Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) President Alfred Mentore, said the he is confident that this year’s batch of students which participated in the club’s annual summer camp will be the future generation of Guyana and West Indies cricket.
“This camp is an annual activity. It is a development camp for DCC and we know not everyone will not make it to the top but we will still to continue to invest in it,” said Mentore who added that.. “Investment in the youths is paramount as the expansion of youths in cricket is the way forward.”
He also credited new West Indies selector Clive Lloyd for his input prior to the regional youth competitions as he pointed out that Lloyd spent some time with the U15, 17 and 19 youths prior to their departure.
“One would have seen the performance of the youngsters who are from DCC who Lloyd met with on one-on-one and group basis as he gave vital pointers on how to uplift themselves and players around them. Mentore also stated that he is keen on the former West Indies captain meeting with the newly blooded DCC cricketers upon his return.
Another ex- West Indies player in Travis Dowlin has been working with Head Coach Garvin Nedd to help the youths during the summer camp and the President exalted the work done by the pair as they played key roles in the young careers of the participants.
The camp concluded last week and the young members were taught various aspects of the sport as well as topics such as public speaking, table etiquette among other academic aspects were touched by professionals in the respective realms.
“We have been reinforcing sessions from last years with the public speaking forum being a bit different and more interactive. “We are ensuring the guys learn from an early age in the event that cricket becomes their full time job”.
“We are not about cricket alone but we want to marry the intellectual side with the sport. We would like to expand for next year camp we are in the embryotic stages once we get resources we will ensure that next year’s camp surpasses that of 2014,” said Mentore.
A rule book, teaching the basics of cricket and its origin along with a tour guide on how to approach the game is expected to be made available compliments of Lloyd.
In closing Mentore congratulated the former DCC player on his new appointment, saying that the WICB “made a good decision, for it’s a breath of fresh air for cricket along while Courtney Walsh who was also drafted will bring a deep sense of experience and background which is ideal for cricket”.
