Blog: “Being active enables me to socialise”
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday. This year, we'll be sharing the experiences of disabled people involved in sport and exercise at all levels, finding out what impact being active has on their lives. This week, Owais Niaz talks about his experiences of becoming active as a blind person.
Hi, my name is Owais, I’m 27 years old and I play blind cricket. I have been registered blind since I was eight years old.
I first got involved in blind cricket at the age of ten, when a coach named Adam Paul came into my school from the Cricket for Change programme to do a PE lesson. He asked if my friends and I would be interested in blind cricket. Of course, we were really enthusiastic about the opportunity and before we knew it we all got involved with Hit the Top - a disability sports programme. With help from Adam, we started our own blind cricket team called the Essex Juniors and I can proudly say we were undefeated for about nine months.
I love playing cricket and enjoy how active it keeps me. I even volunteer as a coach for one-to-one sessions. Over the years my passion for cricket has grown, I especially love taking part in matches and always want to put 100 per cent effort in for the team and have a good game.
I also go out regularly on long walks with my family. Walking and cricket makes me feel great afterwards because I know I’ve had a good workout. Being active has also really supported me in my daily life. It enables me to get out into the fresh air and socialise with my friends, rather than staying in and feeling isolated.
The support of my family, friends, teammates and coaches is very important. My family and friends really help me when it comes to cricket, as they drive me to training and matches. Sometimes my friends and I will agree on a local meeting point and then we’ll all travel to training together.
Since starting the Essex Juniors, my teammates and I have really bonded and we always encourage each other, even on our off days.
My coaches have been a great support network for me too. I didn’t have any prior experience of playing cricket but Adam adapted the sport to suit our category (B1). He always made sure I was okay, with this encouragement my confidence grew and I eventually became manager of the Essex Juniors. So, as well as playing, I also sorted out all the logistics, such as ringing players to make sure they were okay for training, matches and travel arrangements.
The Essex Juniors programme has since come to an end, but I am now in the process of forming an adult team. This should be up and running in the next few months ready to start friendlies throughout spring and summer 2018, and hopefully we’ll be in a position to enter a league next year.
I am also in talks with a few organisations as I really want to give Goalball and Boccia a try.
Just recently, I have been awarded the Best Volunteer in the Community Award from the Active Together programme by the Mayor of Redbridge. I was really honoured to receive this.
I’ve had people say to me that I shouldn’t do certain things, but I’ve always said I want to give it a go. So, my advice to other disabled people who are wanting to try an activity or sport but aren’t too sure is to stay strong willed and just give it a go.
Taking small steps to being independent is key. Even now, I still feel nervous travelling on public transport but I’ve tried to make those small steps to becoming more independent and consciously push myself out of my comfort zone. There will be situations that will set you back but you just have to carry on going forward. I would really encourage individuals to speak to friends, family, sporting organisations and charities because there is support out there to help you on your journey to being active.
