Case Study | The Smiths
The Smith family live in Farley Hill, Luton - an area with high levels of social deprivation. Before Wicketz came to the area, the Smiths didn’t engage in any regular activity, apart from visiting the weekly youth club, where they didn’t play any sport but did buy sweets from the tuck shop!
However, since the launch of Wicketz in the area, the Smiths have attended every single session and have enjoyed huge improvements in their physical and personal wellbeing.
Torrie (12) didn’t have a healthy lifestyle when she joined Wicketz, even turning up to some sessions with chips or a bag full of sweets and a fizzy drink. But more recently, her attitude to her own health and nutrition has seen a real shift. She says: “I like water better than fizzy drinks now because of what we learned at the Live Well Luton workshop in the summer.”
Through Wicketz, Torrie has also improved her coordination skills and now takes great pride in her ability to hit the ball, catch and throw at the stumps.
When Millie (8) first attended Wicketz, she would dip in and out of the sessions, and found it more entertaining to do her own thing. But as soon as she discovered she was good at hitting the ball, she became more engaged and now always asks to bat first.
Wicketz project manager Dan Wilson, said:
“We have channelled Millie’s determination and wilfulness into leadership and coaching the group. Millie loves the responsibility of becoming the leader, and has improved her communication skills no end.“
Millie used to have a lot of issues in school and sometimes would refuse to complete her work, but since taking part in Wicketz, her behaviour and performance has improved dramatically.