Junior Section report to Annual General Meeting 2009

A £300 grant obtained through the County, assisted with setting up a new competitive team in the Identilam U10 hard ball league. Matches were played on aturday Mornings. Several good wins were achieved to put the team in the top half of a division that included some strong teams. We are indebted to Ben Treadaway for running and coaching the team, ably assisted by Jon Cornell with good support from other parents. The section has developed greatly in the last few years and we would not have been able to without the generous financial support of the club’s main sponsors, Orbis, Hammerwood Ltd. and Duaris.

Managers Steve Ellis and Wayne Varney ensured that the U9 squad continued to flourish following the sad loss of Bill Cobbett in 2008, after many years of service in the job had left a great void to fill. Although the U9 group were not able to field our strongest team on a regular basis, some of the younger and less experienced players enjoyed a chance to play in the South Division of the North & Mid Sussex league against several well established clubs. The competition proved to be a bit fierce, but after a few losses we finished with a good win against Lindfield to encourage players to look forward to 2010. The soft-ball tournament we arranged in memory of Bill Cobbett was played on May bank holiday and the start was unfortunately delayed by the weather, so the planned competition was changed. Three Bridges won the reduced competition in May with Crawley in second.

The subsequent re-run in September was well received and supported by all our near neighbours.  East Grinstead squad were short of U9 players for the September tournament but the younger players who came in gained more valuable practise and experience. Good weather gave us a fitting end to the season, with Ifield, Crawley, Lingfield A & B and Three Bridges all enjoying some success on the day. Ifield were eventual gold medal winners closely followed by runners up Crawley (silver) with Three Bridges (bronze).

The U11 team were successful in half of their league matches and several played for the u12’s on occasion. Managers Bob Lock and Neil Jackson performed most of the umpiring and scoring duties and players generally played very well. The U10’s who helped out admirably, when regular players were on holiday during in the Sussex junior festival week, were major contributors and will be given more opportunities in the squad in future years. We did not manage to win any of the three festival games, but we were in a fairly strong group. Our opponents were able to boast county and district players. As we were closely contesting every game, it was an enjoyable experience for most of our squad.

Our largest age group of players, the U12’s, had to represent both U12 and U13 league teams. The absence of U13 players, because of injury and a few players joining other teams, gave further opportunities for some of the U12’s to play more than would have been the case. The U12’s finished in the top half of the league and a couple of late wins saw the U13 side also in a comfortable league position. The U13 were eliminated from the National cup by a strong Roffey team.  The u12’s performed very well in most of their matches, and with most players getting involved and improving as the season progressed. Seven of the “all-rounders” were selected to represent us in the Identilam six a side competition. We played well above our expectations to become runners-up to a very strong Cuckfield team by just 1 run! It was very exciting and an exceptional result for our team to progress so far. The team were well supported in the Festival and won two and narrowly lost two matches in one of the strongest groups. Our bowling was very good and there were some good individual batting performances. The U13 team was not so competitive, with many regular players absent. We were comfortably defeated on two occasions, however this was largely forgotten after a comprehensive win in the final game restored some pride and proved the team have got something to offer in future. Managers Gary Groves and Lee Richardson have been instrumental in the development of the squad and with the continued excellent support from the other parents, it is hoped that we shall maintain the improvement next year.

The U14 squad have also lost a few players from previous years, due to other sport commitments and a few players moving away. Grant Bateman was again in charge and helped by very good support from the U14’s parents, in particular Alan Baily, John Davies and Lee Richardson were ever-present. Grant was pleased to include some quality new players to replace those no longer with us and the squad is probably stronger overall than before. The U14’s comprehensively won their league, losing only one match. On the downside, a few key players were missing for the festival, and as we were in yet another extremely strong section, we were not able to compete on equal terms with many inexperienced younger players called in to help out. With a full squad we would have been able to reverse a couple of results. The U14 six a side team were one of the favourites and performed well but lost in the semi final of the Identilam six a side.

Several of the U14 players were involved in the U15 league squad. This team, managed by Phil Andrews also well supported by parents, had the potential to win the league, unfortunately one poor result away to Horsham, and couple of matches lost to wet weather, eventually cost the team a possible place in the final play-off.  The squad did win through to the semi final of the Sussex section of the national knock-out cup. They were eliminated after a long trip to Hastings, who are a major force at that age group.

The U16 Festival team run by Alan Evans and Phil Andrews was made up from most of the players who had performed well in senior league and we were confident that we could do well. The team was undefeated with three good wins and a “winning draw.” We played against Lashings on the Friday so were unable to fulfil the final fixture against Lindfield. Never the less, we still won the group for a second successive year. Sadly, as last year, we were not invited to the final as two other teams had achieved more points in winning other groups involved in the competition.

In summary, the main purpose of running a junior section is to ultimately provide players for the senior teams. Many junior players have performed well in possibly our most successful senior season ever. The academy established and run successfully by Stuart Simmonds, allied to the concentrated and considerable efforts of the junior managers and coaches, we are providing a stream of talented players comparable to any club in Sussex.

Junior Team Achievements 2009:

Under 16 : Sussex Junior Festival group winners; U15: Runners up in North & Mid Sussex Junior League & Sussex Semi-final National Cup; U14: Identilam League Winners, semi-final six a side; U13: Mid table finish in N & M S J C League (North); U12: Top half finish in Identilam League (East). Runners up Identilam six a side; U11: Top half finish N & M S J C League (North) U10: Top half finish Identilam (North).

Junior Individual Awards:

Nathan Baily – U14 Identilam League Bowling award 2009 & Ben Davies U14 Identilam Batting 2009

Scott Ward – Bill Cobbett (most improved player);    Jon Terry – (Junior Clubman)

Age group awards:

Juniors who represent senior teams have received many awards this season, included in the senior section report.

The junior section recognises the significant contribution to the success of our junior players from our regular 2009 paid coaches Alex Edwards (U11’s Sundays); Craig Fowle (U15’s Thursdays) and Graham Billington who stood in on several Sundays.

There was valuable assistance for the coaches of the U11’s and U9’s from Sam Bateman and Marley Rider.  We are also fortunate to receive the expertise of match managers who are also qualified coaches, Phil Andrews, Grant Bateman, Ben Treadaway and Wayne Varney.

This year the junior section has had good support from the sports club, and from Ann Ivin and those who prepared junior teas.  The season has been one of co-operation. We appreciate the efforts of Ollie Ward the groundsman who has provided us with very good pitches. The opposing teams tell us they look forward to playing at our ground.

Finally we wish to acknowledge the work of retiring chairman, Geoff Border. His contribution cannot be overstated. Geoff has been involved behind the scenes in every aspect of the club and his efforts are directly responsible for the club obtaining Clubmark and Focus club status, and the Academy has also benefitted greatly from his guidance and support.

Andy Hayes Junior Administrator.

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