Dalyellup Cricket Club Mid Season Update from the President
Hello to all DCC Senior, Junior and Cricket Blast members and players,
As we've reached the midpoint of the cricket season, and with the Christmas break just around the corner, it's a fitting time to send a message to all club members to highlight some of the many positives that have occurred throughout the club so far this season.
As most of you would be aware, we introduced a Three Year Plan at the start of last season that had some very clear, and in some areas ambitious, objectives to achieve within the three year period (Seasons 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25). I have attached that plan for your reference and want to use this as a basis for this message.
Our Vision
To be a Proud, Strong, Bold, Destination Club.
Our Mission
To establish an inclusive cricket club with a stable, sustainable off field platform while retaining existing, and attracting new players to our junior and senior teams.
We were very targeted with our off season recruitment at the end of last year, particularly for our Men's A and B Grade sides (which has a positive flow on effect to our lower grades). We have made bold decisions (eg despite having good numbers, we chose not to enter a C Grade Men's team and to aim at playing finals in each grade) and our standings in the Men's grades at the mid point of the season will justify those decisions. We had a specific focus on cultural change within the club to develop a winning feeling, and this resulted in the attraction of key new players to our A Grade men's side, the establishment of Tony Warren as Club Coach and the appointment of Mitchell Boyle (A Grade), Jacob Ryan (B Grade), D Grade Co Captains Tim Verhaaf and Wayne Clemens, Paul Renfree (E Grade) and Amber Strachan (Women's) to help drive this change.
Our off field financial position remains strong with a healthy bank balance and our major financial outlays for this season already paid out. This has us well placed to continue the sustainable off field platform we are focused on.
In general, I am confident that we are meeting our stated Vision and Mission.
A Grade - season 2022/23 Play Finals; Season 2023/24 Win at least 1 final; Season 2024/25 Premiers.
While last year we failed to meet the objective of playing finals, I am confident that last season provided the basis for the success we have so far seen this year, and was the catalyst for us to make the decisions that we did with player attraction and retainment. Heading into the bye this weekend, we have lost 1 game for the season so far (by 2 runs) and are well placed to both make finals and meet the objective of winning at least 1 final. Importantly, the strong on and off field culture that this group has established continues to grow and has been enhanced with the addition of new players to the club.
Senior Men's Teams - Win 10 finals across all grades; Play in the right manner
The target of winning 10 finals across all grades in three seasons (not just playing in finals, but winning them) was extremely ambitious considering we had not won 10 finals in the 17 years before last season. Our E Grade team made a final last season but unfortunately fell short on the day. This season however we are well placed across all grades with A Grade sitting second, B Grade just 3 points outside 4th spot (and a rapidly growing confidence for the back half of the season with a young group); D Grade sitting second and E Grade sitting 1st. At this stage therefore, we are well placed to play in, and hopefully win, finals this year as we seek to achieve the ambitious target.
Equally as important however, our on field behavior has been exemplary as we play the game in the right manner. The way we conduct ourselves is not unnoticed, as I have been told on several occasions this year that our club is well regarded by opposition players and clubs. This is consistent with previous years, though this year we are combining this positive on field behavior with winning games, which all ties back to our mission of being a destination club.
Women's Team - Smooth introduction, Numbers increase each year, Play at least 1 final.
The introduction of the Women's team last year was beyond what we had hoped to achieve. Not only was the smooth introduction achieved, but we also played finals narrowly missing out on making the grand final in our first year. This year we have seen new players join the team and the enthusiasm and genuine joy that the players have when training and playing holds this team in good stead for the future. Last week's exciting win was a fitting reward for all the hard work that Josh Merritt (as Coach) and the entire team has put in. Consolidating, developing and growing this group is a major focus for us in the coming years.
Player development - Develop an off field structure that enables player growth
We recognized that as a club, we needed to challenge ourselves if we wanted to improve. The appointment of Tony Warren as Club Coach has been a major factor in how we conduct ourselves both on and off field. While predominantly working with the A Grade team, Tony also has input into other grades through team selections and player development. As a club we needed to be taken from our comfort zone if we wanted to achieve long term, sustainable success. While there is still areas in which we can improve, there are noticeable signs that we want to take the necessary steps to improve individually, as a team and as a club.
Juniors - Retain and attract players to ensure at least 1 team per grade
While there is still much to do in the junior space, we have one more team this year then last season. Our Year 7 side, coached by Donna McCabe and Ty Verhaaf, are a mixture of existing members and 6 new players (3 of whom are females). Donna and Ty are doing a fantastic job of developing this group, particularly given all of the new players are playing their first season of cricket.
Our Year 8 side, coached by myself and Mark Butler, is a mixture of Dalyellup and Grammar players in what we are hoping will become a positive relationship between the two clubs going forward.
Our Year 9/10 side, coached by Simon Eastman (Colts) and supported by Josh Oakey (Dalyellup), is a combined side with Colts and has afforded our Year 10 players (who will form the basis for next year's Year 11/12 side) an important opportunity to continue to play. Like the combined side with Grammar, this has been an important opportunity for our players to mix with new players, and equally as important, has exposed players from other clubs to the positive culture we continue to develop at Dalyellup.
Our Year 11/12 side, coached by Tom Anderson and Riley Mammone, has for probably the first time in the 4 years this group has been together, been seriously challenged in the last few weeks, which personally I think is a good thing. How this group responds in the back half of the season will be interesting to watch - I have no doubt this outstanding group of young men will rise to the challenge and play accordingly.
Our aim is to fill a team in each grade however and we will continue to look at opportunities and ways to achieve this, particularly the Year 6 grade we are yet to field.
Membership - Increase to 220 members; 20 master and junior blasters; 80 juniors (including 20 girls); 80 senior men; 15 senior women; 25 social members
Another highly ambitious target given our membership for the past few seasons has hovered around 160 - 170. That said, we are well on the right track with 14 registered Cricket Blasters (up from 8 last season) in the program run by Maddie Oakey; 68 registered men's players and 13 registered women's players (room for improvement in both); 36 juniors (again, room for improvement) and 5 social members.
While ambitious targets, members are obviously the lifeblood of our organization and we will continue to push for growth in this area.
Sponsors - Secure 3 year deals to enable longer term planning; Supplement with season sponsors
Our shirt sponsors are locked away until the end of next season and we continue to have strong round sponsors each week. This does however need to be a focus for next year as we come to the end of the 3 year cycle and new uniforms will need to be designed, ordered and paid for ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Facilities - Secure long term location; Provide best possible facilities
Our discussions with the Shire of Capel regarding securing a long term location continue, with a couple of different options continuing to be assessed by the shire. I am confident that we will reach a position on our long term location in the next 12 months.
The 3 year MOU with Dalyellup College for the use of Lydon Hodgkiss as a curator to prepare our turf pitches and the College turf nets is secured until the end of next season, despite the uncertainty of the cricket program at the College. This ensures the preparation of the pitch is managed until at least the end of next season. Importantly, our A Grade team has regular access to the turf nets on a Thursday night, a luxury that I doubt any other team in the BDCA, or even the Southwest, has.
Also, the Shire of Capel has confirmed that a significant overhaul of our nets will take place at the end of this season, something that we have usually funded and undertaken ourselves in the past. This overhaul is a good sign of the strong relationship we have with the Shire.
You will also see some new furniture being added to the pavilion in the coming weeks as we utilize grant funding from Bendigo Bank to try and make our home base more family friendly. Some of the furniture we will purchase is also designed to be utilized at our other grounds (portable shade shelters, bean bags etc), again something that is designed to try and attract people to our games.
All in all, we are tracking well towards our stated objectives. We continue to grow and develop as a club, which is important in ensuring a sustainable future for us. Next year will see our 20th anniversary of the establishment of the club, and we have begun initial planning for what some events could be next year to mark this occasion. More information on this will come out as we firm up our planning.
Thank you to everyone for your effort and input into the club so far this season, especially to our committee of Rob Bell, Kellie Piacintini, Jayden Merrit, Mitchell Boyle, Jacob Ryan, Zane Verhaaf, Tom Anderson, Paul Renfree and Amber Strachan.
As always, continue to access our Facebook and Instagram pages for up to date information and to utilize the Team app to indicate your availability each week.
Along with this we continue to update our new website and you can order merchandise and new playing gear from there and pick up from the club: https://www.dalyellupcricket.com.au/category/all-products
I hope you have a safe and enjoyable Christmas period and I wish you well for the remainder of the season.
Regards
Rod
Rod Jones
President
Dalyellup Cricket Club
