– Hails event as the best ever in 12 years
The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) has hailed their 12th annual cricket academy as one of the best ever as the curtains came down on the two-week event with an award ceremony.
Eighty-five youths ranging from age 7 to 18 years took part in the event which was held at the Area ‘H’ ground in Rose Hall Town.
The academy was organized by the Cricket Development Committee of the club and the coaching staff was headed by senior cricket coach Winston Smith and included national player Delbert Hicks and 1st division player Ravi Narine.
The students were coached in all aspects of the game, including the basics in batting, bowling, fielding, and physical fitness, among other skills while several lectures were organized on topics of importance to youths.
Secretary/CEO of the club Hilbert Foster at the presentation ceremony hailed the attitude and work ethics of the young cricketers and expressed his satisfaction at the rapid development of the under-11 and under-13 players during the two weeks.
The long-serving cricket administrator challenged the graduates to always strive for excellence, to be disciplined at all times and most importantly to listen to advice from their elders.
He noted that cricket can be their livelihood because of the amount of money cricketers are paid but he urged the youths to love the game and not to be involved just for the money.
The cricket academy over the years has been very successful for the club with players such as the Crandon brothers, Esaun and Royston, Assad Fudadin, Delbert Hicks, Renwick Batson and Eon Hooper emerging and it is one of the main reasons why the RHTYSC is among the top cricket clubs in Guyana.
Foster noted that the club invests heavily in developing players from a young age as it is crucial to instill discipline, commitment and love of the game.
Meanwhile, Smith, head coach of the academy, noted that the youths were all willing to work hard and listen to advice. The highly respected coach stated that the academy was the best he was ever involved in and challenged the graduates to make sure that they continue the process of learning and practice.
Daniel Lewis, 13, copped the Cricketer-of-the-Year Award and also won the Best Under-13 Player Award.
The other awardees were Best Under-11 players – Veeramootoo Senwasane, Best Under-11 Female Player – Plaffiana Millington, Best Under-15 player- Javed Seecharan, Best Under-17 player – Dominic Rickey, Best Under-19 player- Surendra Kissoonlall, Most Improved- Joel Pike, Most Committed- Adrian Persaud, Most Promising- Rayborne Murray, Most Disciplined- Mariam Samaroo, Best Batsman- Dominic Rickey and Best Bowler- Rayborne Murray.
Each of the students received a $5,000 educational kit from the club for the new school term.
The academy was sponsored by Banks DIH Ltd, Guyana Beverage Company, Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL), Bakewell, Spready’s Snackette, Abdel Fudadin, Guyana Cricket Board, HA Snacks Co. Ltd, Farfan and Mendes Ltd and DTV-8.
