Shepherds Bush
CC: How important is youth cricket to the club?
WS: Youth cricket is the single most important thing to our
club. Our aim is, in a few years’ time, to have a 1st XI that is
made up of primarily ‘home-grown’ players who have come up
through the ranks of the club.
One of the most satisfying things as cricket chairman is to go
to the club on a Friday evening to see 100+ boys and girls playing
cricket on the outfield at the club whilst their parents proudly
spectate (whilst enjoying the BBQ and a couple of drinks). To
ensure the longevity and success of SBCC this must continue to
be our focus.
CC: How do you ensure that young players enjoy a smooth
transition into the senior game?
WS: Last season we issued guidelines to young players and
to their senior captains on how juniors should transition into
the men’s sides – anything from turning up on time, ensuring
juniors are given a decent bat/bowl, listening to senior players,
to warming up, to mobile phone use! It was signed off by the colts
coaches as well as all captains and seems to have gone down well.
CC: Would you consider yours to be a community club?
WS: SBCC is a community club but due to the transient
nature of the city and the fact that we are the most central club
ground in London a certain amount of membership turnover is
unavoidable. This is something that we have highlighted to work
on further and it is beginning to pay off with many colts parents
now being part of the club committees as well as many tie-ins
with local schools and businesses. Again, to ensure the longevity
of SBCC this is something that constantly needs reviewing and
improving.
CC: What do you believe could be some of the biggest
challenges the club may face in the next 5 years?
WS: One of the biggest challenges for all cricket clubs, not only
our one, is participation in cricket which is probably one of the
most time consuming sports you can play! We all lead such busy
lives with numerous distractions so we need to ensure we work
with the Middlesex League to keep the game formats up to date
with the ever evolving modern game so that our junior players
stay motivated to play.
We also need to make our own club a great place to spend
time over the summer… and a sure fire way of doing that is to
ensure that wives/girlfriends/friends/boyfriends/parents/pets
are also made to feel very welcome so that they are happy to be
there too!
CC: What are the clubs ambitions for the next 5 years?
WS: The club’s ambitions over the next few years are to
maintain Middlesex Premier League status which in turn should
increase the standard across all adult sides … the overall objective
though is to provide a fun and safe environment for people of all
ages to enjoy themselves in and around the game of cricket. If we
achieve that then everything else should simply slot into place!
If you would like to join Shepherds Bush Cricket Club
or would simply like more information please email
[email protected]
www.sportip.biz
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