About Cricket for Parents

.....and how I built the web site

Hi – and welcome to my web site. This page tells you about Cricket for Parents, and how I get so much pleasure from building the site.

I’m just passionate about cricket! I wanted to do my bit to promote the sport that’s given me so much pleasure, and the web site pulls together some of the things that I’ve learned over the years as a parent, player and coach.

And, to my delight, writing the site has shown me that there are even more ways to enjoy the game than those I knew before.

My name is Anthony and I live with my family in the beautiful county of Shropshire in the UK, where I work in the business of Environmental Protection. When I’m not saving the environment or enjoying my family, cricket plays a big part of my life.

I’m a cricket coach, and my son and I also play for the same team in the Shropshire League. The pictures on this page show our club on a sunny day in April. In the past, I’ve played league cricket in Bradford, Staffordshire and Cheshire, and represented Yorkshire at U15 level.

Like any other sport, good players have to get the basic skills right from an early age, and then build on them. I think that parents and coaches are vital partners in developing these skills, by providing the right balance of encouragement and training. Most of all, they need to make cricket FUN!

There are many ways of doing this, whether on or off the field of play, and

One of my early memories was going to watch England play the West Indies at Headingley in Leeds. At that time, Headingley was one of the most impressive grounds in the UK, and I was awestruck by the majesty of the place and the intensity of the whole test match experience. Since then, though I’ve been to most of the test match grounds in England, and even played at Trent Bridge, my first Headingley experience has always stayed with me.

But playing and coaching give me an even bigger buzz. There’s just no substitute for taking a great catch or playing a match winning innings, or from seeing the junior side that you’ve coached from an early age become county champions!

And then, there are so many other ways to be involved and to enjoy the game, whether you’re a player, coach or parent.

Live matches have become more accessible, either at the ground, on TV or online. Cricket games are ever more challenging, either on PC, on console, online or fantasy. Just keeping up with worldwide scores, highlights and controversies is addictive. And being the kit manager, moral supporter and taxi driver for a junior player can be a full time job.

Whether you’re new to the game or an old hand, Cricket for Parents is for everyone. The game is well known in some parts of the world but less so in others, so I’ve tried to take this into account. And, although parents are my primary audience, I hope that there’s also something here for you if you just want to find out more about cricket.

I wanted to make my web site a resource for everyone who wants to get as much fun out of cricket as I do. At first, I knew little about web design, but to my surprise, writing the site has become so much fun that it takes up almost as much time as I spend playing and coaching. And to my pleasure, I’ve learned even more ways to enjoy the game!

I needed to build the site in a way that that let me concentrate on the content and not the background technology. After much research, I chose the SBI system which is provided by SiteSell, a Canadian company. They actually deliver more than I wanted - they look after the technology AND give me help on how to write about all the different ways to enjoy cricket. It’s a win-win situation!

SBI stands for Site Build It! and helps you to turn any hobby, passion or skill into a viable online business. You don't need programming skills or web design knowledge, and you don't have to have a business or a product to sell. Just bring your brain and motivation. SBI has all the tools you need, and they take you by the hand and teach you step by step how to use them.

They help you to find the perfect topic for your site, then show you how to build it, how to attract traffic to it and then they even teach you how to make money with it, no matter what it is about. If you’re interested in finding out more about SBI, have a look at their Video Tour to get an idea of how it works (or the Quick Tour if you're on dial-up).

There is a massive variety of topics that people like us have turned into profitable web sites with SBI. The important thing is, this is completely risk free because SBI has a full money back guarantee. They're happy for you to try it out to see how you like it.

There are many ways to make money with a website: you could create your own e-goods to sell, sell other people's products for a commission, get paid for leads and referrals and more. SBI shows you how to do all that. You can get some more ideas from what other SBIers are doing.

Want to know more? Here's a selection of hundreds of successful SBI web sites. These FABULOUS sites are all in the top 1% of sites on the web and they’re all built by normal people like you and me. When I first saw these sites I was blown away by their sheer beauty, and the massive variety of topics that people have turned into profitable web sites with SBI.

Still, nothing gets a point across better than the personal, real-world experience of people just like us. Here are some case studies, as told by a selection of SBI owners from around the globe. Their stories are told in different styles, but they all have a passion for their subject and their lives have all been changed for the better by their experience.

SBI’s mascot is the tortoise. This is very appropriate, because web design is hard work and it takes time. But this doesn’t matter when you love your subject, and I enjoy every minute of it!

Another bonus for me from developing the site is that I’ve made contact with many other cricket lovers all around the world. Building the inbound links to my site has put me in touch with lots of friendly, like minded people, and it gives me a real buzz to be able to answer a question through my newsletter or contact form.

I delayed starting my site for months before I discovered SBI, because I wasn't sure even how to begin. But, I needn't have worried, because SBI is so easy to use, and they give me so much help.

So, if you want to share your own passion, what are you waiting for? After all..

Find out what SBI can do for you, because if I can do this, you can!

If you have any comments or questions, please get in touch. It would be great to hear from you.

Best wishes

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