The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club (RHTY&SC) continues to invest heavily in the development of its young cricketers.
The club’s coaching staff, under the direction of organising secretaries Keith Hicks and Ravindranauth Kissoonlall, hosted, on Tuesday last, a one-on-one cricket tournament for members of the Poonai Pharmacy Under-12 and Under-13 cricket teams.
Under-13 Team
Promising all-rounder Tameshwar Deonandan, who is just nine years old, emerged as the champion and took home a junior bicycle along with a package of educational materials.
After getting past several older and experienced club mates in the earlier rounds, the tournament attracted twenty-four club members, including two females. All of the players in the tournament were rewarded with educational materials as part of the RHTY&SC’s ‘Say yes to Education’ programme.
Kissoonlall said the tournament was the start of a two-month-long coaching campaign by the RHTY7SC for its Junior Section, which included the Under-12, Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-18 teams. Special emphasis will be placed on the Under-12 and Under-13 teams which served as a nursery for the rest of the Club.
The Rose Hall Town Under-13 Team last year emerged as runners-up of the Da Silva Motor Spares Under-13 BCB Tournament, after losing to Port Mourant in the final.
Kissoonlall stated that the objective is to go one step further in 2019 and emerge as the Berbice Champions. The highlight of the programme will be a two-week- Cricket Academy from the 8th to 19th July, 2019 at the Area ‘H’ Ground with 120 youths. A panel of four coaches and senior players will work along with the young cricketers on every aspect of their game.
Club Secretary Hilbert Foster, in brief remarks to the participants in the Under-13 Tournament, urged them to take full advantage of the opportunities that the club is offering them. He told them that being a member requires them to be disciplined, hard-working, and committed, as the Club does not tolerate indifference or laziness. He urged the young players to always show respect for their elders, and to develop a love for reading and research. He spoke on the importance on knowing the history of the game, rules of cricket and the legends of cricket, especially those from Berbice.
Foster, who is also the Berbice Cricket Board President, said that with advent of modern technology and social media, there was no excuse, since all the information is readily available. Similar tournaments will be held shortly for the Under-15 and Under-17 divisions.
