teacher at St Monica's School in Matatiele, says KFC KFC Mini-Cricket is in her blood.

She was responsible for the growth of the KFC Mini-Cricket programme at the previous school she taught - Rivermead Christian Academy – and was instrumental in getting the programme going in the district, a rural area where there were very few sporting opportunities for the young boys and girls.

She remembers her introduction to the programme well. "I was told to run KFC Mini-Cricket at my previous school, although I had no idea what it was all about. I was given a KFC Mini-Cricket booklet and was told to study and run the KFC Mini-Cricket coaching lessons as from the next day.”

“That night I fell in love with the programme. The next day I held my first coaching session and I have never looked back. This is a programme that can teach young students about getting the basics right so that they can become the very best they can be.”

She was appointed the sports co-ordinator at St Monica’s this year and immediately set about introducing KFC Mini-Cricket in the school; she is also busy getting it going in the surrounding rural areas as well.

Cilliers has a Basic Coaching Mini-Cricket (Level 0) qualification and has been involved with the programme since 2009. In that time she has imparted cricket and life skills to hundreds of boys and girls, of which roughly half were girls. She says it has been particularly pleasing that so many girls are now involved.

Looking back over the years of her involvement in the programme, she believes the most memorable moment was when she was selected to attend the KFC Mini-Cricket National Seminar. “This was an awesome privilege for me. You come back from there and just want to persuade every small student to start playing KFC Mini-Cricket,” said Cilliers.

“The past season focused on growing the programme and this upcoming season is about endorsing the active and balanced lifestyle message and informing the public why KFC is so passionate about this programme” commented Dave Timm, Chief Marketing Officer of KFC

KFC Mini-Cricket – Last chance to win a coaching session with a Proteas player

The South African cricketers currently playing in the IPL in India are in great form, keeping South African fans interested and entertained even though the local season is over.

And, courtesy of the KFC Mini-Cricket programme, young cricket fans can stand a chance for a Proteas Player to visit their school and coach their school cricket team.

The lucky six schools that get drawn will see either, Hashim Amla, AB De Villiers, JP Duminy, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell or Vernon Philander coming to the school to coach their school cricket team.  The player selected will run a coaching session, speak to the players as well as motivate them to keep working at their game.

Fans can enter the competition on http://www.supersport.com/competitions/KFCIPL with entries closing on 27 May.  A draw will be take place once the IPL ends when all competition entrants  will get to know if they have won and which player will be visiting their school. The coaching sessions will be finalised based on the availability of the players.

KFC Mini-Cricket programme, which is a soft ball development programme that is an integral part of Cricket South Africa's mission to take the game to the people of South Africa, is a programme that AB De Villiers endorses as an ambassador to the programme. AB says this is a programme he is very passionate about and that it brings him great joy knowing that he is contributing to kids living an active and balanced lifestyle.

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.