By Neto Baptiste
Young cricketers between the ages of six and 17 will have an opportunity to sharpen their skills during the Young Masters Cricket Academy’s Cricket Summer Camp, slated to start on June 24 and run for seven weeks at the Dredgers playing field.
The camp, which is now being run by former national player and veteran coach, John Archibald, will offer classes for players between ages 6-9, 10-12, 13-15 and up to age 17.
Archibald said the camp will serve a number of purposes to include talent identification for his Rising Sun cricket team which uses a nearby venue as its home base.
“Rising Sun is not a community-based place and some of these [Rising Sun players] in terms of the advanced ages we will be dealing with at Rising Sun. We basically have to find a base for Rising Sun so we can find some young talent. Even though I am older, not 100 percent in terms of health-wise, I still believe I have some contribution to make and I can make a difference,” he said.
Archibald, who scored 120 runs in four First Class matches for the Leeward Islands, also revealed that participants in the camp could get the opportunity to meet and chat with a number of former international players.
“I have made contact with Sir Curtly Ambrose who has confirmed and I’ve spoken to Sir Andy Roberts but I have to touch base with him just before the day, but he has confirmed. Sir Richie Richardson, I know, has been doing some travelling and once he is available, he will make himself available. I am yet to get in contact with Sir Viv but I am still trying,” the former player said.
The Young Masters Cricket Academy is the brainchild of coach Abuda Barnes who ran the camp alongside a number of other coaches for many years. Barnes, who is currently ill, is no longer able to conduct the annual initiative.
Meanwhile, Archibald praised Barnes for the work he has done over the years.
“I find that for somebody who don’t really have a cricket background per sè because he was mainly into basketball, I think that Abuda did a very good job. I don’t think that he has gotten enough credit for this actually, because when you look in the schools competition over the years, a high percent of these youngsters, they came from Abuda’s camp, and one of the things that I found fascinating is that majority of those children, they normally can bowl and, when I say can bowl, I mean that the other children are pelting but a high percentage of these guys who came out of Abuda, they could bowl,” he said.
Registration for the event is $250 for six weeks while for those wishing to do a seventh week, it will be $300. The camp, which caters for both boys and girls, will run from 9am to 2pm on weekdays and from 10am to 3pm on Saturdays.
Interested persons can call 775-7663 or 772-3183 for more information.
