Rooty Hill RSL Cricket Club wielding the willow
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
‘ Cricket is booming ’ Nick Renshaw told me , and he would know ! Nick is currently the president of Rooty Hill RSL Cricket and also the Blacktown District Cricket Association . He is a very busy guy !
Nick started his cricketing career with Rooty Hill RSL Cricket Club 13 years ago and his overall cricket journey goes back to the early 1980s . He has seen cricket change over many decades and is pleased that it ’ s absolutely thriving in the Blacktown district .
Nick advised me that Rooty Hill RSL Cricket club have seven senior teams and seven junior teams this year in the district . Also , the Woolworths blast comp gives kids in the 5 – 10-year age group ( about 40
Rooty Hill RSL Cricket Club U10 Gold . Credit : Rooty Hill RSL Cricket Club .
kids ) the opportunity to play and learn the fundamentals of the game such as batting and bowling , throwing the ball and all of these essential cricket skills .
In the Blacktown area there are 14 grades and 96 teams in men ’ s comp . In the juniors there are 130 teams ranging from stage 1 in 10s and 11s , stage 2 12s and 13s and stage 3 is the older guys up to u17s . Many players are involved for the social element . Nick ’ s 9 th grade squad at Rooty Hill has 14 players . In the Blacktown district in seniors , there are provisions in place where teams can name and use 13 players per game . They can have designated batters that can ’ t bowl and two designated bowlers that don ’ t bat .
Blacktown aim to have progressive cricket , where you move up through your grades from juniors to seniors to grade , then hopefully move on to Sheffield Shield cricket and internationals for the extremely talented players . Gurinder Sandhu played for Plumpton prior to going through the ranks and playing for NSW and Sydney Thunder .
Ryan Hadley moved up from Rooty Hill RSL juniors and made his debut for NSW last year and made his debut against South Australia . Women ’ s cricket has exploded with the juniors getting a lot of interest .
Rooty Hill RSL almost had their first dedicated girls side this season and Blacktown Grade entered their first women ’ s side this year in the Brewer shield .
There are roughly 20 clubs in the district which stretches out to Schofields , Marsden Park , Rooty Hill , and Blacktown in the east . There is a huge dynamic with a lot of players from the subcontinent in the competition .
There were a lot of two-day games in the competition but more one-day ones now . Joe McAleer Oval is Blacktown ’ s grade field , and they have two grounds at Whalan Reserve . Nick is hoping to get more grounds for cricket to service the whole district .
Parramatta are the biggest rival competition to Blacktown . The dynamic of the game has changed a lot over the years ; less players are whipping it in over 130km in the lower grades . Liam Zammit a former 1 st grade Sydney cricketer and leg spinner plays at Rooty Hill RSL now . He played at Penrith in grade too .
The district might have to start turning junior players away from cricket in the next few years if they can ’ t get enough
Jarrod Stone , Rooty Hill RSL Cricket Club . Credit : Rooty Hill RSL Cricket Club .
new grounds . They are expecting up to 10 new grounds in the Blacktown district in the next 5-10 years . Nick thinks they could make 20 new grounds to service the area .
Nick is hoping that in 5-10 years Blacktown will be one of the best Sydney Premier teams in the competition . He believes that BBL should cater for teams in the west . Stage 1 players and Blasters are paying about $ 100 a season for registration . Older juniors are about $ 140- 150 . Seniors are about $ 250 and includes all fees and you get a club polo shirt and hat .
That ’ s good value to get out on the field and try to emulate your heroes .
Blacktown Volleyball Academy promoting the game
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
Everyone at some time or other in school tried volleyball . It was easy ; all you needed was a net , two big trees , a volleyball and a couple of teams of kids and the teachers could sit back and watch the action ! The Sydney Olympics changed all this and brought volleyball into the limelight for the broader Australian public , and it became a cool sport to do .
In the back of the western suburbs in the Mt Druitt area is perhaps an unlikely location for volleyball to be on the rise ; Blacktown Volleyball Academy kicked off after starting under the banner of Spike Volleyball Academy , initially based in the inner west .
Girls ’ program . Credit : Blacktown Volleyball Academy .
Blacktown Volleyball Academy offers the opportunity for young people and adults to try volleyball at a social level and also play more competitively . They are based out at Plumpton High School for their social games which provides a safe environment for juniors to come and train .
This is how Bianca Dodd began her volleyball journey . Bianca started in a schools tournament and from there she was asked to trial for the under 18s rep side , an exciting opportunity for her .
Blacktown attract players from all over the western suburbs and as far away as Hurstville , Riverwood and Sydney Olympic Park . All of the matches are played at Kevin Betts Stadium , Mt Druitt behind the RSL . Bianca started in an u18s comp but is enjoying playing with women and is looking forward to going up a division next year .
There are a few dozen new players every week who come to the centre and Plumpton High School , and several hundred players every week . They have around 50 regular local young people playing competitively week in and week out . Blacktown are planning on entering the Sydney Volleyball League hopefully in about division 3 or 4 . It is a really big competition with about 6-8 divisions with 10 teams per division .
The Sydney Volleyball League is effectively a statewide competition with the best players in the state . Competition players also compete for representative spots for NSW who have squads , shadow squads and development squads in men ’ s , women ’ s and juniors .
The local school comp in high school and PSSA sports is big and growing . The centre is aiming to bring up the juniors and provide them opportunities to play . It is difficult being in a low socio-economic background , but they want to give the kids and adults a nice friendly safe place where you can mix with the local community and have a safe place to play .
Volleyball NSW has a Phoenix program that gives talented young players an opportunity to play in a variety of squads . Bianca will be travelling to a tournament in Canberra where the games are 6 vs 6 .
There are big differences with the strategy of the games with men ’ s and women ’ s and how they execute the tactics of the game . The Canberra tournament is a mixed tournament with effectively 6 different roles with outside hitters ,
Blacktown Volleyball boys triumphant . Credit : Blacktown Volleyball Academy .
opposite hitters , middle blockers , libero , setter and defensive specialists .
Players need to do a lot of gym work to get fit and in condition . There are lots of opportunities to move into the NSW squads and Australian squads as well if you put the effort and application in to training .
Blacktown Volleyball Academy encourage their players to play as much as possible and learn many new styles and strategies . The starting age is for under 15s fundamentals and that is mixed , but they have players from 11 years old and up coming up . They are happy to take younger players in primary school if they have confidence .
They are all about giving people the opportunity to play volleyball .
28 ISSUE 33 // DECEMBER 2023 MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS ! theindependentmagazine . com . au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT