Sports Consultant, Jamal Smith, during his presentation at the closing ceremony of the National Youth Captaincy Programme.

24 young Barbadian teenagers have been fully exposed to all the elements needed to be successful cricket captains in the future.

This after successfully completing the three-month Under-19 National Youth Captains Progamme organised by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment. The programme recently ended with a closing ceremony at the National Sports Council, Wildey Gymnasium. At that event Organiser of the programme, Cricket Analyst and Sports Consultant, Jamal Smith told the young men “the sky is the limit“ and that they and only they, will ultimately determine their destiny.

The programme exposed the teenagers to theory, practical scenarios about cricket, the laws and regulations governing cricket, tactics, mental strength and umpiring among other things. Consultant Smith stated that the course went well, and he was confident that programmes like this will set the tone for the development of future leaders on and off the field. He also noted that cricket in Barbados needs to be strengthened with young men who are critical thinkers, to provide leadership that maintains essential tactics and critical values, not only in schools but throughout club system.

Also presenting in the training programme was Rohan Nurse, Talent Pathway Manager for CWI and the Head Coach of the West Indies Under-19 team to the last World Cup in South Africa. Nurse stressed the importance of time management, setting good examples, being ahead of the game, leaving room to allow for a change in their decisions and game awareness at all times. The teenagers also gained valuable technical skills from Gregory Brathwaite, Member of the International Umpires Panel, who offered key insights on the rules and regulations governing the different formats of cricket along with fellow umpire, Ayana Holder.

Mr Brathwaite told the teenagers that if they fail at playing the game, “they could consider umpiring which would enable them to make a decent living”. Ms Holder urged “the young men to play cricket within the spirit of the game, which starts with respect and fair play.” She told them not to fall afoul of the anti-corruption code and to set the trend and examples for their players.

All of the players lauded the initiative, with Preston Clarke of Queen’s College, Mekaili Worrell of Alexandra and Myles Alleyne of Harrison College praising the organisers, saying they benefitted tremendously from the exercise and are eager to put their new found knowledge to use. They also urged the Ministry of Sports to put on another Cricket Captains Programme shortly for other young men and women.