-MP tells AYSC
“Sports is a wonderful thing, especially if you put your all into the specific sport you chose to play, wherein you need to stay focus, be a discipline sect of people, as without discipline you cannot go forward and most importantly, put God first.” Those were the words from parliamentary representative of Region five Ms. Jennifer Wade MP who was deputising for patron of AYSC and Opposition leader Robert Corbin at the club’s eight annual awards ceremony which was held at the Fort Wellington Secondary School last Saturday.
Ms. Wade, who along with  president and founder of ACYS and vice president of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) respectively David Black celebrated their birthday the previous day, also called on the parents of the respective members, to continue playing an integral role in the lives of their children.
“You brought them into this world by the grace of God for different purposes and if one of their purpose is to become good prominent cricketers in society, then I urged you to stand by their side, encourage them with kind words and continue to play the role you have been playing before today, as they seek to become better persons in society” stated Wade.
In his review of the club’s achievements for the previous year, Black said that one of the objectives of the club is to have at least two or more players on any Guyana team that leaves these shores and over the past three years, they have been able to achieve that objective.
“Twelve (12) years has gone since the birth of the club on the 27th July 1997 and we are proud to say that we have achieved quiet a lot, for as members we started with nothing and today we are extremely grateful and proud of ourselves.
But we will not stop, as one of our goals is that whenever any team leaves to represent Guyana, the AYSC must have two or three players on that team and so far, we have been able to achieve such, with our very own Keon Joseph going onto represent the West Indies at the ICC Youth World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year” said Black.
A vibrant community outreach programme which involves the donating of food, clothing and school items to individuals and other youth group who are in need, along with a special donation of text books, cricket manuals and office stationaries to the Aditya Library and Research Centre, were also on the list of achievements for AYSC last year.
ACYS’ achievements on the field were just as good as their off the field ones, as they won six competitions while reaching the semifinal stage of many others, with some of their members participating in special programmes which were arranged by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).
With regards to their players representing Berbice, AYSC had six players being selected to the West Berbice Inter-zone Under-19 team, with Joseph, Keyron Fraser, Sherwin Mc Pherson and Raffel Estriado going onto represent the Ancient County in the GCB/GTM Inter-county tournament, while national Under-15 selectee Quacy Mc Pherson was named the Berbice Cricket Board 2009 Under-15 player of the year.
At the senior level, opening batsman Arthley Bailey, Krisendat Ramoo and Joseph represented Berbice in the GCB four day and one day competitions, while Fraser was a member of the Rest team and several other members being called up to trials in various divisions.
A stronger relationship was established between AYSC and the most vibrant sports and youth club in Guyana, Berbice’s very own Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC), under the dedicated leadership of Hilbert Foster and Young Warriors under the devoted leadership of Treasurer of the BCB Anil Beharry.
Black also took the time to acknowledge the superlative efforts of a few business and sports personalities, such as former GCB secretary Bish Panday and his business entity P&P insurance, Trophy Stall, New Building Society and Republic Bank (Rosignol Branches), Goodwood Racing Service and Apex Insurance.
Following Black’s review and two wonderful musical renditions from Hopetown’s singing champion 12 year old Michael Saul, over 32 awards were distributed, with Joseph carting off five including the prestigious 2009 Cricketer of the Year award, for which he received a food hamper, bicycle, trophy and a two burner gas stove amongst other items, after which he moved the vote of thanks on behalf of his fellow awardees.
Six individuals namely Panday, Wade, Archie Mohan, Dhankumarie Ramoo (Krisendat’s mom), Charlene Griffith and Annetta Bailey (Arthley’s mom), also received honorary membership certificates from AYSC.