RHTY&SC’s annual cricket academy commences on July 8

The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC), Guyana’s leading youth and sports organization, will be hosting its 34th annual cricket academy at the Area H ground in Rose Hall Town from Monday July 8. The club has been hosting this academy since its formation in 1990, and this year’s edition is expected to be the largest of its kind.
Club Secretary Hilbert Foster has said that the main objectives of the annual cricket academy are as follows: to mould the players into all-round cricketers who are capable of playing at the highest level; to instill in them the importance of discipline and education; to correct technical flaws in their game; to educate youths on the history of the game; and to get youths to understand the history and tradition of the game.
Foster, a former president of the Berbice Cricket Board, has said that, over the years, the success enjoyed by the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club has been the result of getting a constant flow of high-quality players into the club’s structure.
The academy would be headed by Level 3 coach Winston Smith and a battery of coaches, including Floyd Benjamin and Eon Hooper. Classes start daily at 9:00hrs, and snacks would be provided for 120 students who would be participating in the academy. This year’s edition is being sponsored by Bakewell and Guyana Beverage Company (Busta).
Cricket manager Rabindranath Kissoonlall has said the club has invested a lot in this year’s academy, and it strives to maintain its reputation as a high producer of players for Berbice and Guyana. The club has invested heavily to obtain a mobile grass cutter to maintain the ground, while it has also obtained several new equipment, including a 32X8-inch mat for batting practice on the concrete pitch, 100 feet of practice net, modern catching practice equipment, and four new Kiddies cricket kits, among other things. Kissoonlall said the club strongly believes in preparing its youths for success in the future.
Head coach Winston Smith has disclosed that a two- week comprehensive programme of intense training and coaching has been specially prepared for the academy; and there would be lectures on a wide range of topics, including drug abuse, peer pressure, history of cricket, captaincy and leadership, tradition of the game, role of sports ambassador, and laws of the game.
Practice matches would also be played daily between different age groups: Under-11, Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19.
Smith is urging young females to join the academy and learn how to play the game.
The RHTY&SC has the distinction of having Guyana’s only full-time female cricket team, and the club is looking to attract more members for the Rose Hall Town Metro female team. Among the females produced by the club are Shamine Campbell, Erva Giddings, Sheneta Grimmond, Plaffiana Millington, Shabiki Gajnabi, Melanie Henry, Trisha Hardat, Mariam Samaroo, Diane Prahalad and Uma Matadin.
The RHTY&SC plans to reward “the cricketer of the 2024 cricket academy” with over 300,000 dollars’ worth of prizes, including an electric bike, one electronic tablet, a lazy boy, a designer watch, a King’s Jewellery world gold medallion, design clothing, cricket gear, household equipment, and school materials.
Awards would also be given to the best batsman, best bowler, most disciplined participant, the person with the best attendance record, most cooperative member of the academy, and most improved member of the academy.
Approximately 10 cycles and four electronic tablets would be given as prizes, while every attendee of the academy who successfully completes the attendance rate of 90% would receive a school bag and educational materials.
This year’s academy is being sponsored by Bakewell, the Guyana Beverage Company and T&R Construction Company. A number of the club’s friends are supporting the academy with gifts and prizes, including John Lewis Styles, The Gift Center, HA Snacks Corporate Limited, DeSinco Trading, Ricks and Sari Agro-Industries, ANSA McAL, King’s Jewellery World, Metro Office and Computer Supplies, and Bounty Farm Limited.
The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club was founded in 1990 by three-time Commonwealth Youth Service awardee the Saint Francis Xavier Youth Club, and is the only youth and sports club in Guyana to have ever received a national award. It has won 121 cricket tournaments, and has produce 123 players for Berbice and Guyana combined for this year. Ten of its members have so far gained national selection at different levels, while ten of its players have played at the international level.