36 Warrandyte Diary
September 2014
Bloods cricket ready to roll By RYAN HOIBERG
CRICKET season 2014/15 is poised to be one of continued progress for the Warrandyte Cricket Club as it is with great excitement the club can announces the appointment of its first senior coach in some time. The role has been entrusted to homegrown talent Jake Sherriff, who is a product of the club’s junior cricket program and has played high levels of cricket in England and here in Australia in first grade Premier League cricket. Approaching his mid-twenties, Jake is looking for a further challenge in his cricket and eager to develop his coach skills. The club is happy to back one of its youngsters and offer him support as he undertakes the new responsibility. Jake will be looking to add a more professional approach to training and match day preparation in the higher grades of cricket while focusing on improving individual cricketers within the club. His role will including supporting club stalwart Jason Graf in enhancing the talent of younger cricketers in the club’s development squad. The squad, which began last year, aims to
help younger cricketers at the club as they transition into senior cricket. “It’s an area of great importance for us,” says club president Ben Taylor. “To have promising cricketers feeling a part of our great club and more comfortable with the move into senior cricket is something we see as vital for our future.” Taylor is excited by the focus on youth and development at the club he began playing at as a junior himself. Speaking with him about the plans for this season and the future, his excitement is evident. “To have the future of our club being coached by a young guy such as Jake, while also receiving support and coaching from legends of the club such as Gerald Walshe (assistant coach and former champion of the club with over 600 wickets) is an exciting prospect.” Enthusiastic youth and experience is a mix that the committee has been looking to foster for many seasons now, and with recent decisions made it seems that mix may have been achieved. Off-field, the committee of the club is comprised of younger
members in their early twenties, with the slightly older and more experienced heads that combine to help steer the club towards where they believe they need to be. Continuing the theme of supporting homegrown talent, the club is also excited to announce that Chris Barry will be taking the reigns as captain of the First XI for the season. Barry, who also played his junior cricket at Warrandyte with close friend Sherriff, is excited to take on the role but understands that he has things to learn. “I’m really excited about being given the honour to represent the club as captain,” Barry said. “I’m looking forward to developing as a leader and I know this is possible with all of the great older guys around the club who can help me in that area.” “The club is extremely proud that we have these young men looking to put their hands up for leadership positions, both on and off the field,” cricket operations manager Greg Warren says. “As a committee, we felt that we needed to back these guys and provide them with the best possible
support and there’s no shortage of ‘old heads’ to provide advice if needed. Hopefully the structure that we have put in place will help secure our immediate and longer term success. “There’s no doubt it’s an exciting time to be a part of the Warrandyte Cricket Club.” Adding to the atmosphere of anticipation and excitement is the construction of the new facilities at Warrandyte Reserve. The club has worked hard in recent years operating out of temporary facilities, but was always buoyed by the prospect of hosting visiting teams in brand new clubrooms. There is hope that the new grandstand will be full throughout the season, with exciting mid-week Twenty20 matches fixtured and the usual bustling Friday evenings, which sees the club’s youngest cricketers, the Milo in2cricket kids learn the game while the club’s juniors play and the veterans train. “Friday’s are a great representation of club with people from all sections and all ages enjoying the game and each other’s company,” Taylor says. The club’s junior component has
been strengthened in the past year with the appointment of Chris Jackson, who has done a tremendous job in coordinating eager parents to volunteer their time to provide a well-run program for young cricketers, where they can learn the great game from qualified coaches and enjoy the friendships that come with playing local sport. One thing is abundantly clear when looking in at the Warrandyte Cricket Club and that is that it’s an exciting place for cricketers of any age to be involved. With the renewed focus and move into brand new facilities, the committee saw it fit to also adopt a new club logo (pictured). Those involved are counting down the days as the weather slowly warms and the first day of the season approaches. And while there will be many familiar faces keeping the place running and moving forward, the club is always on the lookout for new players and volunteers to become a part of its rich history. For more information please visit warrandytecc.com or phone Ben Taylor on 0401 786 652.
New appointments at Warrandyte Basketball Pictures: Gareth Dickson
By CHRIS WILLIAMS
WARRANDYTE Basketball has appointed Nicole Howard as the coaching director and player development manager of the club. Most recently Howard coached the Venom Senior Women’s Big V team in the State Championship division. Her new role at the club involves looking after and helping develop the entire Warrandyte Basketball program, which will include overseeing the junior Redbacks, Venom coaches and players, the Aussie Hoops program, organising clinics, talent identification programs and school holiday programs. Howard has always been a hard worker and before this new role she was already putting in many hours at the club behind the scenes which has helped the club take a step forward in the right direction. Right from the start Howard was always dedicated to getting the best out of her players and putting in the time and effort required to help her team get to where they needed to be. With over 10 years experience in coaching including helping the Venom Youth League Women win their first championship in 2013, Howard is bound to have a positive influence on the entire club in her new role. President Bruce De Lacy was pleased
to announce Howard’s new position. “It was a difficult decision with many exemplary candidates but we knew, given Nicole’s background at the club, that in the end she was the right person for the job,” De Lacy said. Howard’s role will begin in September. Redbacks finals underway As another season of Redbacks basketball goes by, finals time is here with a total of 34 teams successfully qualifying for finals. The Under 14.2 Boys faced off against Eltham 4 in what was a tight contest. Warrandyte took the early lead but Eltham was able to fight back and take control of the game. With two minutes left Eltham was up by six points but the Redbacks fought hard and gained the lead
before Eltham tied the scores up as the game went into overtime. In the overtime period Warrandyte took care of business and held on for a three point win, 45-42. “All eight boys were outstanding,” said coach Danny Black. Noah Parzatka was fantastic making some clutch baskets and free throws. Patrick Keating also knocked down some huge free throws late in the game to help seal the victory. There were many more close games over the first weekend of finals including Dale Leeson’s Under 9.3 Girls who held on for a 14-10 win at Warrandyte Sports Complex against Balwyn 3. With home court advantage, the girls dug deep and put in a consistent effort throughout the whole game to secure the win. The No.5 Under 9s Girls team shared similar success and overcame Eltham 18 in a low scoring game where the final scores were 6-4. Coaches Nikki and Kaylah Metcalfe have done a great job with the girls this season and will be looking to win it all as they continue their finals campaign. Some Redbacks teams have already progressed into the Grand Final and others will have a second chance as they played off in elimination games at the weekend.