Director of Sport urges application of lessons learnt at Fruta Conquerors FC camp

Aug 25, 2015 Sports

The children display their certificates while Director of Sport, Christopher Jones congratulates President of the FCFC, Wayne Forde, for a well organized summer camp.

By Michael Benjamin

Three weeks of interaction and exposure to the intricacies of football and life enhancing skills climaxed to a delectable culmination for more than 50 children from various communities when the organizers of the Fruta Conquerors Football Club (FCFC) brought the curtains down on the 8th Annual Football Camp last Friday, 23 August.
Director of Sports, Christopher Jones, delivered the keynote address and congratulated the organizers for their efforts. He also encouraged the participants to employ the lessons learnt over the past few weeks and to stay positive and be great role models for others in their community to emulate.
Secretary of the FCFC, Daniel Thomas, was high in praise of his fellow executives whose commitment and dedication was evident throughout the sessions. The camp was graced by a number of facilitators who covered various topics including anger management techniques, conflict resolution skills, nutrition and healthy life styles, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, public speaking and techniques on dealing with the media.
Mr. Thomas also lauded the efforts of those facilitators while saying that the camp was run exceedingly well. “The facilitators were in charge of more than six hundred children during the three weeks period and they (facilitators) demonstrated aptitude and commitment in the execution of their job,” said Mr. Thomas.
Coach of the FCFC, Calvin Allen, was the man in charge of training and coordinating activities and he revealed that the objective of the programme was to mould the youths into rounded individuals, not only in football, but in other areas like social behaviour and ethics among others. He feels that the objective has been met.
The organizers had employed techniques to realize the objective and had entertained several final year sociology students from the University of Guyana who had tutored the children on techniques relating to life planning skills. Several other professionals from various sectors and institutions also visited the club and imparted valuable knowledge to the youths. Also, former Assistant Competition Coordinator (GFF), Andrea Hall, had delivered a valuable presentation on the laws of the game. She had spoken extensively on the topic and urged the youths to become acquainted with these laws since FIFA is very stringent in their adherence.
Several coaches also lent their expertise to the programme with lectures that enhanced the knowledge of participants. These included Chavez Hescott and Rodwell Jamaat among others. The children were also taken on guided tours to key institutions like the Banks DIH Ltd and the National Museum as had been the custom during previous summer camps.
Earlier, during the training sessions, Mr. Allen had explained that each initiative is important since it aids in the plan to provide broad based, developmental activity for the children. “At the conclusion of the programme we hope to produce rounded individuals with a clear understanding of the fundamentals of life and football,” he had said. The coordinator had also said that his team would be focusing heavily on discipline, an important variable to their development.
Meanwhile, Mr. Thomas said that though activities were organized by his executives, the input of several individuals and entities was instrumental in the success of the initiative. He extended gratitude to these individuals and entities including Superintendent of Police (C.I.D), Wayne De Hart, Britttany Braithwaite and Ms. Renuka Anandjit of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association, Head of Refereeing Department (GFF), Stanley Lancaster, Ms. Nakasi Fraser of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network, Former Director of Prisons, Dale Erskine, Vanessa Williams, Final Year Sociology students – University of Guyana lecturer, Rhonda Hamilton, Director for the Centre for Communication Studies (UG) Ms. Carolyn Walcott, President of the Guyana Association of Professional Social Workers, Dionne Frank, Communications Manager and Public Relations Officer (Banks D.I.H), Troy Peters, Andrea Hall, Calvin Allen, Rodwell Jemott, Chavez Hescott, Odetta Maxwell, and a host of others who would have contributed meaningfully to the sessions.
Further, several persons and entities have contributed to the success of the camp and the organizers have expressed deep gratitude. Among them were Scotia Bank, Director of Sports, Christopher Jones, National Milling Company (NAMILCO), Guyana Beverage Company (BUSTA), Guyana Football Federation and Prudential Tech.