Kensington Cricket Club bats for player development

KEEN ON advancing players in a wholesome manner, Kensington Cricket Club has been hosting a series of seminars for their cricketers especially, and others, at its Rollington Town base in east Kingston.

The initiative, which began in February, is geared towards personal development and has been facilitated with 'reasonings' led by guest presenters, who share professional advice on life-defining experiences.

In explaining their motive, Carole Beckford, a communications specialist who is also secretary of the cricket club, said: "At Kensington Cricket Club, while the core of our work is cricket, we have a series of personal development events that we have organised, especially during the pandemic for the youngsters who we think are undergoing extreme and undue pressure.

"We've invited a series of presenters, people that talk about mental health, careful planning, training, the importance of how they operate within the conference of sport," she divulged. "So there was the mental health one, and we did something on financial planning, how to organise your time, and for the final one, we closed with image and branding and how to maintain yourself while you play cricket."

On the topic of image and branding, former Jamaica track and field athlete Dwayne Extol, who works in media as a broadcast sports analyst at RJRGLEANER Communications Group, advised the players on "the brand that is them; what they have to do to maintain the right image; how important it is how they carry themselves, not just off the pitch or on the pitch, but in their personal lives".

He related: "A lot of times, young athletes don't recognise how important it is that they have a proper image, because very often they get caught up in the spotlight. The spotlight gets blinding, sometimes, and then they waver from whatever it is that they want to accomplish. So they don't see how important it is that they dress properly, they groom themselves properly, they speak properly, and they look presentable.

"At the same time, you get through doors based on how presentable you look. Sometimes they may not be the best cricketer, you may not be the best person suited for the job. But how you attire yourself, people will take you seriously," Extol remarked.

In a demonstration of professional attire, Extol, whose skills include youth development, event management, track and field, public speaking and corporate communications, removed articles of his clothing from his jacket, then tie, then shirt, to reveal a T-shirt tucked into his pants.

"Even through removing all those layers, they could realise that I was still professional in how I looked," he observed. "So what I asked of them is that when they get to the point that they are able to take care of themselves, they [should] carry themselves properly.

"They get a nice suit, get a nice shoes and have a nice belt, because how they dress is important for their success.

"I also imparted on them how important it is to be disciplined," Extol continued.

"I think that is a superpower people don't appreciate and they underestimate, because if you're disciplined it will separate you from those who are good. The greatest athletes, the greatest individuals are disciplined. You don't get distracted by the minor issues that may come into play, you don't get distracted by society, because you know what your goals are.

"So the matter of being disciplined is really the key point for their success in moving from youngsters to professional cricketers," said Extol.

Close to 20 young men participated in the image and branding session, and Leroy Lugg, the club's opening batsman, said "the information was really helpful".

Lugg said: "I find it very helpful because young men in Jamaica today, we're kind of targeted by police if we look a certain way, if we're not attired properly and you look a certain way. It was really beneficial for all of us.

"From I was growing up, I learnt that appearance is very, very important because from the moment somebody sees you, without you even opening your mouth, they're going to form a perception of the type of person you are by just looking."

Pointing to club President Wavell Hinds, a former West Indies and Jamaica cricketer, Vice President Brian Blair, a former club stalwart as an all-rounder and coach, and former West Indies and Jamaica cricketer David Bernard Jr, Lugg said that Kensington also cultivates those habits.

"You have Mr Blair and Mr Bernard and Mr Hinds, they are gentlemanly types of persons; so from day one, they make sure that everyone is properly groomed, and they always talk about it. So if somebody comes to the club with their shirt out of their pants, and pants down on their bottom and looking like they want a haircut, they always bring it to their attention and say, Hello sir, this cannot be happening because we are the type of club where we don't only play cricket, we teach life over here and you have to look the part,'" Lugg related. "So from then, we always tend to carry ourselves properly."

Bernard said the seminars have provided a "breath of fresh air".

He said: "It was a timely intervention on our part, for them, because in light of what was happening with the pandemic and people being inactive, it gave them that breath of fresh air and that sense of relief that we were offering them this kind of facility and enabling them to be active during this time.

"While we've been seeing players improve in all aspects, it's for their overall development and looking further along down-the-line into the future," added Bernard. "So we're looking at their future development as well."

audley.boyd@gleanerm.com