Youth cricket program continues to flourish in Shizuoka, Japan

The day had originally been set for the benefit of Primary School kids, but it such happened that only a dozen kids turned up because all kinds of Community Sports days were held all over the City (bad timing!) and no further than the next ground (which proved a disguised blessing in the end!)!

At the same time 30 students from the Nakamura Gakuen Vocational University visited the ground to be acquainted to cricket as part of their curriculum. That provided plenty of work all day for Patrick Harrington, Benjamin Wooler, Joel Chamberlain, Kieran File and Robert-Gilles Martineau from the Shizuoka Kytes C.C. Unfortunately Captain Neil Harrison could not join the fun as he was away on umpiring duty at the ICC EAP Tournament in Vanuatu.

Apart of constant practice with the big lads and ladies, we organized the kids into two sessions of a good hour each. They were few but keep on asking for more. At one point we saw a kid from the neighbouring field where a Community Sports Day was being held approach and ask us in English if he could join the fun!

We soon found out that Tomomasa (Nicknamed "Tomo") Atsumi had just come back from one year spent in and English boarding school where he had chosen cricket as his mandatory sport subject. We gave him a ball and asked if he would bowl a few. After the first ball, we knew we had made the find of the day and Kieran spent the next two full hours coaching him (in English!). I personally met his parents and discovered he was living near to the ground and that his mother taught at a neighbouring Primary School (another find!). I took his contacts and asked permission to invite him on a regular basis. I must say that his mother was more than amenable!

A well-spent day in the end. Mrs. Nishida who was on hand all day promised me to help devise a programme for such Days on a regular basis, but that will be for the next report.

Meanwhile SBS TV, an important regional TV Channel was reporting on our activities all day (I suspect that they were taking a day out at the same time, as they clearly enjoying the sedate pace!), talking to the kids and coaches, as well as taking shots of the proper game. They shall come again in November at Miwa Primary School to shoot the second part of the (short) reportage to appear on TV in November.

The members of the Shizuoka Kytes C.C. having had their game postponed due to KCL priorities were practising on the adjacent ground when they had the surprise to see Tomo coming along with his mother to join the practice. I was umpiring at the time, but the lads told me he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Captain Neil had a chat with his mother and gave the kid his grown up son's bat to Tomo who could not believe it!

The Kytes having destroyed their opponents in less than 2 hours (we are in Division 1 next year!) decide to use all that time made available practising. It was then than Tomo proved once for all he would stay with us when he appeared bringing a friend along called Kohei Mochizuki (nicknamed "Mochi"). Kieran almost automatically ran to them and spent a good hour coaching them to be later helped by RGM after he had finished his scoring and other duties. We gave the boys one ball each and suggested that they practised at their own school ground and invite more friends on next Sunday.

As you can little things start big ones!