From GW Cricket President to the English Premiere League ! Hugo takes his talent to the EPL !

Hugo, whilst at Indy 11

Just 5 years from being President of the George Washington University Cricket Club, American College Cricket alum Hugo Scheckter was hired by English Premiere League Southampton Football Club ! As if proof was needed that the experience gained being a part of running your college’s cricket club could be valuable in whatever career you pursue.

In the words of Hugo, he is “the club’s first Player Liaison Officer, responsible for settling in all the players and making sure they can concentrate fully on the demands of being a Premier League and in some cases, International & World Cup player.”

After graduating with a degree in Business Administration in 2013 ,concentrating in Sports Management, Hugo was, he said, “hired by Indy Eleven, a new NASL soccer team (American 2nd Divison, below Major League Soccer),as the club’s first Team Operations Manager, where I helped start a club from scratch that sold out every game in its first year. I was in charge of organizing and managing all travel, player registrations, visa, player housing, equipment and whatever else was needed !”

Though Hugo’s name wouldn’t come up in any discussion about our talented stars like Kushroo Wadia, Adrian Gordon, Sai Ramesh, Raza ur Rehman, Krunal Bhange etc, we have featured Hugo in many articles – largely because of his leadership, organizational and promotional skills, as well as his tremendous sense of humor, all of which he amply, at 6’3 250 lbs, demonstrated whilst at GWU.

American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah tells of his first meeting in 2009 with the baby-faced Hugo who had just been elected President of the George Washington Cricket Club. Started by 3 friends Curt Sonnet, Ankit Sheth & Alexaner Sternberg , one of the club’s notable feats was its high-visibility cricket practices on the National Mall. Some how Hugo managed to get himself elected as President, not due to his expertise on the pitch evidence of which was totally missing, but rather to his ability to convince others he was the man for the job.

“Back in 2009 I met Hugo, then President of the George Washington University Cricket Club. Fresh from the success of the first American College Cricket Spring Break Championship at a match in Philadelphia between George Washington U and the University of Pennsylvania.” They chatted on the sidelines, since Hugo, who has never been mistaken for a great athlete, was not playing.

Next Hugo became President of the GWU soccer club. As he told us, “I took the GW Club Soccer team to 3 successive regionals in various roles, lastly as Head Coach & President, with a national ranking in the top 16” which even bettered the # 19 rank the GW Cricket club achieved with him as President.

Subsequently Hugo ran for office of Club Sports Council President, using effective tactics like offering “free donuts for votes”. Through his efforts as Club Sports Council President there was significantly increased funding & medical help for all Club Sports. At some point Hugo crowned himself and wore a crown around campus !

Through it all, we’ve never established conclusive proof that Hugo won these positions because his family brews their own beer – the Laverstoke Park Farms but we are still suspicious. Annually he worked in the pit at the Indianapolis 500, for his brother, Formula 1 driver Tomas Scheckter and on summer break helped manage the British BBQ Championship – yes there is a British BBQ Championship, run by his family.

On one of his many escapades Hugo decided he was a digital Sherlock Holmes and, using an app he downloaded, tracked down some one who had stolen his laptop. He kept his Facebook friends updated throughout the escapade, and made the local TV news. Crime fighting in real time on Facebook !

Now American College Cricket members, many of whom follow the English Premiere League, will have a reason to follow Southampton, knowing one of our guys is playing a key role for the team – and we have no doubt, based on the leadership and organizational skills he’s shown, he’ll do a great job !