Cricket coaching camp in Jaffna a tremendous success

Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. in association with the Aravinda de Silva Cricket Foundation organised its first Cricket Camp at St. John's College Grounds in the Jaffna Peninsula.

Over 75 students participated in the cricket camp where they received training from the coaches of the Aravinda De Silva Cricket Foundation in addition to national, provincial and district coaches.

Trained in both practical and technical aspects

As part of the initiative, young and budding cricketers from Jaffna were trained in both practical and technical aspects of playing the game of Cricket. The young participants went through a three day rigorous training session to hone their skills in Cricket. Of the 75 young and budding cricketers participated, 7 were identified as Star Players, who will continue to be trained by the coaches of the Aravinda De Silva Cricket Foundation to further refine their abilities and become professional cricketers in the game.

Cricket legend, Aravinda De Silva commented that the Coca-Cola Cricket Camp in Jaffna was yet another endeavour of both Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. and the Aravinda de Silva Cricket Foundation to train the youngsters across the island.

The young budding and talented participants showed great interest in the training routines and procedures. "They definitely benefited from this camp as this is the first of its kind to be held in Jaffna. We hope that we could have more such initiatives by which we can train and nurture more talented cricketers in the country", said Aravinda De Silva. One of the participants of the Jaffna Cricket Camp stated that "This is indeed a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and many other young and budding cricketers who got a chance to participate in the cricket camp. "I am extremely thankful to Coca-Cola for giving me this golden opportunity to be trained under these cricketing legends. I also want to thank my coaches for the support and training they provided throughout the past three days."

The 'Coca-Cola Cricket Pathway' is an initiative undertaken by Coca-Cola with the objective of promoting cricket around the country while discovering new talent among the country's youth.

Participation of numerous youngsters

The preceding cricket camps held in several locations around the island including Dambulla, Kandy, Galle and Colombo witnessed the participation of numerous youngsters who benefited from the rigorous training routines at the several camps throughout 2008.

Approximately 420 players have been identified and trained as a result of the six cricket camps conducted in 2008 with 7 star players being selected from each camp and continued to be trained and monitored. 3 Cricket Camps have already been conducted this year while 2 more camps are to be conducted including a Super Camp in mid 2009.