Merryboys coach praised for victory

Charles “Charlo” Guillen, coach of the champion National League Division One cricket club, Ceramic Trinidad Merryboys, has been praised from president of the club Patrick Rampersad.

This after the the Diego Martin club won the prestigious “Club of the Year” title at the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) 47th annual prize giving ceremonyon Saturday. “We at Ceramic Merryboys Cricket Club are extremely delighted to have won this award. There are a lot of people who made this dream a reality but I would specially like to single out the coach Charles ‘Charlo’ Guillen,” said Rampersad. Guillen, formerly of Queen’s Park Cricket Club, took over the coaching job from former Trinidad and Tobago player, Claude Phillip after the season got underway and was still able to take the team to the title — their second successive championship. “We have a lot of talent at the club and what ‘Charlo’ has done is not just coach the players on technique but a lot more. During his stint as head coach he did a lot of strategic planning and this I think made the difference to our club,” Rampersad said.

Guillen was coach of the North Zone British Gas Under-15 team for a couple of seasons before picking up the job at Merryboys. Rampersad said he is confident Guillen will be retained by the club for the 2004 season when they hope to make it a hat-trick of victories. “We are definitely going for the hat-trick in 2004 and this will be great for the development of cricket in the Diego Martin area. This team have brought the crowds in Diego Martin back to cricket and we are definitely going to make the village happy with another win.” Rampersad, who is also an executive member of the TTCB and a former prolific opener for the Patna club, added that one goal the club will really push for next year is to win one of the elusive one-day titles. “We reached the finals on six occasions in the different tournaments and have failed to win the Cup. “Next time around we are really aiming to give our supporters something to cheer about at Guaracara Park. Too many times they have made the trip to the southern ground for the finals only to be turned back,” he promised.