DIGICEL AND HARVARD PARTNERSHIP

On Sunday June 28 2009 Digicel (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited and Harvard Club celebrated the youngsters who took part in the Digicel/Harvard Cricket Coaching Clinic from January to June 2009.

It was a pleasure to see the youngsters displaying great deportment and discipline as they viewed the excerpts from their six months of training before the proceedings got underway.

Valentino Singh, who delivered the feature address, said that he was a product of the Harvard Cricket Coaching Clinic which he considered to be the cornerstone for his achievements today.  He has very fond memories of those days and reminded participants that Brian Lara, one of the greatest batsmen ever, had also passed through this training programme.  He asked them to note that Brian Lara was not only a great batsman but he has been giving back to his community and his country through various activities, one of which is the Brian Lara Cancer Treatment Center.

Singh stressed that the Digicel/Harvard Cricket Coaching Clinic not only taught the rudiments of the game but also aimed to develop in the youngsters “a tremendous amount of character, honesty and discipline - qualities that go beyond the boundary.”  He also asked them to emulate the efforts of their parents who were steadfast in their dedication by participating week after week at the practice sessions.

He congratulated the awardees at the function and advised that attached to these achievements was the responsibility to be exemplars to others.

Oliver Camps, Chairman of the Club and Waaz Hosein, Administrator of the Coaching Clinic were among the speakers who were in high praise for Digicel for their continued support of the Clinic.  Hosein was “encouraged to see the abundance of talent that was available among the youngsters” and thanked the coaches for their dedication and support.  He was also pleased to see the number of parents who attended the sessions with their kids during the past six months.

Hosein gave an account of the achievements of the Clinics among which were the matches played against Clark Road Penal, the Moosai/Moosai Clinic, CIC, and the tour of Tobago by the Under-15 team.  He said that the Tobago trip made this a ground breaking year since it was the first time that a team other than the Under-19s left the shores of Trinidad to participate in matches.

The team that would tour Grenada in July/August this year was presented at the end of the ceremony, and will be headed by Kegan Jones as Captain, Kenneth Franco, Head Coach, Andy Livingston, Assistant Coach and Waaz Hosein, Manager.  Tribute was also paid to three existing coaches who were part of the first touring squad in 1970 - Zafar Khan, Lester Cassimy and Waaz Hosein.

Among the many achievements of the Club this year was the elevation of eleven players in the Under-19 group to zonal cricket and one from the Under-13 group who seems set to be selected for the National Under-13 squad.

Prizes in the various age groupings were given for Outstanding Batsman, Outstanding Bowler, Best Fielder, Wicket-keeping, Most Improved Player and Most Disciplined player.  The following youngsters were awarded trophies for Player of the Year in the various categories:

 Age Group 5-10 - Christian Beepat & Michael Ambard
     Joint Winners

 Age Group 7-11 - Kallis Romain

 Age Group 11-14 - Afdal Khan

 Age Group 13-15 - Philton Williams

 Age Group 15-19 - Kegan Jones

Marita Laurent, Sponsorship and Public Relations Manager at Digicel was high in praise of Harvard’s management of the clinics.  She said that “Digicel is committed to the development and creation of opportunities for the youth of this country, and the continued support of national sporting initiatives is the platform by which the company strives to achieve this goal.”

END