The sun shone on another Junior section awards night for our U9s, Girls, U11s, U13s and U15s!
Over 170 players and supporters gathered at the club on Friday 13th September, to celebrate the success of the junior section this season (120 in attendance in 2023).
Perhaps it was the promise of a Javery’s BBQ and a cold beverage, or the chance to win a trophy, or simply because TTCC has become such an attractive place to be it was impossible to turn down the opportunity to be at the 2024 end of season Junior awards ‘dinner’ sponsored by Leader Systems.
The awards started just after 6pm on the grass in front of the clubs beautiful pavilion, with a welcome from Nick Fuller the Director of Cricket, followed by presentations from each of the team managers, in order; Andy Hobbs (U9) Steve Shaw (Girls) Dan Constant (U11s) James Tilley (U13s) and Nick Fuller (U15s)
In line with our Junior Section Inclusive Performance strategy (JSIP), each of the players received a certificate for improving as individuals and successfully completing the season, and the players with the most runs or wickets by age group were also awarded a trophy (some with two!)
The presentations were short and insightful, albeit after four in a row some of our energetic U9s snuck off for an impromptu softball cricket match on the outfield, but no-one was going to blame them for that!
During the awards we thanked Max and Charlie for preparing excellent wickets and outfield to play on, and at the close of the trophies and team photos all the kids scarpered and enjoyed hot dogs and burgers, pop up cricket matches with chairs for wickets, football against the sight screens, climbing and getting stuck in trees and various other enjoyable activities around the ground.
2024 performance:
Across Adults and Juniors the club has 10 teams playing league cricket, of which 5 are junior teams. This season the Girls won a cup, the U11s and U13s finished 2nd in their leagues, the U15s finished 3rd and the U9s finished 4th. Also worth a mention is the LWS Year 7 cricket team who won a cup and came 2nd in another – 8 of the team play at TTCC.
It’s not just about winning, but it’s mostly about winning, and all of our Junior teams finished the season with impressive win % totals, demonstrating that it’s not just their individual performance which is improving, they are also improving and playing more as a team.
Looking ahead:
A successful and sustainable pathway into adult men’s and women’s cricket is achievable with continued hard work and effort from the coaches and players, alongside support and implementation from the clubs committee and adult captains.
Nick Fuller (Director of Cricket) said “Thame U15s had a particularly good year, coming 3rd in the ADMCL and being competitive in every game. Some individual highlights included: Oscar taking 11 wickets and being the top wicket taker in the competition and Daniel making 238 runs at 59 and SR 147. The development and sprit of the squad was pleasing to see throughout the year – and it was a joy to see so many of the U15s take the step up to play men’s league cricket on a Saturday, and friendlies midweek and on a Sunday. It was a real pleasure managing the squad and we hope to see them back next year. We are also looking to run an U17 team in 2025 with planning to be carried out during the off season.”
The growth of the junior section is such that we are close to maximum capacity for most of the teams already and would encourage all of the players to come to indoor winter nets at LWS from January, to help maintain their performance and secure their spot in the squad. Indoor nets details to follow. As the kids move up the year groups some of the coaches will also move up the age groups and we will be looking to recruit new helpers and coaches into the U9s in 2025…..…could that be you?
So, to finish on what has been another excellent season, we would like to thank Justin and Laura for doing the BBQ. Angus, Nick and JP for doing the bar at the awards. We would also like to thank all of the coaches, scorers, umpires, Max and Charlie for preparing all the wickets and outfield and our junior secretary, Sheena, for your hard work this season and look forward to coming back outside in April 2025… if not before.
TTCC Junior Section Trophy Winners:
U9s
Jimmy, Max K, Zac and Max W
Girls
Verity, Darcy, Maya and Jemima
U11s
Ryan, Dylan, Charlie S and Noah B
U13s
Lewis, Sam, Mukil and Josh
U15s
George, Daniel, Oscar and Louis
Photos are at the bottom of the article!
The Junior section contributes to a vast majority of the club’s membership and income and we would like to hear your feedback so that we can build it into our 5 year vision and strategy for 2025 – 2030.
Link below which closes on 30th September 2024:
https://survey.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eKYLoayjuf3gJka?Q_CHL=qr
Written by Matt Swain
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Peter Jenkins for sponsoring the event.
Leader Systems is delighted to have been asked to support the TTCC Juniors awards ceremony.
So who are we? Leader Systems has now been trading for over 40 years, initially providing emergency lighting systems for public places such as hotels, cinemas, hospitals etc. Somewhat ironically, one of our first projects was for the Bodlean Library at Oxford University. A national review of fire alarm system legislation in the early 90s, led to a change of direction for the business. And since then, automatic fire detection is the mainstay. We are based in Rugby, but work all over the UK. We are able to design, supply, install, test, commission and maintain a system; all to the highest national quality standards. Our customers include Tesco, Accor Hotels, Cineworld, together with various hospitals, schools, and universities. The Albert Hall has a Leader System, as do Claridges and Harrods!
For more information: e mail: sales@leader-systems.co.uk, or visit: www.leader-systems.co.uk.
