May 4, 2010

Headlines:
- Thirteen states now represented in USYCA
- Damien Martyn, Nathan Bracken and Cricket World's Jim White express support
- Constitution Committee hard at work
- Orville Hall becomes Public Relations Director
- Jamie speaks at teleconference on youth cricket
- Philadelphia Cricket Festival fertile ground for support
- Be a state president, or volunteer with an existing association

Friends,

Things are moving quickly for youth cricket in America. Here's the roster of state associations, as of today:

Arizona - Sumeet Bhandari, President.
California - David Sentance, President.
Colorado - Dan Ruparel, President.
Connecticut - Rakesh Kallem, President.
Florida - Nino DiLoreto, President.
Illinois - Manish Varma, President.
Indiana - Jatin Patel, President.
Kansas Oklahoma - Ed Fox, President.
Maryland - Jamie Harrison, President.
Massachusetss - Vasu Ram, President.
New York - Lloyd Jodah, President.
North Carolina - Simon Percival, President.

Our newest addition is Dan Ruparel of the Colorado YCA. Dan played school cricket in Bombay in the mid-1970's and was president of the Colorado Cricket League for a number of years. He is the founder of the Colorado Junior Cricket Association, the Colorado Indoor Cricket Association and the Littleton Cricket Club. In 2001, Dan also organized a Junior or Youth indoor program for the students attending the Lois Lenski Elementary School in Centennial that is still being held in its gym.

The USYCA expects great things in Colorado with Dan at the helm, and wishes him the best of luck.

It's no secret that what we're doing has garnered worldwide attention in the cricket community. I've been fortunate enough to receive the good wishes of many international cricketers, among whom Damien Martyn and Nathan Bracken have been particularly supportive.

Damien posted this on our wall: "love the passion and excitement with getting cricket off and running in the USA i cant wait to be a part of it and help the sport grow, lets get going." He tells me that he will be blogging about the USYCA in the near future.

Nathan had this to say about the video we posted: "Hey this is awesome. I really like what u r doing. We r working out a way we can help. I like the idea and what the plan is."

Jim White, television and radio correspondent for Cricket World, added, "Great job Jamie - Let's help get this going!!"

It's wonderful to know that we have supporters around the globe pulling for us.

Our Constitution Committee continues to work on a draft document that will be considered for ratification by the state associations. Ed Fox chairs this committee, which is also ably served by David Sentance, Rakesh Kallem, Nino DiLoreto, Simon Percival and Orville Hall. Orville, our new Public Relations Director, served in that capacity for USACA a few years ago, and has managed the US national team. He also brings quite a bit of experience in sports journalism to his new position, and we consider him a great addition to the team.

Last Monday, I was honored to be one of the speakers at Ram Varadarajan's teleconference on youth cricket. It was a great experience, and we listened to many dedicated individuals from all over the nation. It was especially edifying to hear so many different people, from so many faraway places, be in basic agreement about the need for a national youth cricket organization to provide the structure from which we can all work together. I really feel indebted to these hardworking volunteers who make youth cricket happen every day at the grassroots level, and I pledge to them the undying support of the USYCA.

On Sunday, I spent the day at the Philadelphia Cricket Festival at the urging of the British Officer's Cricket Club's Mike Thomas, one of the festival organizers. While there, I met a number of old friends, like Lalta Persaud of Indoor Cricket USA, and a few new ones, like our North Carolina president, Simon Percival. I was also introduced to a number of folks who were very interested in our mission, and almost all of them enthusiastically agreed with our approach. One such person was Dan Ruparel, now our Colorado president. Thanks, Mike, for a great day of networking and cricket.

The United States Youth Cricket Association is a place where states and individuals can network with each other and support each other in this mission. If your state isn't listed above and you wish to organize an association, and you are in agreement with our approach, please contact me and I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have about getting one started. If you would like to volunteer or donate, I can help you there, too.

All the best,
Jamie