CALDRAC Cricket Club and Contour Global Trinity Power Ltd cricket coaching clinic graduation ceremony at Macaulay Park, Dow Village, California on Saturday (September 17), emphasized the importance of strategic administration and corporate sponsorship toward creating a pathway for grassroot sports development.
The cricket clinic with the sponsorship of the community-based Contour Global, provided a developmental pathway for parents and guardians to expose their children to the fundamentals of cricket. The benefits were manifold as not only did the participants have the opportunity to learn about cricket but also learn more about themselves and build social bonds with one another which was very evident during the coaching sessions and at the graduation ceremony. Additionally, parents and guardians were offered the opportunity to connect with their children in a different light especially those who may not have had the same opportunity at the same age in their life.
The coaching clinic has a proven youth development platform as several of CALDRAC’s players have represented Trinidad and Tobago and or the West Indies such as:
- Marlon Black - Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
- Dennis Rampersad- Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies A team
- Shannon Gabriel- Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
- Jon- Russ Jaggesar-Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots
- Anderson Phillip-Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
Mark Deyal-Trinidad and Tobago, CCC, Saint Lucia Kings
This year, 70 (52 boys and 18 girls) participants 6-14 years completed 12 hours of coaching in the fundamentals of cricket. The coaching programme was delivered in a context of fun and enjoyment taking into account the age of the participants to maintain continued interest without sacrificing a smidgen of quality. Such an approach speaks volumes about the work of the head coach Robert Mahabir and his team- Leandra Ramdeen, Marlon Peters and physio/trainer Shanice Mahabir.
The success of any sporting event whether at the community, national, regional or international level depends heavily upon the contributions of volunteers. Whether it is a community 5k race, the Caribbean games, or the World Athletic Championship, volunteers are indispensable. Across the world, volunteers constitute an important aspect of the human resources capacity of sports and recreation organisations. Volunteers serve in many strategic and operational positions such as managers and coordinators. And the same can be said of the parents and other persons who volunteered their time as coordinators to ensure the programme was executed without glitches.
The volunteer coordinators were: Orlando Smith (parent), Shalini Chandoo (parent), Pavitra Ramdeo (CAPE Student), Reshma Ramdeo
Contour Global Trinity Power Ltd PLC must be applauded for being at the forefront of this initiative demonstrating its corporate social responsibility especially after almost 2 and half years of sporting inactivity due to COVID-19. The company support was further underscored at the graduation ceremony where they were represented by five management members. It is evident through its partnership with CALDRAC that Global Contour is committed towards contributing to a prosocial environment where the youth in Dow Village and adjacent communities would have opportunity to discover, hone and advertise their cricket skills.