Ibrahim's Story For cricket-mad Ibrahim, a 13 year-old from Oxford, Chance to Shine Street has not only given him the opportunity to play the sport he loves regularly but also to develop personally through it. Ibrahim has been coming to his local Street project for two years, and says, “If I wasn’t in this cricket session, I’d just be playing on my PS4 and doing nothing at home.” Chance to Shine Street Coach Shaz Khan has seen Ibrahim develop over the two years, from tackling issues with controlling his anger to taking on a leadership role in Street sessions. He tells us, “When Ibrahim first joined you could see he was very enthusiastic and loved the game of cricket. But with all the enthusiasm he would bring with him, I started to notice he was getting very angry with the other children and would shout at them.” Shaz supported Ibrahim to address the disruptive behaviour and noticed an immediate difference, “He learnt to control his temper when things were not going right. The children around him noticed the positive change and started to enjoy his company, respect him and listen to him a lot more.” Ibrahim has taken this new attitude away from cricket: “If someone’s making me angry at school, cricket just helps me get out of getting stressed out.” As well as stepping up his own behaviour, Ibrahim is now looking to act as a role model with younger children at Street cricket sessions. He joins in with the younger players and is helping them improve their skills. Ibrahim knows how the game helped him and he’s hoping he can pass that on, “I like helping out, it makes the young people that play here happy and it makes me happy.” Meanwhile, Shaz is keeping a keen eye on Ibrahim and is looking to help him grow and develop. “He is showing signs of leadership and could easily become a coach in years to come. As a cricket board, we will monitor and support him through this process as it is vital that we encourage and invest time in him to mature into a successful young adult.” Manage Cookie Preferences