Slough Cricket coach backs national drive to inspire more people in coaching roles

Slough Cricket Club’s Raabia Ahkter has been praised by the lead charity for coaching in the UK as an outstanding example of coaching making a difference on wellbeing, and she has called for more people to consider taking on coaching roles and support their local community.

Raabia was recently honoured with separate awards as Best Berkshire Coach and Club Person of the Year, for her outstanding commitment to boosting participation for women and girls in the sport.

As well as coaching, she is also Girls and Ladies Co-Ordinator at Slough Cricket Club, but since completing her Level 2 with the ECB, she hasn’t looked back in going above and beyond to give back to her community - and believes anyone with a passion can learn to make a real difference.

With this goal in mind around a much-needed coach recruitment drive, UK Coaching have launched #Born2Coach - an initiative that aims to significantly boost the coaching workforce by inspiring people to become coaches and empowering current coaches to enhance their abilities.

Fully active in the local community at Slough Cricket Club, Raabia reflected on the benefits coaching has given her and Berkshire’s aspiring cricketers, saying: “I knew from an early age that I definitely wanted to be involved in sport in some capacity, I studied sport science to help develop my understanding, but it was all about finding the right environment for me to make the best impact I could.

“My coaching roles now have really allowed to do that, and I’m proud of both the recognition I have received and the positive impact I have seen with more girls getting involved in cricket.

“It’s given me a lot more confidence – knowing that I can inspire others to love the sport as much as I do, and my focus has always been on supporting young people into taking part whatever their experience might be. I have set up the first ever girls cricket team in Slough, which is a big step to seeing more local women and girls active in the sport.

“I would tell anyone who is considering getting involved in coaching that you can really make your own mark. Don’t give up on your dream – if you’re passionate about sport or helping people stay active then you can do amazing things to give back to the community.”

Praising Raabia’s coaching contribution, and raising the need to activate more coaches like her, UK Coaching CEO Mark Gannon said: “Raabia is a fantastic example of the UK’s incredible coaching workforce who are essential to the happiness and wellbeing of the nation as we recover from the pandemic. We are delighted to be working closely with ECB and six further sports to help encourage more aspiring coaches into the workforce.

“Coaches will be an important conduit for engaging a broader range of people from more communities in physical activity and sport, and we want to play our part in supporting physical activity and sport to help rebuild a more active, happier and healthier nation.”

If you are inspired by Raabia’s story, and want to find out more on how you can support your community through coaching, visit https://www.ukcoaching.org/born2coach