The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) has collaborated with Guyana Beverages Inc. (GBI) through their popular Kool Kidz brand to launch the ‘Next Gen’ coaching programme that is intended to cater for eight primary schools.
The programme is expected to commence in the second week of September and thus far, Sophia Primary, South Ruimvledt Primary, St. Pius Primary and Agricola Primary have confirmed participation.
According to GCA President, Neil Barry Snr., they need to get to their next generation of athletes and stimulate interest at an early age by adding value to their talent as they ideally progress from throughout the ranks of school cricket to West Indies colours.
“We are trying to get into those areas where the population concentration is higher because as you know, not a lot of people live in central Georgetown anymore. We want to take the cricket to the young people as against getting them to come where all the cricket grounds are…” Barry Snr conveyed at the contract signing on Tuesday, held at the Demerara Cricket Club.
Barry Snr. envisioned that after they stimulate interest, they can then can extrapolate talents to the clubs under the umbrella of the GCA.
GBI’s General Manager, Samuel Arjoon, noted it is a“fantastic partnership to provide a platform for young people to develop their talent through cricket”.
“Each Guyanese must have the opportunity to develop themselves and recognize their true potential”, Arjoon added, as he expressed hope the sponsorship is not a “one-off situation”.
Under the guidance of a coach, each school will have sessions twice per week where they will be thought the rudiments of the sport in order to build their skill.
The programme will culminate with a competition among the schools to test which schools and players have been able to successfully grasp what is thought over the eight weeks.