^{01 Jan 09}

ACC Cricket Committee in 2009

1. Where we are

ACC is arguably the largest 'club' in the area with a strong membership (176 people batted for ACC last season), excellent facilities and large youth programmes that are the envy of most other clubs the area. With the exception of Guildford and St Cross, ACC is the only 1st team Premier league member within around 25 miles of JCG.

Thanks to some very dedicated volunteers we are Clubmark accredited and have won a national award in the Chance to Shine programme amongst other notable successes. Thanks to Brian Gillingham and his team we have one of the best club rooms around. Thanks to Richard Myers and his team we have one of the best Colts and Cricket development sections. Thanks to Roger Gadsby and several others we have some of the best net facilities in the county. The list goes on.

2. Challenges

But - frankly we have been struggling to survive in the SEPCL against what is increasingly 'professional' competition. We are also struggling to improve the standing of the 2nd and 3rd XI’s.

Cricket is becoming a significantly stronger sport in terms of standards, preparation, coaching & approach. At the same time external demands on time are limiting what individuals can do.

There are not enough people to effectively deal with all the tasks that need to be dealt with. ACC really needs to maintain and grow the existing programmes where the workloads need to be shared more.

Costs are increasing for players, facilities and playing equipment. Fund raising is a key issue.

3. Change

Over the last 2/3 years we have thought about this a good deal and are now convinced that the time has come for change in order to deal with the challenges above. Consequently the incumbent Cricket Committee has arranged the following changes for the 2009 season.

You comments would be appreciated and your support at the AGM will be vital to the success of a programme designed to move ACC to the next level in its development. These changes are intended to streamline and focus our activities with the twin goals of improving performance and making individual workloads sustainable.

The main elements of this change, all of which are main committee approved, are;

Club Coach. We have appointed David Taylor as coach for the 2009 season. Dave is a high quality cricketer and proven coach who we expect to raise the standards of performance.

Performance Manager. Graeme Hughes has agreed to take on this new post and utilise his skills in organising the sides, assisting in improving performance and taking some of the non playing tasks away from the senior Captains.

Appointed Captains. As permitted by the club constitution the Cricket Committee will this year appoint Captains for all sides. The majority of those posts are filled and we will announce the full list at the AGM. Anyone interested in being a Captain should approach the Cricket Committee directly.

Colts development. This will remain in the hands of Richard Myers and Nigel Cooper, but please keep in mind that we badly need volunteers to help or coach the sides. Any member, parent, relative or friend who can donate some time to this should get in touch with Richard or Nigel - for the more seriously minded, we can arrange appropriate training for the various tasks.

Senior Academy. Structured training exists within the colts set up until age 17, but not beyond. We intend to fill the gap between then and senior structured coaching with a senior academy comprising up to 15 players between ages 17- 21 who will engage on Sundays for practice and training and will effectively be the Sunday 1st XI - led by Dave Taylor. Anyone in the age group can apply, but full membership will be selected by the Cricket Committee based on commitment levels.

Selection. For season 2009 the selection of the 1st XI, 2nd XI, 3rd XI and Senior Academy will be undertaken by the Cricket Committee Chairman, Cricket Development Office and the Performance Manager. Clearly the Team Captains and Coach will have significant input but, in order to retain focus and consistency, the buck stops with us. The remaining sides will be selected by the Team Captains. A revised and updated Selection Policy will be posted on the club web site shortly.

Cricket Facilities Manager. John Halfacre has kindly agreed to fill this new appointed post. He will take on board and manage any and every aspect of the facilities we need to play the game.

4. Facilities

During 2008 we completed both the excellent new Nets and the new Club room. This is only the first stage and, to maintain our SEPCL accreditation as well as improve our club, we need to deal with at least the following items;

Nets maintenance and improvements

A New Scoreboard

New Covers

New boundary fencing

Outfield standards

Lunches & Teas

Training Equipment

Broadly speaking this list would generally cost over £10,000. However, with certain funding and grants available, we can get that down to £5,000. There are three things you can do to help your club here;

Volunteer to help raise funds - many hands make light work here - every little helps.

Use the Club room for functions - we make £3-400 on each of these over the bar.

Seek out or introduce ACC Sponsors.

5. Spread the load

ACC is now becoming quite a decent sized business with turnover rising towards £30,000 pa. If we are to develop as we would wish then there are many jobs that need doing effectively and currently too few people doing them. We know everyone is busy, but if you can spare a very few hours per week, or even just occasionally, we would really like to hear from you.

This not only applies to players, but also to any parents, relatives or simply friends of ACC who are willing to support us in our aims. Examples of what we need range from specific to generic as follows;

Cricket Committee Secretary

Colts Coaches - or simply people to help organise and transport

Umpires - we have to have them in senior sides or we lose points.

Scorers - 1st and 2nd XI mandatory

People to help with activities and/or fund raising - once off or fully engaged.

People who can help in the background with tasks such as financial management and sponsorship generation.

Support at Friday night Colts Training by running the barbecue

6. AGM

This is your chance to help and support us in what we seek to do. Please don’t let us have the normal 23 suspects on 4th January - let’s fill the Club Room with willing volunteers - and of course it is your chance to comment on the radical programme we have devised!

Assuming we are re-elected, we intend to make this change work. Come and help us achieve the vision.

Martin Green & Chris Burchett
Chairman & Chairman Cricket Committee
Alton CC

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