Everyone’s a winner
The National Cricket Inclusion Championships have been lighting up grounds across Geelong this week. Ahead of today’s grand finals, chief cricket writer ALEX OATES chats with some of the people who make the event tick PARTNERSHIP GOING BEYOND BOUNDARY
JASON Schmidt has devoted his life to bringing smiles to the faces of others.
In his own words, “there’s no greater feeling in the world”.
“What puts a smile on my face?” Schmidt asked. “When they’ve got a smile on theirs”.
Schmidt, of Margate in Tasmania, is not your typical father of three. The 34-year-old is committed to helping those living with a disability and has found cricket to be the perfect platform.
In Geelong this week with Tasmania’s intellectual disability cricket team for the National Cricket Inclusion Championships, Schmidt opened up about his commitment to volunteering.
“I just want to help people in any way, shape or form,” Schmidt said, as his Tasmania team tackled South Australia at Kardinia Park.
“I absolutely love it. It doesn’t matter whether I’m in the classroom or on the field, I love helping them. I love helping those who have a little bit of trouble help themselves.”
Schmidt was 16 when he found his calling in life. Striving for a career in teaching, Schmidt took on Year 10 work placement. That’s when he met a boy with autism.
“I was the only male teacher, there were a lot of female teachers, and this boy took an instant shine to me,” Schmidt said. “I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere else, he just wanted me to help him.
“His mum said ‘you’ve got such a great connection with him, can you come and help us?’ So I started helping him out.
“He was non-verbal, so I started with the alphabet. They were getting about a 40 per cent hit rate and I was about 80 per cent with him.
“His mum gave me a job over the summer helping him and he was a very physical boy, so we’d take him out and play with him.
“She would struggle to keep up with him, but I thoroughly enjoyed running around chasing him. It was the best couple of summers of my life.”
Schmidt would later embark on a career as a part-time teacher’s aid, while working night shift in retail. He then combined his love of cricket to help people with a disability boost their skills, confidence and social interaction.
“I got into cricket because my son was playing,” Schmidt said. “Cricket Australia do a fantastic program called Cricket Ambassadors and I decided to take on a role in disability. Cricket Tasmania would do three sessions a week and I got involved. I would stay on and volunteer my own time. I recruited other support services and we’ve got three other services now.”
Schmidt established the Hurricane Inclusion Cup and the New Town Inclusion Project, which gives people living with intellectual and physical disabilities the opportunity to feel a sense of belonging.
“My goal is to encourage people living with a disability to come to a club and play in a club environment, something that they may not otherwise be able to do.”
With no programs existing for people with a disability in Tasmania, Schmidt launched a host of services for participants aged 14 to 50.
On top of his paid work and responsibilities as a father, Schmidt is junior development officer at New Town Cricket Club, participation specialist at Cricket Tasmania and Southern coordinator for the Special Olympics.
He is also a relief teacher’s aid at a catholic school, works with Community Sports Camps and hosts
school clinics with the NRL. Then he works part time in night fill at Coles.
“I’ve got eight jobs,” he said. “I do lots of part-time jobs and I’m bloody tired all the time. I just have really good time-management skills.
“My wife is fantastically supportive. It’s a lot of bits and bobs and I’m all over the place but it works. I just fill in the day.”
Schmidt’s story is part of Cricket Australia’s Community Champions Campaign, a new initiative that highlights grassroots stories around the country where people use cricket in a positive and inspiring way.
“I’ve got guys who are in wheelchairs and those who have cerebral palsy and need A-Frames and you get them out on that cricket pitch throwing balls around and you realise that they can do this,” Schmidt said.
“You realise they are not constrained by their lack of ability and they can do things with the abilities they have and that’s the whole aim of the program that we’ve set up.”