2022 Season Review and Thank You!
Dear ##firstname##,
I hope you are well.
I am writing to all members with a round-up of the season just ended* (*possibly 1 more game to go?!!?)
Once again, we can all look back at a successful season on and off the field for all sections of the club.
Each youth age group went from strength to strength with League titles in the bag for u11 and u13 as the icing on the cake, the Coytes Womens' section built upon their ground-breaking first season in 2021 with an expansion into Hard Ball Cricket as well as continued high performance in Soft Ball Cricket, whilst the Men's section saw League titles for both the Midweek Team and the Saturday 2's, with all 4 competitive teams registering their highest ever league finishes and the club fielding 2 Sunday teams most weeks for good measure, too!. The good (HOT and dry) weather meant hardly any games were lost to rain and as a result a record number of fixtures were arranged and played. We attracted several new members and even lured a few out of retirement. Several youth players transitioned into adult cricket (Men's and Women's). which all bodes well for the future.
Well done to everyone who played this year. From those who played almost 40 games to the "every other weekers" to the weary old left armer who dragged himself on the field for 1 match. The spirit and manner in which this club conducts itself is the envy of many other clubs. The fact we can do this and be successful in terms of results as well is fantastic. We are winners all round. We had lots of positive feedback from opponents, officials, league officials and our own members - which is always pleasing to receive.
As a club, we also executed 3 tours this year. There was Barbados, Malaga and Margate - something for everyone, I'm sure you will agree. All 3 were well attended and plans already in place for next year from both Men's and Women's sections.
Away from the playing side, Friday nights have gone to another level in terms of offerings. The Bar has been more popular than ever on a Friday and been enhanced with a wider range of drinks plus Kitchen, BBQ and Cakes each week too. Many families stayed long after the training had finished each week utilising the outdoor seating and making the most of the nice weather.
In addition to Fridays, we added Wednesdays as Bar nights, too. These were a relative sucess and will explore this more next year. The club continued to see high attendances on Saturday nights too, with many players from the 3 teams coming back/staying on to socialise with their teammates. This aspect of club cricket has largely diminished in recent years, but we have worked hard to promote the club spirit and rebuild the tradition of socialising together after matches. Monthly "Kangaroo Court" hearings are a highlight/nightmare (delete as appropriate) of the Saturday Social Nights.
We also made further strides forward in club development with the dream of Nets and Covers coming every more tangible, whilst we have worked hard to improve the pitch with investment in machinery and John's superhuman efforts. There is now lots of storage on site which has enabled the pavilion and in particular the changing rooms and shower facilities to be cleared out and used as intended. On top of this, the Bar area is looking more like a Cricket club all the time and the outside areas of the whole site have been improved immensely this year - largely thanks to Jimmy's tireless work. We have plans to carry out some significant groundwork before next season to improve the far end of the site as well as push hard for the nets and covers to be in place by the start of the 2023 season. If anyone works somewhere that might like to help with any sponsorship, please give me a call!
So..... on to the "Thank You's"....
This is the cause of much stress and deliberation... I KNOW I'm going to miss someone or something major off this list. My apologies in advance. This cricket club is now BIG - there's no shame in saying. As such, lots and lots of people do things to help - many of which most people don't see or hear about... Here goes....
Youth Section - Nik Mansfield and her team of coaches and helpers that enable youth matches and practice to go ahead each week: Gerhard, Sin, Nick M, Vijay, Tom, Simon B, Chris B, Chris E, Nick O, Ven, Dan F, Matt J, Matt K, Jake, Peter, Vinny and Arjit. Plus, we had a number of the Coyotes forgoing their own training to help with the All-stars which was also great to see and great inspiration for the girls especially. We have more qualified coaches and helpers than ever and hope to grow that even further. Our Club Welfare officer Richard Handy makes sure we comply with all safeguarding requirements. Richard will be stepping down after several years and we thank him for all his efforts. We also had the help of Sophie and Amelie on the sign-in desk on a Friday night which was a great help. Thanks to all the parents, too for following the requests of the coaches and helping set up and clear up. Cricket is a time-consuming hobby so thanks to everyone concerned with the youth section.
Women's Section - Headed up by Lou, who somehow holds down a job whilst running the Coyotes! A miracle worker! Coaches Matt J, Hamish, all the captains and vice or stand-in captains. (Gillian, Gill, Helena, Marsha), partners, children who have helped scoring, umpiring etc (Katie, Gaby, Jake, Callum, Vinny, Dan F, Gerhard, Jules to name a few plus some guest coaches like RP Hester and Super James Scott.) [Struggling already with the stress of missing someone out!!!!]
The spirit of the Coyotes means that literally everyone helps out. It's a joy to see the clear up and set up in operation. Thanks to everyone involved in growing the strength of the Women's cricket section
Men's Section - Aran and the men's subcommittee who have arranged an incredible number of teams and matches this year. Main captains: Will, Dan F, RP Hester, Kieran, Pete plus "Sunday Skipper Squad" of Chris, Pete, Jules, Mike, Ant, Luke.-who have enabled us to offer Cricket to all ages and abilities whilst creating a welcoming and safe environment for Coyotes and boys and girls to play "Men's Cricket". Some of the feedback has been just wonderful. Not forgetting Dave M for organising nets each week.
Nikunj, Rich and Keiran for working together as the Fixtures squad. An enormous amount of effort goes into organising the many fixtures we have plus dealing with opponents dropping out, grounds becoming unavailable etc. These guys had their work cut out this year and a big thanks to them all.
Anyone who helped score or umpire, too. Rupes did a lot of scoring and many others chipped in when injured etc. Makes a big difference to have non-playing officials at games. Katie, Gaby, James W all scored as well as others I'm sure.
Bar: Bar Manager Bo and his well-oiled unit of bar and kitchen helpers. Ian, Rosin, Neil, Alex, Gillie F, Claire, Jimmy, Steve, Bainesey, Indy (and Maiya), Chris E, Callum and many others who have stepped behind there to lend a hand from time to time. The Bar is a monster operation with Bo, Steve and Alex seemingly at Tesco, Costco and Makro every other day making sure we always have enough stock to sell. Big thanks to everyone who has bought a drink or 2 all season or enjoyed a Burger or Cake. Every penny counts.
Cake Sale: Friday night cakes became a regular "thing" this year. Spurred on by the enthusiasm of Gillian, a crack team of bakers was assembled. All of whom baked and donated plentiful supply of baked goods which were sold as profit for the club. So, a big thanks to Gillie for driving this, plus Gill O, Anita, Jenn, Clare, Rachel, Bryony, Kate P, Hayleigh, Donna, Bainesey. all were delicious and this concept is very much here to stay.
Committee: The club would sink without these next 2 gentlemen. Kevin Golding (Treasurer) and John Cartledge (Groundsman). As mentioned, the weather meant we played more matches than ever this year. This has a huge knock-on effect in the amount of admin/grief it causes Kevin with match fees and the like and the amount of work John needs to put into the square each week. Both do an awful lot more than most people realise and ensure 2 of the most important things at the club are in good hands - the bank account and the pitch. I would like to thank both personally for everything they do and only moaning at me when necessary! Both are very busy men with work so everyone's aim is to make their job as simple as possible!
The 3 heads of Cricket: Lou, Aran and Nik Mansfield. As the club grows, these guys jobs become very time consuming. A big thanks from all the players across the sections for facilitating (with aid of sub committees and coaches etc) practice and matches.
ClubMark - A big thanks to Alan McQuitty plus John C and Dave McQuitty for ensuring we regained our ClubMark status. It's probably the least glamorous job at the club (other than typing this email) and so vital that it was done properly. They made sure all aspects were covered and acted to ensure everyone provided the documents needed. Great work!
St Sebastians: Thanks to Nick O and John who sit on the St Sebs Management committee making sure the Cricket club has a loud and powerful voice at St Sebs. Having done this myself, it's not the most rewarding way to spend an evening every couple of months, but we are now the major entity that uses the site and as such can influence the development of the facilities. To back this up, we have done an awful lot to improve the overall appearance of the site in the last 2 years.
This has gone to a whole new level this summer with the efforts of Jimmy Carson. Barely a day passed in the summer months where Jimmy wasn't on site trimming bushes, felling trees, clearing leaves, cutting hedges, sawing up metal items for disposal... the list really does go on. The other clubs have all been very grateful and so are we. I estimated at one point >100 hours of effort. Must be well in excess of that. This will all make ongoing maintenance easier going forward and has saved us a LOT of money by not having to get professionals in.
We also had a very good number of volunteers in April getting the ground ready for the new season plus the O'Loughlin's BUILDING A SIGHTSCREEN as well as being in charge of flowerbeds and other flora and fauna such as hanging baskets. It all adds up to making the place look superb. Thanks all - it's made a big difference.
I'd also like to thank Gillie F for spending a day with me clearing out the changing rooms and committee room and putting a label on EVERYTHING that needed it. I thought she was going to cry when the label printer ran out. Everything is so much more organised now. Gillie also organised the wonderful "Cradle to Crow" photo competition which caused a great deal of interest and raised a good chunk of money, too. Wonderful stuff!
Other: There are some other people who I'd like to thank on behalf of the club. Firstly, Matt Kelly. Whether it be lugging the bar stock from his dad's car to the pavilion or moving everything into the storage unit, Matt is one of the most proactive willing helpers I've come across at the club. "What can I do to help?" is often one of the first things he says to me. He helps score, umpire, setup, clear away plus anything else that needs doing around the club. A credit to himself and his family.
In a similar vein, James Scott is always the first to offer up his help when we put out a plea for volunteers for specific tasks. A proper Club man. Thanks SJ.
Also a big thanks to Ross Chalmers for ongoing support and Neil Graham of NG Photography for the marvellous pictures you take for us. Much appreciated.
Lots of other bits and pieces go on behind the scenes with stats, purchasing, tinkering with play-cricket, updating social media, watering plants, PR, schmoozing the ECB and Berkshire Cricket on behalf of the club, clearing up, merch, hanging pictures, lending equipment..... the list goes on... thanks to all those that contribute to this including: Chris, Pete, Will, Ant, Jules, Gill, Rob, Kieran, RP Hester, Lou, Gillian, Clare, Matt J, Hamish, JC, Jimmy, Steve, Alex.who have done particular things of note.
So, many thanks on behalf of all at the club for everyone mentioned above and all those who I have forgotten.
As I said at the start, we've had a great year, we are growing on and off the pitch and the future is extremely bright. Thanks for being part of it and I hope everyone enjoyed the season.
As ever, any feedback (positive or otherwise), ideas, suggestions, volunteers are all VERY welcome as we strive to make our club even better - please call me, will be delighted to discuss
Have a good winter, look out for details of AGM and Indoor nets in the coming couple of weeks.
Kind regards,
Dan Partridge (Secretary)
07917 753 200