Dear Young Player and Family,
Welcome to the 2008 cricket season. This year I have taken over as Chairman of Young Players from Andrew Gray and have the daunting task of improving on the outstanding success of 2007. Last year Radlett were County Champions at U11 and U15 as well as runner’s up at U9. Most other sides finished in the top three in their league.
Individually, Radlett boys dominated Hertsmere District Cricket and a significant number of boys and girls represented the County. Improving links between the Young Players and the adult teams meant that an ever increasing number of older young players were given the opportunity to represent the club at a senior level on a Sunday.
A lot of this improvement in the quality of young players’ cricket can be put down to the quality of the coaching available at Radlett. Shane Burger spearheads the coaching and we are delighted that he returns to Radlett as first team captain this year with an appearance for a South African Representative XI under his belt. It is a measure of the standard of the cricket played at Radlett that one of last year’s coaches Gareth Berg is likely to be unavailable having secured a professional contract at Middlesex.
Over the winter an elite coaching programme run by Tom Jenkins (of Herts) and Gareth Berg has been established with the aim of nurturing the top level talent at YP’s level. However, as a club we aim to cater for all abilities. The Club has joined the Chance to Shine scheme and is involved in taking cricket to schools which would otherwise offer no formal cricket coaching at all.
We have now held two successful Tribune end of season tournaments. The first one raised over £300 towards the tennis ball bowling machine. A similar sum was raised last season and the funds will be used to purchase new equipment for the young players. Thank you to all those who supported and helped.
Changes for 2008.
Subscription rates for family members have been set at £90.This purchases membership of the club for two adults and one young player. Additional young players can join at a cost of £50 each.
For this subscription, young players will receive a free Radlett CC playing shirt donated by our sponsors Tribune. They will also enjoy coaching on Sunday mornings for age groups 11 and under (as at 1 September 2007) between 10-12. Under 12s and U13s will train at 6-7.30 on Mondays with U14s and U15s training at 6-7.30 on Wednesdays. Young players will also be able to use the club nets to practice subject to availability.
Adult family members can enjoy the bar and social facilities and are encouraged to watch senior and junior games. There is no better place to watch cricket than Cobden Hill and the standard is extremely high with 3 current members of the Hertfordshire first XI under Shane’s wing battling in probably the best amateur league in the country.
Talented young players may earn selection for one of our top class junior teams. However, membership is no guarantee of selection.
This year to help cover administrative costs, including pitch preparation and equipment, a match fee of £2.00 will be levied for each game played.
HELP
Radlett is run by volunteers with only the groundsman and a few coaches being paid. There are not enough of us to go round!! There is a direct correlation between the amount of cricket available for the young players and the amount of volunteer time that is made available.
Teams.
Our Young Players teams are the envy of the County and rightly so but we cannot rest on our laurels. This year the fixture list will be the most onerous yet. For the first time the league are running an U12 and U14 league as well as the usual U9,U10,U11,U13 and U15. Details for managers of each team are available on the website. This year I welcome Colin McCallum (U9), Jonathan Gillams (U13) and Ronnie Comfort (U15) as new managers.
For each fixture, a manager is required to select a team and file a match report to the league. For home fixtures the pitch needs to be set up. As a club we also need to ensure a scorer and umpire are present. In essence it falls to the parents of the young players in each age group to ensure their team has the administrative support it needs. If , for example, any team in an age group found itself without a manager we would have to remove that side from the League.
If anyone feels that they would like to learn to score or umpire or become involved in management, please contact me.
Coaching.
If anyone is interested in taking a coaching course or becoming involved in coaching either on a regular or ad hoc basis (particularly on Sundays) please feel free to contact me also. The Club can help with the fees for ECB level 1 courses (on terms) if anyone is interested.
We desperately need people to help us with:
Media/PR: Circulating details of results /notable performances to the local media and providing content for the Club website and Clubhouse notice boards.
Sunday Morning/Monday/Wednesday signing in/out ; ensuring only paid up members train and all our young players are safely accounted for!
Please could any volunteers contact us at the details set out below.
Season starts
Training will start on Sunday 20th April and the following Monday and Wednesday until the last week in July. The season’s finale, the Tribune Tournament and award ceremony will be held on Saturday 13th September.
Summer Courses
The summer courses formerly run by Scott Moffat will now be run directly by Radlett CC under the expert eye of Shane Burger.
Information and booking forms will be sent out in the next few weeks. Dates will be 21st July, 28th July, 04th August and 11th August. For further information contact Catherine Kilhams on courses@radlettcc.com
Please complete the attached subscription form and return by April 01 2008. The club is looking to send all correspondence out by e-mail so please ensure you put your e mail address clearly on the form
We are looking forward to a successful season and seeing you all at Radlett Cricket Club in April. If you have any registration enquiries please contact Rachel.wright@radlettcc.com.
Please address any cricketing enquiries to Andrew.wright@radlettcc.com.
Yours faithfully
Andrew Wright
Young Players Chairman