Profiles of Guyana Junior Squash Team

Jul 20, 2013 Sports

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The Junior Caribbean Squash Championships will be held in Trinidad & Tobago from July 22 – July 28, 2013. Guyana will be defending the Girls and Overall Team titles at this tournament. Also defending his individual Under 17 title will be Nyron Joseph.

Most of the members of the Guyana team will depart today for this tournament. Compliments of the Guyana Squash Association Kaieteur Sport features the respective players:

Boys U-13

 

Shomari Wiltshire  

Shomari, though still only nine, again secured both the U-11 and U-13 titles at this year’s National Championships.

He has gotten a little taller and stronger and his racquet skills continue to improve. He always has a smile on his face and hopes that with the hard training he has done he can contend for the U-13 title this year and for many years to come.

 

Daniel Islam

Daniel continues to train with zeal with coaches Ashley DeGroot and Nicholas Narain and the improvement shown has been remarkable. He continues to get better every time he steps onto the court. He is very enthusiastic about the game. This is his second international tournament and with the exposure gained last year he should prove a worthy opponent as he aspires to one day becoming a Caribbean Champion.

Anthony Islam

Anthony has worked hard to get better at his game and this intense preparation has seen his game improve

by leaps and bounds. This is his second international tournament and he looks forward to competing with the best in the Caribbean. He loves the game of squash and once there is any vacant court he is on it to get a hit. Once he continues in this vein his future in Caribbean squash looks bright.

 

Dominic Collins

Dominic is a newcomer to the squash scene. He is looking forward to participating in his first Junior CASA tournament.

Boys U-15

 

Ben Mekdeci

The U-13 Casa Champ in 2011, Ben’s game has improved so much that he is giving the bigger boys a run for their money. He has gotten even taller and stronger. He hopes that with the preparation done and his strong work ethic he can once again be crowned Caribbean Champion in this, his last year in the Under-15 category.

 

Alexander Cheeks

Alex makes a welcome return to the squash courts. He missed last year’s tournament but has worked very hard to improve his racquet skills. He is very passionate about the game and looks forward to competing in Junior CASA 2013.

Boys U-17

Nyron Joseph  

Nyron’s never give up attitude earned him his second consecutive Caribbean Title last year. He has worked really hard on developing his racquet skills to complement his athletic ability and looks forward to the challenge of defending his Under-17 Caribbean title.

 

Alec Melville

Alec has moved up to Under 17 this year and has seen great improvements in his game. His exposure in Jamaica last year has done wonders for his game and he keeps improving every time he steps on to the court. He is looking forward to achieving great results at Junior Casa 2013.

Boys U-19

Steven Xavier – Captain

Steven has worked very hard on improving his racquet skills and his shot arsenal. He is supremely fit and strong and possesses amazing fighting capabilities. He wants this, his last Junior Caribbean tournament to be a memorable one and will definitely give it his all as he seeks to win his first Junior Caribbean title.

Jean-Claude Jeffrey

One of our Canadian based players Jean-Claude is one of the top contenders for this year’s Under 19 title even though it will be his first year in a new category. With his continuous Canadian exposure, much is expected of him. A former Caribbean Under-15 winner he will be looking to secure his second Caribbean Junior title this year.

Girls

U-13

Maya Collins

A newcomer to the squash scene, Maya has shown great talent and improvement over the last few months. She hopes to make her debut mark on the Caribbean league with some good results at this year’s tournament.

Makeda Harding

This is Makeda’s first exposure to Caribbean squash. The National U-11 champion has worked very hard on improving her game. She is very athletic and along with her high fitness levels and work ethic will be one to watch in the future.

GirlsU-15 

 Rebecca Low

Rebecca continues to improve. She has trained long and hard to ensure that she achieves good results at the tournament this year. Having now played at two Junior Caribbean tournaments, Becky has now moved up to the U15 category and the exposure gained over the past two years should augur well for her as she looks to create some upsets this year.

Sarah Lewis

The National U-13 champion, Sarah has continued to show rapid improvement in her play. She is looking forward to her second Junior Casa tournament and achieving good results.

Savannah Mendes

This will be Savannah’s second Junior Casa tournament having missed the tournament last year. She has worked hard and is looking forward to competing.

 

Girls U-17

Taylor Fernandes

Taylor is the current National U-15 Champion. She has continued to work very hard on her game and this is evident in the kind of results that she is now achieving. She has become one of the fittest members of the Guyana Team and with her long reach, height, improved racquet skills and mobility, Taylor now competes successfully with the older girls. Taylor will definitely surprise many as she moves up to a higher category this year and vies for the U-17 Caribbean title.

 Larissa Wiltshire

After finishing 2^nd in the U-15 category over the last two years, Larissa has now moved up to the U-17 division. She is very athletic and fit and as her confidence in her racquet skills and shot selection has grown so too has there been improvement in all aspects of her game. She hopes that this year again brings great results and another successful Junior Casa as she competes for the U-17 Caribbean Title.

Akeila Wiltshire

Akeila has worked extremely hard as she hopes to achieve the success and results she had two years ago of winning a Caribbean Title. Even though she was slightly hampered in her training as she prepared for the CSEC Examinations she still found the time to be on the squash court and to partake in her weekly training schedule. Time will tell if her preparation for this tournament was successful as she seeks to win the U-17 Title thus becoming a two time Caribbean Champion.

 Gabrielle Fraser

Our other Canadian based player, Gabby has been training intensively at the Canadian National Squash Academy with the aim of winning her first Caribbean Title. She had an amazing tournament last year and this year looks for even better results as she seeks to follow in her uncle Luke’s footsteps of becoming a Caribbean Champion.

Girls U-19

Victoria Arjoon – Captain

The Girls Captain and Veteran Vicky have just completed her second year of school at St. Georges, Rhode Island. She has put in a lot of hard work as she seeks to become a Caribbean Champion once again. With the added exposure of competing in the USA and the incentive to again be successful this hopefully will benefit Vicky and allow her to retake the top spot and add the Caribbean U-19 Title to her collection of titles.

 Carl Ince (Coach)

Carl was once again at the helm of the victorious Guyana team last year and he continues to produce Caribbean champions. Over the years he has produced fifteen different individual champions who have won a combined total of forty one Caribbean Junior titles and under his guidance his teams have won the overall title twelve out of the fifteen years he has been National Coach. He was chosen as National Coach of the Year in 2012 by the National Sports Commission for his exploits with the Guyana Junior Team. He hopes that this year the team will continue its successful run.

 Jason- Ray Khalil (Asst. Coach)

A former Caribbean Under-17 Champion, Jason-Ray, along with Coach Ince, has worked extremely hard to get the Guyana Team ready for these championships and a run at another Caribbean Team title.

Garfield Wiltshire (Manager)

This is Garfield’s fourth year as manager of the Guyana Team. He hopes that the team has continued success as they again seek to capture Individual and Team titles.

David Fernandes (Asst. Manager)

The President of the GSA, David has worked on motivating each member of the Team to give of their best at all times, and on preparing the Team for their title defence.

 

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