Left: Cricket Victoria coach education and training manager Chris Harris and South Metro regional cricket manager Adrian Jones are just two of the experts to have visited Eumemmerring College this year.By Marc McGowan
THE innovative Eumemmerring College sports academy continues to offer its students rare opportunities to brighten their future.
The latest example is the Hallam high school’s cricket program, which has given participants access to the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Cricket Victoria’s High Performance Academy coach Simon Helmot already this year.
Students spent last term studying the Level O umpiring course to experience the ‘other side of the sport’.
On completion, they umpired school games in the area played by children ranging from years seven to 10 and this formed part of their assessment for the subject.
The diversity of the program is evident this term, where students are now undertaking a coaching course and have had their individual games analysed by Helmot.
Cricket academy director Brett Alexander explained that the program’s intention was not based solely on creating future champions of the sport.
“We’re trying to give them skills that they’ll be able to learn and apply to any life situation to make them better people,” he said.
“All students do a Certificate II in Sport and Recreation and part of that is our elective program where they pick a sport to specialise in such as AFL, basketball or cricket.”
Alexander believes there are numerous positives about the program.
“They get qualifications out of it, have the opportunity to follow their passion of cricket and develop life skills,” he said.
“By umpiring they’ll learn about being in charge of a group and organisation and that all applies to the rest of their schooling.
“They can take back what they learn to their junior clubs and hopefully give them some assistance next season.”
But Alexander said the major benefit of the program was that it was persuading kids to stay in school.
“I’m really rapt to have the opportunity to get the course up and running for students,” he said.
“It’s keeping them at school and allowing them to follow their passion – whatever their sport is – and linking in academically.
“It’s a great pathway to follow.”
