Katie Faulkner is the Women and Girl’s Development Officer for Lincolnshire Cricket. Part of this role sees her focus on the Chance to Shine Girls Leadership Programme, which focusses on developing the leadership skills of young people aged 11-16, specifically in the areas of creativity, confidence, adaptability and resilience. She shares her thoughts on the programme:
I have delivered in four different schools over the last year, and I’ve seen the girls develop in different ways. In one school in a deprived area of Lincolnshire, the girls had never experienced cricket or any kind of leadership in sport before. During the programme, the girls began to learn vital life skills including communication. At the beginning, they were quiet, shy individuals who were new to the idea of leadership and speaking in front of their peers. However, as the programme evolved these young people were able to confidently communicate with other people in the school and in public areas
Across all the schools we deliver to we have found that the two other key life skills that have really made a difference, especially in the school environment, are empathy and collaboration. The students on the programme have understood the benefits of helping each other out but also listening to the views of others. In the programme these life skills helped all of them to develop creative and fun activities to deliver to each other, but within school, they have been understanding and support their fellow peers.
But most significantly, the programme has developed the leadership skills of the girls involved. One school, who already deliver regular leadership sessions focused around dance, have now developed their leadership skills within cricket and can see how there is a crossover between the two sports. Elsewhere, we have worked with schools that have never done any leadership training before. In these schools we have seen the most development in young people, as they are keen to learn how to put these skills into practice with peers in their PE lessons, or with younger people at a local cricket festival.
We strongly believe that the young people taking part in our Leadership Programme should be given a voice, and ultimately shape how we deliver the sessions. They are the ones that benefit most from the delivery, so we want to meet their needs and listen to what they want. We plan the sessions, but still allow them to adapt the activities and at the end of the programmes – ask them to reflect on three simple questions.
- What have you enjoyed most about the programme?
- As a Leader/Player where do you feel you have improved the most?
- If you were to take part in the programme again, what would you like to see done differently?
As a coach I always feel I am a role model for any young person receiving my coaching. Therefore, I feel that I should share not only my passion and enthusiasm for the sport, but also how it has helped me through my academic studies and career. Learning to be confident, determined, and resilient have all got me to where I am today. These skills can help you move forward through different situations in life, so I feel that being able to pass this on to the young people helps them will really give them food for thought as to the wider benefits of participating in these programmes.
