news
Volunteer uses cricket to change lives
Jason Schmidt is dedicated to helping people with disability and has found cricket to be the perfect platform .
The father of three from Margate in Tasmania is committed to using his love for cricket to help people with disability boost their skills , confidence and social interaction .
Jason , 34 , ( pictured below ) established the Hurricane Inclusion Cup and the New Town Inclusion Project , which give people with intellectual and physical disabilities the opportunity to feel a sense of belonging .
Jason said it ’ s about giving people the opportunity to learn to play cricket in a team environment .
“ My goal is to encourage people with disability to come to a club and to play in a club environment ; something they may not otherwise be able to do ,” he said .
With no cricket programs existing for people with disability in Tasmania , Jason works alongside support services to help people build up skills and hopefully join mainstream club teams .
“ I decided to develop programs around disability because there is nothing out there , and participants range in age from 14 to 50 ,” he said . “ The Hurricane Inclusion Cup has gone from playing a few games to creating a whole program and , as such , I ’ ve now set up services so that coaches can continuously run their own sessions .”
He said there are tremendous benefits for participants both on and off the field .
“ It has been absolutely incredible . The social interaction with the kids has improved and so has their confidence in themselves ,” he said .
“ Some of the kids I was working with always had support workers who did everything for them , but cricket was a great way for them to develop more independence and even their parents say they are now more helpful around the house .”
On top of his work and responsibilities as Junior Development Officer at New Town Cricket Club , Participation Specialist at Cricket Tasmania and Southern Coordinator for the Special Olympics , Jason ’ s dedication to promoting all-abilities sport is outstanding and he volunteers many hours of his own time every week .
Currently there are between 30 to 40 people participating each week in the programs , which Jason hopes to expand .
“ I love doing what I ’ m doing and want it to keep going to help the participants feel that they are achieving ,” he said . www . community . cricket . com . au / story
10 news linkonline . com . au