BCB and UG launch second edition of Youth Coaching Manual

Nov 19, 2023 Sports

Kaieteur Sports – The proactive Berbice Cricket Board with the assistance of the University of Guyana on Thursday launched the second edition of its historic coaching manual for youth cricketers.

The launching took place at the Tain campus of the university during a special ceremony to open the Berbice Cricket Wall of Fame.

A total of 31 players from the county were inducted into the Wall of Fame. The players range from John Trim in 1948 and Ashmini Munsieur, who debuted in 2023. The inductees were players from Berbice who represented the West Indies at either the tests, ODI or 20/20 levels.

BCB president Hilbert Foster stated that the board in 2021 had published the first edition after it was prepared by a top-level delegation of cricket coaches.

The group was headed by the late Michael Hyles and included Julian Moore, Leslie Solomon, Balram Samaroo, Winston Smith, Ameer Rahaman and Travis Hardcourt. The BCB distributed 1000 copies to schools, cricket clubs and youth cricketers across the county while several were requested by clubs as far away as Antigua, North America and England.

With a total of 18 cricket coaches working with youths in Berbice under the Government of Guyana’s 10-day work program, there was a huge demand for more manuals. The board then approached the University of Guyana for assistance to publish another 1000 copies and Vice Chancellor, Doctor Paloma Mohammed Martins, readily agreed to the request.

A special task committee reviewed the contents of the manual for correction and update. Foster hailed the effort of the Tain campus Director, Doctor Gomathinayagam Subramanian, and the head of events, conferences and communication, Jainarine Deonauth, who worked with him to make a project a reality.

The coloured manual covers basic coaching for all aspects of the game – batting, bowling, ground feeling, catching, wicked keeping and physical fitness. The manual offers advice on the attributes of a good batsman, mental approach to batting, mental approach to the game, the importance of discipline, key points when running between the wickets, benefits of physical preparation and the importance of physical fitness.

Youths would benefit from coaching tips on the bat grip, stands and how to play a wide range of cricket shots including the forward defense, straight drive, cover drive, on drive, pull shot, back foot defense, back foot drive and sweep shot. Tips are also available for fast bowling, off-spin, leg-spin and left-arm orthodox.

The fielding section includes tips on long-barrier, two-hand interception and arm throw, high catching, throwing the ball and close catching. Other articles in the manual include umpiring signals, ways of dismissals and photos of the female internationals and test players from the county. Foster committed the BCB to making the manual available to other cricket boards if they request the same.

University of Guyana Chancellor Edward Greene, Tain Director Dr. Gomathinayagam Subramanian and Vice Chancellor Doctor Paloma Mohammed Martin stated that the university was delighted to be part of the project. The vice chancellor expressed confidence that the coaching manual would inspire the next set of Berbice cricketing heroes to come forth to follow in the footsteps of Rohan Kanai and Basil Butcher.

Jainnarine Deonauth stated that both efforts of the BCB and UG had resulted in an upgraded version of the coaching manual with matches international standards. He hailed the efforts of Foster and his executives in making the project a success. Special mention was also made of the Director of Tain campus Dr. Subramaniam for his hard work and dedication.

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communication, Government of Guyana, Jainarine Deonauth, University of Guyana, Youth Coaching Manual

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