Recognising the talents of young people

Guyana National Junior Squash team: A group of athletic winners

On Sunday we celebrated International Youth Day, and one local group of youngsters to take note of is the Guyana National Junior Squash team.
International Youth Day was created by the United Nations and first celebrated in 1998. The event is now marked on August 12 each year, and aims to celebrate the contribution youths make to society. This year we celebrated this day under the theme, ‘Building a Better World: Partnering with Youth’.

The Guyana National Junior Squash team has definitely built a better Guyana, as they place their country on the international squash competition map.
In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Andrew Arjoon, president of the Guyana Squash Association said most of the players from this group come from the association’s nursery programme which is held Saturday mornings at the Georgetown Club. The classes are held from 9:00 a.m and accommodate all levels of junior players from beginners right up to junior national level.
This programme, he added, was started more than twenty five years ago, and has served to provide almost all of the junior national representatives over that time. It is currently supervised by the national coach Carl Ince with the assistance of some of the senior players of the programme.
Ince continues to produce Caribbean champions.
Over the years, he has produced fifteen different individual champions who have won a combined total of 39 Caribbean junior titles, and under his guidance his teams have won the overall title eleven out of the fourteen years he has been national coach. He hopes that his team will continue its successful run.
Arjoon mentioned that traditionally, the older players are expected to give back to the programme by volunteering their time to train the younger players as they develop. This formula, Arjoon noted, has worked successfully over the years.
Arjoon stated that the ages of the players range from 6 to 18, since Under-19 is the highest division on the junior competitive circuit, though a number of players that are over 19 still volunteer their time.
The national representatives are selected by a panel of three persons convened by the Guyana Squash Association; this always includes the national coach.
“The team has produced a number of Caribbean champions over the years. Most recently, Guyana has the phenomenal record of 8 consecutive Overall Team titles and 7 consecutive Girls’ Team titles. The juniors recently returned from Jamaica where they came away with the Girls Team championship, the Overall Team championship and placed third in the Boys Team. A number of these players will be representing Guyana at the senior level in the upcoming Senior Caribbean Championships in Trinidad on August 18 to 25,” Arjoon revealed.

Team players
Shomari Wiltshire, Boys U13, at the age of 8 has secured both the U11 and U13 titles without conceding a single game.
Daniel Islam, Boys U13, this will be his first international tournament, and with the exposure gained, should skyrocket his game as he aspires to one day becoming a Caribbean champion.
Anthony Islam, Boys U13, loves the game of squash and is very enthusiastic about the game; once he continues in this vein will surely be one to look at in the future.
Ben Mekdeci, Boys U15, is the BU13 Casa Champ and will step up a category. Having gained some height since last year, this will definitely help against his new, stronger opponents.
Patrick Fraser, Boys U15, won the bronze in Guyana, his persistent playing style and attitude drives him to go for more glory at this year’s Caribbean championship.
Alec Melville, Boys U15, is an avid squash player. After having his first taste of Casa squash, Alec is coming out hungry to compete for his share of glory.
Nyron Joseph, Boys U17, secured his first Caribbean title last year. Stepping up a category this year will be challenging but Nyron is in full form to compete with the best of them.
Jean-Claude Jeffrey, Boys U17, a Canadian-based player is a top contender for this year’s title, having won the U15 gold two years ago.
Andrew Peroune, Boys U17, has great racquet skills, reach and temperament along with a great work ethic that has resulted in significant improvement to his game.
Jason Ray Khalil, Boys U19 and team captain, having won the U17 title last year is looking to continue in the same vein this year.
Steven Xavier, Boys U19, Steven is a tough fight for anyone. Since this is first year in the U19 category it will be a difficult task but no one is as prepared as he.
Rebecca Low, Girls U13, is the National U13 champ. She hopes that her long days of training will pay off in this her 2nd Junior CASA Tournament.
Sarah Lewis, Girls U13, is a newcomer to the squash scene. She hopes to make her debut mark on the Caribbean league.
Taylor Fernandes, Girls U15, is the current National U15 Champion. She has achieved her long needed breakthrough and has shown great improvement in all aspects of her game.
Larissa Wiltshire, Girls U15, turns into a fierce combatant on court. She hopes that this year she can follow in her sister’s and father’ footsteps of becoming Caribbean title holders.
Victoria Arjoon, Girls U17, has gone overseas to St. Georges, Rhode Island for school. She hopes to add this year’s win title to her vast collection.
Winning her first Casa title last year, Akeila Wiltshire, Girls U17, has ignited her progress and she hopes to take her second consecutive title.
Mary Fung-A-Fat, Girls U19, and Girls captain and veteran, won her first Junior Casa Crown with her title win in Jamaica and she hopes that in this, her last year, she will again be successful in Jamaica with another victory.
Ashley De Groot, Girls U19, Ashley is going for glory, and will push herself to the limit to get there as she seeks to claim her first Junior CASA Title.
Gabrielle Fraser, Girls U19, another Canadian-based player hopes her intense training can prove to be the deciding factor in helping her to secure her first Caribbean title.
The group continues to play their best, showing great athleticism and they hope to take away the champion title at their next competition. We celebrate their valour for aptly representing Guyana wherever they go.