JDF AND KINGSTON WHARVES JOIN FORCES FOR INTENSIVE CRICKET CAMP

The camp opened last Friday at the Manley Horne Park in Junction, St. Elizabeth where the JDF pitched several tents for their accommodation for their sojourn in the parish till the camp is over. This year the camp will cater to 100 young cricketers, which is 40 more than last year when the JDF hosted 60 youngsters at the JDF base at Up Park Camp in Kingston.

Captain Marlon Saunders who spoke at the opening ceremony will have the services of over twenty soldiers to deliver the program of activities which will include mentorship sessions by JDF personnel and members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), a health fair for members of the surrounding communities as well as a recruitment drive for persons in the west.

"The main purpose why we chose to have the post here in St Elizabeth is because as most of Jamaica knows, Melissa had a significant impact on Jamaica especially here in the western side of the island and as such we decided to bring the camp here where we can have a significant impact on these youngsters. The camp is centered around the theme of resilience and it's one of the things that we saw it fit to choose for our theme where once you've been down this road and if things doesn't go as how you'd want it, there's always a way to come back. If we fall it will teach us how to get up back and rebuild and even rebuild stronger. Its courage and the discipline that is fully aligned with being resilient is one of the true foundations for this summer camp this year. I know based on the camp that we had to offer last year, we had very much quite a few mentorship sessions, especially from our specialists within the JDF to include some of our counsellors and senior leadership within the JDF. We will also have members from the JCF and professional cricketers from the parish to participate in this program. So, it will not just only be a camp where coach Bennett and his team will teach the soft skills to these individuals but at the end of the day after this session, we will have our mentorship sessions that are scheduled to help to mold them into better individuals, stronger leaders for the better future of not only St Elizabeth but Jamaica at large,” said Capt. Saunders.

Coach Junior Bennett welcomes the partnership of the JDF and Kingston Wharves to stage the camp. "We have two weeks to really upskill these youngsters. They are from the age of 7 to 14 so we're going to work extremely hard with them over the next two weeks to bring them to where we want them. They have been participating in the Kingston Wharves competition for years now. These youngsters are an ongoing process, so we just want to instill good discipline with them as a parish who have gone through a lot since last year with the hurricane. And it's really good to see Kingston Wharves and the Jamaica Defence Force really come together to put on this camp."

Marquino Mindley received a Kingston Wharves scholarship in 2009 when he participated in the Kingston Wharves U15 Cricket Competition along with other cricketers from the parish will assist Bennett with the cricket aspect of the camp.

Simone Murdock, the corporate services manager at Kingston Wharves endorsed the inclusion of the JDF and the value that they have brought to the competition since last year. "An important and integral part of our program is about building discipline. Outside of camaraderie and sportsmanship, discipline is a very important part and as Captain (Marlon Saunders) shared with you, if you have discipline, you can achieve all of the other matrices that makes you a good player, a good human being and a good sportsman. So I do believe once the resources are available, we will continue to support them because we would have always had some element in every competition that speaks to off the field and we are glad to be combining with the JDF that have successfully combined both elements."

The camp will close on the 28th with closing activities to highlight some of what was learned during the two weeks of intense sessions.