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Southampton Teen Wins Award For Community Cricket Coaching
Southampton Teen Wins Award For Community Cricket Coaching
Inspiring Through Cricket: Hamza Khan’s Journey from Participant to Award-Winning Coach
Hamza Khan, from Southampton, has won the Inspire Award at Lord’s Taverners Super 1s awards evening hosted at the Oval. The award recognises his coaching work during a community cricket residential involving disabled participants.
Khan progressed through Southampton Wicketz, a community cricket programme aimed at high population, urban communities, providing access and opportunities in cricket to young people aged between 8 and 19.
Now 18, Khan has started coaching younger participants and helped to coach a session with disabled participants in Arundel. He was awarded the Inspire Award for his work and journey through the programme, which is funded by Lord’s Taverners.
The Inspire Award recognised Khan’s contribution to a Super 1s and Wicketz residential at Arundel Castle last year, when he ran adapted cricket sessions for a mixed group of participants. His coaching showcased an ability to learn and understand the different challenges facing each participant and how to best support each player.
The awards were hosted by England internationals Emma Lamb and Ed Hossell at the Oval, where Khan was presented with his award alongside other winners. The event aims to celebrate the personal development and success of young people taking part in Super 1 programmes across the country.
Hampshire Cricket Board run several programmes like Southampton Wicketz, which Khan has been involved in, that help give more young people access to the sport. The inner-city programme reaches over 100 young people every week having launched in 2018.
Khan, speaking in a video feature at the ceremony, said:
“I’ve been playing with Wicketz since it came to Southampton. Growing up in Pakistan, there was no access to cricket, we would just play street cricket. Going into my coaching journey, was a game changer in my life.
“Arundel was one of the best moments in my life, because working with different kinds of people, especially with disabled people, was amazing. It was understanding their needs, and you’ve got to be able to provide it for them. Wicketz and Super 1s is like a family, bonded together.”
Hamza Khan, Inspire Award Winner
To find out more about Hampshire Cricket Board’s programmes or get involved, visit: https://www.utilitabowl.com/cricket-board/community-cricket/
