Devising Courses ready for August visit

The first few months of 2025 I starting getting excited about the upcoming visit in July/August. I was making plans in my head and asking questions about what was happening in Chitipa. As usual Wachisa was very communicative but Rowland less so. Top of the list is a female only course delivered by a FAM qualified female coach. Wachisa is making plans. I wanted Joe my 18 year old rugby playing son to get involved when we get to Chitipa. Jack Mphande has agreed to visit Chitipa in August during my visit. I plan to deliver a short training course looking at fitness elements and tests. Having seen Facebook posts about all the success Cricket Malawi is having, it got me thinking about cricket again in the primary schools. The new Chitipa District Education Sports Officer is called Patrick Simwayi. I think I can get him engaged in some softball cricket festivals. Then there is the 2025 U12 netball development project which Rowland and Allan have promised me will happen.    

I was also trying to make connections with other sports NGO's working overseas to try and get them interested in Chitipa as a possible ready made destination. I follow 'Cricket Without Boundaries' on Facebook and enjoy their posts from Nepal, Uganda and Kenya. I sent messages to their boss Lee Booth and their facilitator overseas Sara Begg. I asked them if Chitipa could be a destination for a future project.  

Through 'Lottie's Way', the charity that has granted us £600 this year for training courses, I found out about 'Taking Football to Africa and Beyond'. They collect and deliver football kits mostly to Nepal and Kenya as they have links to the RAF who transport for them. They could provide the kits if I can pay the transport.

Malawi Queen's netballer Joyce Mvula agreed to make a promotional video to encourage netball in Chitipa. Wachisa was excited about getting the tennis court finished and Rowland was trying to find all the old cricket kit. A busy time.   

The Fitness Course began to take shape and I got Leo interested in helping me plan and deliver it. I thought a stopwatch would be a good reward for attending the course, so I bought 30 with the Lottie's Way grant. I put together a course booklet. We will look at 8 components of fitness (agility, cardiovascular endurance, coordination, balance, speed, muscular strength, flexibility and muscular endurance) and the tests that measures them. We will look at the 'SPORT' and 'FITT' principles of training and then a range of training methods. This will help the coaches do initial testing of players, record results, plan a 6 week Personal Exercise Programme for individuals and then re-test after to measure improvements in fitness. It would be great if all the 30 coaches who attended the December 2024 training course could attend this course. Wachisa welcomed the idea with his usual enthusiasm. It would be the 1st ever course of it's kind in Chitipa. 

Wachisa said 'It's an excellent idea and a perfect time to modernise our project....fitness is a vital component of football development.'  

Cricket was also back on the agenda. My encouragement of Patrick Simwayi about a primary school softball cricket course and festival just led to his questions about 'what else would the teachers be getting apart from the equipment and my knowledge'. I think I would be better to avoid teachers on this trip. I got some stumps and bag from Warkworth CC. I will collect some bats, cones, balls and shirts. My Rwanda Air luggage allowance in 2 x 23 kg's,  so looks like I will be wheeling some big bags through Tanzania. Wachisa again says he can easily organise participants.