Alvechurch
& Hopwood
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“Despite being a village club, Alvechurch
regularly runs four senior teams on
Saturdays, two on a Sunday and has
youth teams competing in leagues from
under 9’s up to under 16’s.”
Hopwood Veterinary Centre
We provide the following services:
Appointments with the vet
Surgery including orthopaedic referral
Nurse clinics
Puppy parties and weight clinics
Emergency service out of hours provided
Tel : 0121 453 1006
1-3 Hillside Court, 498-500 Lickey Road, Cofton Hackett, Birmingham B45 8UU
the situation at the club’s second ground
two miles up the road at Hopwood (the
neighbouring clubs of Alvechurch and
Hopwood having merged back in 1990).
Hopwood - with its stunning bucolic
vista, amphitheatre-like setting, huge
boundaries and bowler-friendly uneven
wickets – is less loved by batsmen and the
willow-wielders regularly traipse the long
ignominious walk to and from the wicket
having barely troubled the scorers.
The club has for a while recognised
that in order to retain its players and
encourage new joiners it has to have a
flourishing youth section and be more
than just a sporting respite for members
once a week for five months of the
year. To this end, Alvechurch hosts a
plethora of social events and gatherings
throughout the year, targeted variously at
both younger and older members.
It runs golf days, cricket tours,
quizzes, paintball days and golfing
weekends, hosts former player reunions,
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charity events and recently played host
when it’s under 11 star Finlay Church
smashed the world teddy bear record
as part of his fundraising efforts for
Birmingham Children’s Hospital (www.
operationteddybear.co.uk).
Despite being a village club,
Alvechurch regularly runs four senior
teams on Saturdays, two on a Sunday and
has youth teams competing in leagues
from under 9’s up to under 16’s.
If the recent history of the Australian
national cricket team is littered with
silverware, Alvechurch’s is an altogether
more environmentally-friendly, near
litter-free affair. There hasn’t been a huge
demand for Brasso at the Birmingham
Road ground of late but there are now
genuine grounds for optimism.
Over the last decade the club has
invested heavily in training up players
to acquire ECB coaching qualifications
to help bring on its youngsters, attained
Clubmark accreditation and significantly
raised the club’s profile in the local area
by running recruitment campaigns
and playing host to a number of key
community events.
The club has succeeded in attracting
a number of good quality senior players
in the past four years and now has some
excellent youngsters coming through the
youth ranks. A burgeoning, vibrant youth
section augurs well for the club’s senior
teams over the coming seasons. Under
the impassioned leadership of new club
skipper Matt Hayward the senior sides
have been reinvigorated this summer
and there is a real sense of optimism and
purpose around the club.
The first team has started the 2015
season well, undefeated at the time
of going to print and nestling in the
promotion places in Division 3 of the
Worcestershire League. The Brasso isn’t
yet on order but Alvechurch’s future
looks bright.