Cricket thread
Feb 4th 2005 | 7:35 am
#1
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Lotus-eater
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 5,069
From: Cascadian Autonomous Elysian Region
Cricket thread
In Vancouver area, anyone .....? Cricket coach, anyone?
The sport of white uniforms and five-day games is in danger locally if the Vancouver Juniors Cricket Club can't find a coach for the upcoming season.
"It's getting to be a little much," said retiring coach and manager Rodan Gopaul-Singh. The 73-year-old retired college instructor has been in charge of the team for the last six years, but says he can't help the 16 to 18-year-old players with their training and practice as much as he used to.
"We need someone to help manage. We really need a coach," said Gopaul-Singh. "It takes a lot of time, and people are not willing to give that amount of time."
Aside from the administration, the coach must attend two weekly practices and a game on weekends that can last all day.
The team could also use a driver with a small bus to take the boys to games around the Lower Mainland.
Gopaul-Singh is the second longtime club coach and manager the team will lose in recent months. Peter Molyneux, who was involved with the team for more than 40 years as a manager and coach, died last year. He left the club $20,000 in his will.
"It's not so much money, it's just the institution doesn't have the leadership it needs to move on," said former player Peter MacDonald. He has been helping in the fruitless search for a new coach.
The end of February or early March is the deadline to find a new coach, MacDonald said. On that date the team must register in the B.C. Lower Mainland Cricket League. Play starts in the last week of April.
The Vancouver Juniors is one of the oldest teams in the province and was founded more than 50 years ago. In recent years it has won its division title and has sent top players to the Canadian juniors teams at international competitions.
Despite the Juniors' trouble finding a coach, immigration has sparked increasing interest in the sport, Gopaul-Singh said.
He grew up playing the sport in Trinidad, and has been involved in the local scene ever since he moved to the province in 1952 to attend UBC. He is a former president of the B.C. Cricket Association and has taken junior teams to meets in the West Indies and Europe.
When the Vancouver Juniors club was founded, most of the players were British immigrants or their children. Like Gopaul-Singh, most of the modern players are from Commonwealth countries where the game remains popular, especially India and Pakistan.
"The beauty of cricket, I guess, is that it goes on for a long time and it's quite social," said MacDonald. He played for the Vancouver Juniors in the late 1960s.
The game requires the same athletic skills as its distant cousin baseball, but the ball can be hit in any direction.
"The creativity involved in the shot-making is much greater," said MacDonald. "You could bat for two or three hours." In the professional leagues, games can last for days. Local youth games are limited to a single day of play.
More than 55 teams play locally, including several based in Seattle.
"We've been trying to get it started in the schools," said Gopaul-Singh. Right now only a few local private schools have cricket teams.
Gopaul-Singh said he hopes a potential coach for his team is somewhere in the community. Anyone interested in taking on the job can call him at 604-224-0960 or Peter MacDonald at 604-261-7203.
The sport of white uniforms and five-day games is in danger locally if the Vancouver Juniors Cricket Club can't find a coach for the upcoming season.
"It's getting to be a little much," said retiring coach and manager Rodan Gopaul-Singh. The 73-year-old retired college instructor has been in charge of the team for the last six years, but says he can't help the 16 to 18-year-old players with their training and practice as much as he used to.
"We need someone to help manage. We really need a coach," said Gopaul-Singh. "It takes a lot of time, and people are not willing to give that amount of time."
Aside from the administration, the coach must attend two weekly practices and a game on weekends that can last all day.
The team could also use a driver with a small bus to take the boys to games around the Lower Mainland.
Gopaul-Singh is the second longtime club coach and manager the team will lose in recent months. Peter Molyneux, who was involved with the team for more than 40 years as a manager and coach, died last year. He left the club $20,000 in his will.
"It's not so much money, it's just the institution doesn't have the leadership it needs to move on," said former player Peter MacDonald. He has been helping in the fruitless search for a new coach.
The end of February or early March is the deadline to find a new coach, MacDonald said. On that date the team must register in the B.C. Lower Mainland Cricket League. Play starts in the last week of April.
The Vancouver Juniors is one of the oldest teams in the province and was founded more than 50 years ago. In recent years it has won its division title and has sent top players to the Canadian juniors teams at international competitions.
Despite the Juniors' trouble finding a coach, immigration has sparked increasing interest in the sport, Gopaul-Singh said.
He grew up playing the sport in Trinidad, and has been involved in the local scene ever since he moved to the province in 1952 to attend UBC. He is a former president of the B.C. Cricket Association and has taken junior teams to meets in the West Indies and Europe.
When the Vancouver Juniors club was founded, most of the players were British immigrants or their children. Like Gopaul-Singh, most of the modern players are from Commonwealth countries where the game remains popular, especially India and Pakistan.
"The beauty of cricket, I guess, is that it goes on for a long time and it's quite social," said MacDonald. He played for the Vancouver Juniors in the late 1960s.
The game requires the same athletic skills as its distant cousin baseball, but the ball can be hit in any direction.
"The creativity involved in the shot-making is much greater," said MacDonald. "You could bat for two or three hours." In the professional leagues, games can last for days. Local youth games are limited to a single day of play.
More than 55 teams play locally, including several based in Seattle.
"We've been trying to get it started in the schools," said Gopaul-Singh. Right now only a few local private schools have cricket teams.
Gopaul-Singh said he hopes a potential coach for his team is somewhere in the community. Anyone interested in taking on the job can call him at 604-224-0960 or Peter MacDonald at 604-261-7203.
