He’s an Afghan
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[Cricket] Love the Freddy Flintoff thing with the kids
- Thread starter WATFORD zero
- Start date
nwgull
Well-known member
I know, but presumably he doesn't have a valid Afghan passport seeing as he's claiming asylum from Afghanistan. I'm surprised he was even able to leave the UK without causing himself all sorts of issues getting back in.
I thought that.
I assume they had to apply for some special paperwork, or I assume he has the right the reside while applying for citizenship.
I hope he gets to play for England which is his dream.
It's a great series. Just invest in young people. Let them find their feet and confidence. Give them an opportunity. Love it.
EDIT: I also found myself shouting at the telly that the two lads with Pakistani heritage were refused visas. A bloody disgrace!
He got a scholarship into a very nice private school, anything is possible and of course the Indian’s don’t like them from over the mountains right
Since1982
Well-known member
What a brilliant series. So much to takeaway from it not least how the lads respond to a positive male role model. Can't help but think this is at the root of many of our social issues in this country. Or is that overly simplistic?
nwgull
Well-known member
I've googled this now, and although the home office will take away the passports of asylum seekers (if they have one), they can still be issued a refugee travel document - although you can't travel back to your home country.He got a scholarship into a very nice private school, anything is possible and of course the Indian’s don’t like them from over the mountains right
I guess similar would've applied to athletes competing on the Refugee Team at the Olympics.
nwgull
Well-known member
Simple answer: yes.
That's far too simplistic, although positive male role models will certainly help ( we didn't see much of the kids' home lives but the ones we did see all had a male at home, so it wasn't an issue with them). A far bigger factor is money: taking nine kids to India and kitting them out with expensive cricket gear, will cost a fair bit. And having a path smoothed by the BBC will help even more.
There's plenty of evidence that shows that kids that are engaged in sport or other leisure interests (eg youth clubs) will perform better at school, are less inclined to get into trouble etc. They don't need a Freddie, they need an opportunity to pursue interests.
We've had girls interested in joining our rugby club but have not been able to afford the bus fare to the ground. And a friend of my (then) daughter went with her to a boxing club. It was a wonderful club, based in Moulsecoomb doing a lot for the kids in the area, but I ended up paying the £1 for my daughter's friend as he couldn't even afford that.
male role models are great, but money is better.
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dejavuatbtn
Well-known member
Deserves a BAFTA. A wonderful programme.
Thunder Bolt
Silly old bat
Back in the day we had youth clubs up to 21, run by the council with paid and volunteer youth workers, where kids who would never go to scouts, guides etc. Opportunities to meet mates, play sport or chat to adults other than family. I was a qualified youth worker for 16 years, and can honestly say we kept quite a few kids out of prison. Some of them were given responsibilities, within the club which helped them mature.
There were boys clubs where boxing was taught to harness aggression under discipline but lack of volunteers meant they dropped off too.
Kids need a purpose.
I found it interesting that Eli, from Blackpool, was bullied because he liked cricket.
That resonated with me. I coach girls rugby and I know of girls who have stopped playing because they were picked on at school for liking rugby. It was not seen as the 'cool' thing to do.
What exasperates me is that these youth clubs (and I volunteered at one too) were closed, to save money. Yet, it costs a lot more to deal with the aftermath of youth crime and sending kids to detention centres/prison.
Shropshire Seagull
Well-known member
20 years ago before girls cricket was a thing, my then 11 year old daughter could hold her own with the boys. Opened the batting for Lilleshall u11 boys. She got so much flack from opposition, for being a girl, she dropped cricket and played netball for county instead.
I'm sure she'd thrive now with the women's set up.
Garry Nelson's Left Foot
Well-known member
Fantastic television, really enjoyable and uplifting.
nwgull
Well-known member
I was interested to see you take on this as I understand that you have similar experience with post-LAC children as I do. My opinion is that money helps, for sure, but when you have a child that has suffered early trauma, then it doesn't matter how wealthy the family is that they end up growing up in with positive role models etc., the damage has been done and they are always going to struggle with life, and this includes getting involved in a structured sport and maintaining friendships.
Take Sean as an example. Freddie, Kyle and the rest of his team were incredibly tolerant but you could see that their patience was being tested to the limit. I'd say it's very unlikley that he'd be tolerated at most sports teams or youth clubs as the way his ADHD presents is just too disruptive. He'd been expelled from several schools and sacked from his plumbing apprenticeship, so this is probably the first time that he's been able to stay somewhere and see something through - although I expect that there was a lot going on off camera to keep him under control.
And that’s what it was. No need for point scoring, etc. The series was as much about AF’s suffering and mental health as the kids’.
Hotchilidog
Well-known member
- Jan 24, 2009
- 9,129
When the series started some of these kids looked like lost causes and to be honest society would treat them like that so they would play down to expectations and behave accordingly. These are kids with a variety of problems but the show backed them with time, money, empathy and patience.
It took a while but the refusal of both Freddie and the kids led to a very positive and uplifting conclusion. We write off and dismiss too many groups of people very easily, be they annoying kids or asylum seekers. We dehumanise them, but it turns out they are humans after all, they just need a lot of help to get positive outcomes in their lives.
The best show on TV this year by a country mile.
It took a while but the refusal of both Freddie and the kids led to a very positive and uplifting conclusion. We write off and dismiss too many groups of people very easily, be they annoying kids or asylum seekers. We dehumanise them, but it turns out they are humans after all, they just need a lot of help to get positive outcomes in their lives.
The best show on TV this year by a country mile.
It was interesting. My eldest, who'd had a very traumatic start in life, struggled at school (to put it mildly). But she was transformed on the rugby field. She listened to instructions (she could scarcely pay attention for 30 seconds at school) and would attend every session, turning up on time (even when it meant getting up at 6.30 in the morning to get to a far-flung venue). What's more: when she attended rugby sessions, her behaviour in the rest of the week improved. When she was off for a month or so, after an injury, her behaviour went downhill again. She was a good player too - good enough to play for the county. It shows how transformative sport can be.
However, I'm fully aware of what worked for her, may not always work for some kids and, as you say, the damage can be so great, it's hard to heal properly. Money certainly helps, but it can't solve everything
Munchkin
Well-known member
Commissioned for another series I believe, featuring a new group of lads from another part of the UK.
For what it’s worth, I loved seeing the young lads progression, but as rewarding and uplifting for me was to see Freddie find himself after what has been the most difficult of times for him.
For what it’s worth, I loved seeing the young lads progression, but as rewarding and uplifting for me was to see Freddie find himself after what has been the most difficult of times for him.
Put this in the Test thread but probably better here…..absolute class from Fred
So uplifting and genuine