2019 Season a success?
Success can be measured in a number of ways, most people/sports clubs measure success by league position or Silverware won, however, success is achieved in so many other ways.
For me, success is measured in a totally different way, our success is based on everybody being involved in every game of cricket, chaos on a Friday evening with up to 150 kids at the Rec, the camaraderie within the teams, the seamless transition from Junior to Adult cricket with some 30 Under 17s playing for the adult sides this season, and of course a successful SJCF week.
However, success, and in particular our success, starts before a ball is bowled, we as a club are so lucky to be supported by so many good coaches, administrators, parents/helpers........
That said, all of our boys and girls want to win, and indeed play to win, and this season has been a particularly good season.
Our mini’s have enjoyed a great start to their cricket careers, showing fabulous enthusiasm and some raw talent!
Our Under 8s seem to be learning very well under the coaches' stewardship, I’m sure they are looking forward to playing matches next season, a large number of kids too which is great for the clubs future.
Our Under 9s have had a good first season playing softball pairs cricket in the Identilam league under the guidance of their coaching team and have made great strides forwards.
Our Under 10s in their first league season have won the Identilam West league, progressing to the play-off final (against the East area winners) winning on the very last ball! A fabulous season for all involved.
Our Under 11s had a good season, facing some tough opposition in the league they managed to finish mid-table, however, another excellent development year with everybody getting involved in every game.
Our Under 12s also had a good season, adopting our club policy where everybody was involved in every game, as such, this led to third place in a strong league. The SJCF week saw us pit our wits against some good sides, a great week’s cricket culminated in a final against St James Montifiore, who had narrowly beaten us on day one. A never say die attitude from our team saw us home to a memorable victory, crowing us SJCF Plate champions. A report of the week is here.
Our Under 13s, due to geographical location and school commitments, played in an Under 14 league this year, which proved to be a tough challenge, and weather combined with a few concessions from the opposition didn’t give us the number of games we had hoped for, however a good season overall and some excellent development and great attitude from those playing for the adult sides.
Our Under 14s at the start of the season set out to be all-conquering (whilst embracing the clubs policies!) entering a fairly strong Identilam league. Mid-season we sat top of the league and standards were set. Winning the league was subsequently achieved, setting up a Sussex Champions League quarter final with Lindfield, which we won, and then victory in the semi-final with Buxted Park. The prize for this was a Finals Day at Hove against Hurstpierpoint.
What ensued had to be seen, a final over win in the most shocking of conditions! An SJCF win next year has to be the target for this team. You can read the full report of the final here.
Our Under 15/16s had a strong season, finishing runners up in the league with a number of very strong performances, only one very narrow loss saw us not win the league. Ignoring the Junior league, this age group continues to provide players that have played for all four adult sides this season, many having starring roles in the First XI and Second XI (my perception of success).
Our Under 17/18s have had another good season, supported very much by the Under 15/16s finishing second in the league, we only missed out on an U17/18s Champions League semi-final due to weather and a clash of fixtures which would have probably lead to another final at Hove!
GL