Dear members, friends and parents of our club,
I want to update you on some exciting news for the club.
As you all know, our junior section is one of the largest in the county and with the investments we have made in our facilities and our coaching programmes over recent years we continue to produce some very talented young players many of whom are now playing regularly for our senior teams. If you remember, back in February, I wrote to you to outline our vision and strategy that were designed to encourage any young player coming up through our junior ranks to remain with the club for their senior cricket and to not be tempted away seeking a better standard of cricket elsewhere thereby causing us to lose valued members.
We are almost a year into this strategy and whilst there is still a long way to go we have already seen some important developments that are already paying dividends.
In 2020 we...
Secured the services of a new ‘Senior Club Coach’.
Provided access to high quality coaching and training facilities, allowing players a pathway for their own individual development.
Ensured that our commitment to providing excellent equipment and facilities for all members was maintained.
Continued our long-term commitment to developing our own “home grown talent” via our junior section.
Started the process of developing a more professional and focused approach to league cricket both on and off the field.
Therefore, following these developments I would now like to announce that in addition to all the above, the Club is now embarking on a 5-year plan (created by Sarah and the women and girls’ committee) to grow and strengthen the Women and Girls’ section of the club.
It is our vision to become a local centre for women’s and girls' cricket; to be the go-to place for women and girls to learn, participate in, compete in and enjoy the wonderful sport of cricket. As a first step on this journey, we will be reaching out to the local communities and schools with taster sessions over the winter and an indoor training programme for existing members at Arundel.
There will also be some changes to our website. In future you will be able to visit dedicated women's and girls' pages that will contain information and provide updates to all matters relating to the Women and Girls’ section. In addition social media accounts will be developed to help further our reach in the West Sussex area.
In addition and perhaps most crucially the Club has also secured the services of Alan Smith as head professional coach to support the Women's and Girls’ Section which we are really pleased about.
Alan was previously Head Coach of Sussex Girls where he coached a variety of age groups from U14-U17 and where his teams achieved some national success. Most recently Alan has been coaching the women's and girls' teams at Horsham CC and last year helped to start the development of the girls section at Wisborough Green CC.
Alan is also the Head Coach of Girls Cricket at Copthorne Prep School and is currently working for the ECB helping with the Development of an England Wheelchair Cricket team for both women and men.
Tim van Noort will be assisting Alan when required. Tim is a highly qualified coach who obtained his ECB Level 3 coaching certificate in 2008. He has coached boys and girls of all ages for many years. He was Assistant Director of Cricket at Bede’s School and was instrumental in designing and delivering the boys and girls programmes across both the Prep and Senior School. Tim started his own coaching academy in 2010 and it was during this time that he worked closely with “elite girls” cricket and went on to coach several of the Sussex Girls Pathway players some of whom have gone on to represent the county. He has most recently been involved with the ‘Sussex performance pathway’ where he was Lead Coach of the Development Phase (U9-U12). For those of you who know Tim I am sure you will agree that his unique style of coaching is inspiring, always fun and never dull.
After a summer when pretty much the only team sport available was cricket, we are hoping that more women and girls have been made aware of the game or even taken part for the first time this year. This is the perfect time to have focus and support from the Club and so please share this news with any potential new member that you may know. This will take time and that is why we have considered a 5-year plan, but we believe the women and girls' section is more than up to the task. As always, we rely heavily on our volunteers so if you would like to get involved, please contact Sarah, you will be most welcomed!
Thank you,
Stephen Hodgson
Chairman