A TOTAL of fifty youth cricketers drawn from seven clubs in the New Amsterdam/Canje area last Sunday participated in a one-day mini cricket academy at Canje Ground as the vibrant Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) pushed ahead with its countywide coaching programme.

The mini academy is the first of four that would be held during the month of November and a total of about two hundred Under-19 players are expected to benefit from the extensive coaching sessions.

The one-day session was conducted by a panel of coaches, headed by Level Three coach Winston Smith. Other coaches present were Leslie Solomon, Balram Samaroo and Gregory Crandon. The administrative aspect of the academy was taken care of by BCB executives Ameer Rahaman, Neil Rudder and Lyken Edwards.

BCB president Hilbert Foster was also present for a part of the day and congratulated the coaches on a job well done.

Foster shared that the academy marked the start of the county’s preparation for the Guyana Cricket Board (BCB) intercounty junior tournaments.
Berbice, he stated, aims to win all the titles and produce the majority of players on the national teams. Mini academies would be held over the next three Sundays in West Berbice, Lower Corentyne and Upper Corentyne respectively with fifty youths in attendance at each.

The same set of youths from the Saturday before would also be involved in a one-day special social skills seminar, to improve them socially and to prepare them to represent the county as ambassadors.

Head coach Winston Smith disclosed that the coaches placed special emphasis on physical fitness, ground fielding, wicket-keeping, spinning the ball, run-ups for fast bowlers, running between the wickets and hitting the ball along the ground.

The BCB, since the election of the Foster-led executive, has invested heavily into coaching and the educational aspects of their players. Hundreds of youths have directly benefitted from the countywide Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh Coaching Programme and the hosting of academies.

The GCB had last month donated 10 coaching kits to BCB and they are being used at the sessions.

BCB Public Relations Officer, Simon Naidu, expressed confidence that all the sessions over the next three weeks would be successful and well attended. He stated that a lot of hard work is being done behind the scenes to make sure that all of the board’s objectives are achieved.

He hailed the hard work and cooperation that existed among the executives of the board and its coaching staff. The two days’ activities in each sub-association are been sponsored by BCB Patron Vickram Bharrat and overseas-based Guyanese medical doctor, Tulsi Dyal Singh.

All the sessions, Naidu stated, would be played under very strict COVID-19 guidelines and any player who fails to follow the rules would be subjected to disciplinary actions by the board.