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NEWLY elected Secondary Schools’ Cricket League (SSCL) president Nigel Maraj is ready to hit the ground running in anticipation of a possible resumption to team sports shortly.
Maraj, a Math teacher at El Dorado East Secondary, was elected SSCL president on Thursday after the league hosted its Annual General Meeting and elections.
He won the presidential race against Barataria South Secondary’s Sharaz Mohammed, who was then appointed first vice-president. Outgoing president Surujdath Mahabir was unable to re-contest his post having served two consecutive three-year terms at the helm.
The new SSCL executive comprises Maraj, Mohammed, St Benedict’s Amin Forgenie (second vice-president), East Mucurapo Secondary’s Zaheer Abass (third vice-president), Reginald King (general secretary), Kathy Ann Cedeno-Cook (assistant treasurer), Wesley Dookhoo (treasurer) and Jenielle Carrington (PRO).
Maraj said there are many goals he would like to achieve but development, owing to almost two years of inactivity because of the pandemic, is of primary importance.
“The pandemic means we have to work together as an organisation even more. We will have to concentrate more on Under-14 and Under-16 competitions because given the fact that we had no cricket for almost two years, development work now becomes crucial going forward,” he said.
At the top of Maraj’s agenda is a long-term goal. He plans to assist cricketers with a smoother transition out of secondary school into the tertiary level and he wants to expand players’ academic and sporting reach overseas.
“We don’t have any linkages to universities, colleges and community colleges in the US in particular. We have so many young men and women, who when they finish secondary school, their career sometimes ceases.
“What we have to do as an organisation is to create those linkages with international universities and colleges to give our players a second chance at not only making a living but getting them trained to have a proper career,” Maraj added.
When the Government gives the all-clear for school sports to resume, the new SSCL president said he expects strict mandates from the Ministry of Health to help usher in the new season.
“Just like in the classroom and how we had to adjust to the new normal (online classes), I believe that the sporting activities will also have to readjust. We will have to look at both safety and health protocols.
“If the criteria is that all persons must be vaccinated to play then the general secretary becomes very crucial in getting information from the zones. We would need to know who’s vaccinated and who’s not. The organisation will be very much data-driven,” he said.
Tobago, Maraj confirmed, is set to become a main hub of cricket activity, particularly with young females.
Maraj wants to team up with ex-SSCL president Mahabir, who he affirmed has the drive to excel, to broaden the player spectrum in Tobago to generate a larger pool of cricketers.
“One of the things I would like to do with Mahabir is to use his talent to help the Tobago region. I haven’t really discussed it with him but I want to be able to be a major development for cricket.
“That’s one of the reasons why we have our public relations officer a Tobagonian (Carrington). Youth development is close to my heart,” he said.
Owing to the lengthy downtime, the girls’ hardball programme lost its main sponsor. It is of utmost importance, Maraj continued, that a major sponsor/s is sourced to assist this critical stage of girls’ development.
“We may have to start back (girls’ programme) from scratch. We would need funding for these programmes. That is why we targeted Tobago as well because, before the pandemic, they had about 23 young women in training.
“But they haven’t done anything because of covid19. Why it is we cannot train or do educational videos online? There are many things we’re able to do as teachers now, that we can transition into the sporting fraternity,” he closed.
Since Maraj joined El Dorado East, he was able to work alongside national players such as Lendl Simmons, Yannic Cariah and Sunil Narine. Pacer Rayad Emrit was also part of the school programme but graduated before Maraj took up his role there.
Maraj also served as SSCL general secretary .
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