Feasibility of ‘Daughters and Dads Cricket’: A programme targeting fathers to improve daughters’ engagement and skills in cricket

Abstract

Background Utilising fathers to support their daughters and enhance their cricket skills may be an innovative approach to addressing traditional socio-cultural views of cricket relating to gender, by improving girls’ enjoyment, participation and long-term retention in in the sport. Purpose To assess the feasibility of the ‘Daughters and Dads Cricket’ programme. Methods In a single-arm, pre–post study, fathers (n  =  34, 43.1  ±  4.4 years) and daughters (n  =  34, 9.4  ±  1.5 years) from Newcastle, Australia were recruited. The 9-week programme was delivered by trained facilitators and included weekly educational and practical sessions, plus home-based tasks. A priori feasibility benchmarks targeted recruitment (20 dyads), fidelity (≥80%), attendance (≥70%), compliance (≥70%), satisfaction (mean: ≥ 4/5) and retention (≥85%). Preliminary efficacy outcomes included cricket skill proficiency, daughters’ enjoyment in cricket, intention to keep playing cricket and long-term retention in cricket. Results Feasibility benchmarks were exceeded for recruitment (n  =  34 dyads), fidelity (98% education, 100% practical), attendance (88%), satisfaction (fathers: 4.6 of 5, daughters: 4.8 of 5) and retention (97%). Home-programme compliance fell short of the benchmark (64%). Preliminary efficacy was confirmed with medium-to-large effect size changes in 11 of the 13 daughters’ cricket skill proficiency outcomes. Promising findings were identified for daughters’ enjoyment of cricket, intention to continue playing and long-term retention in cricket. Conclusion A cricket-focused programme targeting daughters and dads was feasible and led to medium-to-large improvements in cricket skill proficiency among the daughters. Additionally, daughters were engaged with cricket, as shown by high levels of enjoyment, intention to continue playing and their long-term retention. Examining future efficacy in a larger trial is warranted.