Silver Cricket Programme at Cranford C of E Primary School with Stevie Eskinazi – November 2021

Our amazing cricket Ambassador, Stevie Eskinazi, spent the day with the brilliant staff and students at Cranford C of E Primary School as part of a fantastic Kettering Old Grammar School Foundation supported programme.

Opening with an inspirational presentation, Stevie encouraged students to be grateful for their support network and to always show empathy towards their family and friends. Stevie emphasised that this means going beyond simply asking how someone is by trying to understand and genuinely care about how they feel.

A key part of Stevie’s talk was touching upon the importance of failure in helping him to progress, reflecting on the many successes and disappointments across his career. He discussed how feeling low is a part of life and that, rather than immediately trying to find alternative ways of boosting ourselves to feel better again, we should allow ourselves to experience lows so that we can learn something from these moments.

“It is not just okay to fail… it is important to fail.”

For the remainder of the day, Stevie led several coaching sessions whereby students got to compete against and with one another in fast-paced games, as well as making use of the Crazy Catch rebound nets!

This was followed by Q&A sessions, where pupils at Cranford C of E Primary School got the chance to bombard Stevie with questions, some of the best of which were:

How did it feel being dropped from the first team as the captain, and how did you react when your coaches told you?

How may sixes have you scored in your professional career?

Have you ever reached a point where you thought you couldn’t do something in cricket, but then you did?

How many trophies have you won?

How do you hit different shots in cricket?

What’s the furthest you’ve ever hit a cricket ball in a game?

How old were you when you started playing cricket?

We loved to see the enthusiasm and intrigue among staff and students alike throughout the coaching and Q&A sessions.

It was also wonderful to see Stevie finally get the chance to meet his mentees, both of whom he has been communicating online with for over four months. This was the first time they got to meet one another in person, and it was hard to say whether Stevie or his mentees were more excited!

It was a fantastic day at Cranford Primary School with Stevie, and we are incredibly grateful to the Kettering Old Grammar School Foundation for supporting this programme!

If you are interested in a virtual or physical Programme with Stevie Eskinazi or any of our other inspirational Ambassadors, then please get in touch via the Mintridge website at www.mintridgefoundation.org.uk or with Katie at katie@mintridge.org.uk.

Team Mintridge

The Mintridge Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing life skills in young people through sport. We provide a support network for young people by harnessing the power of positive sporting role models. The Mintridge Foundation assists young people of all ages, abilities, and physical capabilities to develop confidence and resilience, and creates awareness of the importance of mental and physical wellbeing through sport.

Our team of Ambassadors - Olympians, Paralympians and other professional sports stars from over 20 sports, both team and individual - work with young people in schools, clubs and academies across the UK. Starting with visits including assemblies, coaching clinics and classroom sessions tailored to each organisation’s requirements, our ambassadors can then provide one- on- one remote mentoring in a safeguarded environment, delivered via technology such as FitSwarm and Playwaze to build a lasting legacy for individuals.

The Mintridge Foundation’s successes demonstrate the incredible power of sport; from a mentee’s selection to represent Great Britain in their chosen field to enabling disabled children to find confidence and happiness just through participation. Understanding life after sport, we also support our Ambassadors in their transition from active sport to the next stage of their careers.

To find out more about the Mintridge Foundation, please contact Alex Wallace.

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