Cricket West Indies plans to establish a full-time cricket academy in Antigua where students will combine academic studies with elite cricket training, creating new career pathways for young players across the region.
The proposal was outlined by Cricket West Indies Chief Executive Officer Chris Dehring during a symposium hosted by the Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office (ABIPCO), Cricket West Indies and the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus.
Dehring said the academy will form part of the organization’s planned High Performance Centre and will represent a significant shift from traditional cricket development programmes.
“The West Indies Cricket Academy is one that we’re going to… it’s a full-fledged high school,” Dehring said.
“No longer do kids go just for part-time. You become a full-time cricket student where cricket is a curriculum. Academics is your core curriculum because there’s an absolute career now in cricket.”
He said the academy is being designed to prepare young people for the growing number of professional opportunities available throughout the global cricket industry.
Dehring argued that careers in cricket now extend well beyond playing professionally, pointing to the rapid commercial growth of the sport and the increasing demand for coaching, sports science, broadcasting, administration and performance analysis.
To illustrate the earning potential within professional cricket, Dehring recounted meeting the owner of a professional league in Florida, where he learned that players were earning substantial incomes over short tournaments.
“I found out what he was paying for five days of cricket,” he said. “A professional cricketer in that league was earning more than what a law school graduate makes in their first year salary… in five days.”
He said those examples demonstrate that cricket has evolved into a viable profession for talented young people, making investment in structured development programmes increasingly important.
The academy is expected to form part of a wider High Performance Centre that will also include an indoor training facility, sports science resources, a television broadcast centre, hotel accommodations and an interactive West Indies Cricket Experience museum.
Dehring said construction of the broader campus is expected to begin soon, with requests for proposals to be issued shortly, although he did not provide a timeline for completion.
He believes Antigua is well positioned to host the academy because of its cricket heritage, existing facilities and concentration of former West Indies greats who can serve as mentors and ambassadors for the programme.
According to Dehring, the combination of education and elite training will give young cricketers a stronger foundation, whether they pursue careers as professional athletes or in other areas of the sport.
This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Cricket West Indies Plans Full-Time Cricket Academy at Antigua Campus.