Greenhouse Sports launches cricket programmes to help London’s school kids

Sports & Mentoring charity Greenhouse Sports has announced its first cricket programme  since its inception in 2002, partnering with Eastlea Community School in Canning Town, Newham to provide cricket coaching for pupils aged 11-16.

To spearhead the new cricket programme, Greenhouse Sports recruited its first ever Cricket Coach, Masoor Khan. As with all Greenhouse Sports programmes, Masoor runs free coaching sessions for pupils during and after school (including breakfast clubs, lunch clubs and after school clubs) and is embedded in the school like a full-time member of staff and trusted mentor. This is an important part of the Greenhouse philosophy of delivering multi-hours of intensive coaching and one-on-one mentoring to inspire the children to aim higher. 

Greenhouse’s development of its cricket programme is a timely one. There is a widely-recognised requirement for cricket to evolve its culture and approach, in order to improve diversity in the sport and ensure it appeals and is accessible to all, especially those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. 

The charity focuses on those children and communities that need them most, only working in schools where at least two-thirds of pupils live below the poverty line in areas of high deprivation, according to the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) rating*. In London especially, these areas are also extremely culturally diverse. 

Coach Masoor was selectively recruited by the charity in January this year. Previously the Urban Cricket Development Officer for Gloucestershire, Masoor Khan was winner of Project of the Year at the 2020 Chance to Shine Awards, and Street Coach of the Year 2019.

Greenhouse Sports currently delivers more than 55 high-quality programmes across the capital, specialising in table tennis, basketball, tennis and volleyball. Supported by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, the charity focuses resources on disadvantaged young people to help level up their life chances through the power of sports coaching and mentoring. The charity has also recently expanded its reach outside London for the first time launching coaching programmes in Portsmouth and Leicester. 

On its 20th Anniversary year, Greenhouse Sports celebrates 20 years of working with more than 50,000 children, keeping them engaged in education, helping them achieve better results, better jobs and a better future. School children supported by a Greenhouse Sports Coach are on average likely to attend more than 5 days of school a year than those not on Greenhouse programmes.

For more about the new programme, and interviews on The Cricket Paper with Masoor and Greenhouse’s Director of Coaching, Jason Sugrue, click here.