GCB launches historic academy in Essequibo

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) broke new ground on Saturday last with the historic Academy launched in three Committees in Essequibo.
This event ushered in the establishment of an essential Youth Player Development Programme under the Essequibo Cricket Board’s administrative structure, in their committee areas of North Essequibo, South Essequibo, and Wakenaam. The launches were held at Walton Ground in North Essequibo, Zorg Ground in South Essequibo, and Good Success Ground in Wakenaam.

The Academy initiative was outlined in the GCB 5-Year Strategy Plan by GCB President Bissoondyal Singh and other Executives on their ascension to office in 2020. The programme, which required thorough planning, will realise the implementation of 18 Academy Programmes nationwide. Each of the Essequibo Cricket Board’s affiliate Committees will have an Academy Programme. These Committees are North Essequibo, South Essequibo, Wakenaam, Pomeroon, Bartica, Leguan, and East Bank Essequibo.
Similarly, it is intended for the Demerara Cricket Board to have five Academies in their affiliate Associations of West Demerara, East Bank Demerara, Upper Demerara, Georgetown, and East Coast Demerara. The six Academy locations for Berbice are West Berbice, New Amsterdam Canje, Lower Corentyne, Central Corentyne/Bush Lot, Upper Corentyne, and Berbice River.
The Academy Programme will place emphasis on the holistic development of players aged seven to 17 years old, covering technical development and skill acquisition activities, physical fitness, applicable medical fitness assessments, laws of cricket, and appropriate lifestyle guidance including those on diet and nutrition, etiquette, and communication exercises with players on relevant media relations. The Academy Programme will also place emphasis on positive self-concepts, discipline, and commitment, the understanding of group dynamics, and the value of teamwork.

The Academy Programme will be conducted on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, from 15:30h to 17:30h, and on Saturdays from 08:00h to 11:00h. Understandably, there may be slight adjustments in the training time to facilitate the unique needs of the individual Academies. The Academy Programme is the brainchild of GCB President Singh.
At the initial launch at Walton Hall, Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) President Deleep Singh commemorated the event by giving open remarks. President Deleep Singh, who is also a GCB Vice President and Director of Cricket West Indies, in his remarks, was adamant that the Academy would play a big role in the rejuvenation of cricket in Essequibo. He pointed out that the aim of the Academy was to focus on honing the skills of players who may be lacking fundamentals or to further enhance any possible skills that the young cricketers may possess.
The ECB President was high in praise for the GCB President and other executives, thanking the GCB for implementing the same programme which he viewed as both worthwhile and timely. Also, the ECB President thanked the coaches, parents, and students (players) for turning out in their numbers to be a part of such a historic event hosted collaboratively by the GCB and ECB.
The ECB President concluded by reiterating that the focus of the Academy on the key areas of development of young players was a huge factor in the effort and drive to nurture and develop the talents of youths aged seven to 17 years old, and encouraged the players to make full use of the opportunity.

The GCB’s Territorial Development Officer Colin Stuart, during the launch, urged the players across the three Academies to focus not only on the game but also on the process of themselves becoming professionals while giving them insight on how to approach the game. The ex-West Indies pacer pointed out that while the technical aspects were crucial to players’ development, the fact that cricket was considered to be played with 90 per cent of the players’ mental prowess, heavy emphasis must be placed on the players’ ability to consistently execute tasks well. This consistency must suffice within the varied play conditions that will be presented from match to match within and outside of one’s country.
Further, Stuart called on young players across the respective Academies to, over time, show the necessary drivers needed to be a professional cricketer at the local, regional, and international levels. He stressed that outside of the technical aspects of cricket, like batting, bowling, and fielding, the capacity to execute tasks properly albeit on or off the cricket pitch was essential, as it helped to build one’s professional approach to achieving regular success.
Stuart indicated to those present at the launch that the Academy Coaches and other suitable personnel would, in addition to the technical and physical fitness aspects of the game, address the critical related components on the laws of cricket, etiquette, player communication with media, sportsmanship, and player commitment.
Additionally, the launch held in Essequibo on Saturday, April 29, 2023, was graced with the presence of ECB executives and several ECB Coaches from across the Cinderella County, including the likes of ECB Vice President Elroy Stephney, former National Youth Manager Nazeer Mohammed, all of whom appeared overwhelmed with joy by the new Academies which are now opened for players in the Essequibo region. Both Stephney and Mohammed thanked the GCB for its massive support.
The coaches present at the launch noted that with such an Academy platform available, it would be easier for players to refine their abilities by virtue of dedication and training toward attaining set realistic goals that would put them in a better position to perform consistently well in matches, thereby making it easier for them to become visible to the Committee/Association, county, and national selectors.
GCB President Singh, who could not have been present at the Academy launch owing to another pressing high-level engagement, expressed his and the other GCB executives’ happiness in the realisation of the implementation of a critical component of the Board’s 5-Year Strategy Plan, in the Academy Programme.
He stated, in a speech presented at the launch in Essequibo, that the Academy initiative was given significant priority by the GCB executives, given the identified gaps in the player development pathway and the conceptualised benefits of the Academy Programme to the players. In the case of the former, at times players are selected for national teams with technical deficiencies and lower fitness levels than required in relation to set CWI/GCB benchmarks and their mental application could be greatly improved. Consequently, apart from conducting National Inter-County Tournaments, the GCB has prioritised the Academy Programme to eliminate or greatly reduce some of these aforementioned deficiencies.
The GCB is of the view that the Academy Programme carried out for its intended purpose would assist players to make the respective national teams with higher levels of technical and physical fitness, and greater levels of appropriate mental application. The latter is necessary to be inculcated in players, since they are required to adapt to various match conditions, whether it be related to pitch, the opposition, and/or crowd.
GCB President Singh thanked the ECB President and other executives, as well as the Chairperson and executives of the North Essequibo Cricket Committee, South Essequibo Cricket Committee, and Wakenaam Cricket Committee, for leading the way in getting the groundwork done to implement the program and urged that they remained steadfast in assisting the GCB through its marketing committee to acquire funds to support and sustain the Academy Programme.
Additionally, President Singh thanked the youth players, and their parents and guardians for demonstrating an interest in being part of the Academy Programme, and reassured them that the GCB would continue to explore avenues that would lend support to the development of the players.
The GCB is encouraging parents and guardians, and corporate Guyana to embrace and support this valuable nationwide Academy Programme.