QUCA Winter Program starts December 2nd
Cricket is one of the fastest growing sports in the New York area, and in an effort to keep up with the demand to equip youngsters with the techniques of the game, the Queens United Cricket Academy (QUCA) is living its motto, “Inspiring Tomorrow’s Cricketers Today.” The academy will start its winter 2017/2018 program during the first week of December at various indoor facilities in Queens and Long Island, New York.
During the past summer, the Academy conducted coaching programs geared to improving the technical ability of the young cricketers. After very successful summer and fall programs, QUCA academy will continue with their winter program. Students between the ages of 5 and 16 years old are encouraged to register for the program.
Players are grouped based on age, ability, and experience, and are assessed on the first day of their coaching to make sure that they are assigned the appropriate level. The QUCA coaching program is designed to build on natural talent and unearth future stars. All staff are certified Level -2 coaches and go through the academy’s in-house training program. QUCA has enlisted the assistance of some experienced former cricketers and the response from the youngsters and their parents have been very encouraging.
Achievements:
Overseas tour
A successful overseas tour to Barbados with the Under 15 team took place during the 2017 Easter holiday.
For the past three years, QUCA was able to provide all the players needed to represent the New York Region at the Bolingbrook, IL National youth tournament. The academy was represented at the U-12, U-14 and U-16 North Eastern Youth Cricket league throughout the summer.
With academy President Tony Hinds, Club President Austin Hutchison, and under the watchful eyes of Academy Director George Samuel, the players have been gaining confidence and a passion for the game. Along with George, certified and dedicated coaches Lalit Bhatia, Cyril Choy, Cleon Smith, John Peter, Adam Sanford, and Physio Chris Finley, all continue to serve the students and coach them using some of the latest and most effective drills and tips for improving their game.
More recently, the academy had the great honor to host an MCC Touring team, West Indies legends, including Gordon Greenidge, Alvin Kallicharran, Gus Logie, Pedro Collins, Carlisle Best, Mervyn Dillon, Larry Gomes and Adam Sanford, among others. The legends took some time to coach the academy players. It was a great experience for the boys. Apart from coaching at the academy, the Director George Samuel was also involved in coaching with an ICC Americas Combine and the New York Region. He was the coach for the U-13 team and the USA Global Academy Team in the Caribbean during their 2015 tour. He was also part of the meeting in Chicago and Colorado to help develop ICC Americas new entry-level courses for coaches. George has also worked with NYPD street cricket program for kids.
QUCA has a very vibrant youth program in New York and parents who would like their child(ren) to be involved in the program, are encouraged to contact Academy Director George Samuel at 917-805-5290 or visit www.quca.org.
