Brentwood Cricket Club

Brentwood Cricket Club has a long history hosting their home games at the Old County Ground – a past home of Essex Cricket Club. The senior section of the club fields 6 sides in the Shepherd Neame league – the 1st, 2nd and 3rd XIs all in their respective premier divisions. The 4th XI compete in the 3rd XI league and the 5th and 6th XI compete in the 4th XI leagues. Brentwood Colts play a key role in senior cricket - the 5th and 6th XI are largely Colts development teams allowing children aged 11 and over to play senior cricket. Over 50 Colts play senior cricket each year - throughout all senior sides.

What the club offers at junior level

Youth cricket has been established for many years at Brentwood and there are now around 200 Colts members aged 5 to 16, both male and female and the section is going from strength to strength.

The club runs:

three3 U11 league teams involving children aged 8 and 11 in regular competitive cricket. One team is formed by the strongest squad available from within the age range and the other two are development teams running on a rotational basis.
two U13 league teams. One team is formed by the strongest squad available from within the age range and the other as a development team running on a rotational basis. The U13s are the current holders of the Peter Coe cup, the District cup and came joint top in the league in 2008.
one U15 side in the league and league cup but aspire to enter two teams at this age group once numbers allow. The U15s were the winners of the 2008/2009 U15 Indoor League.
one U16 side into the Matchplay competition, the final of which is played at The Ford County Ground, Chelmsford.

The club believes that it should help its members develop not just as sportsmen and women. For this reason it has begun a leadership development programme for older Colts. Young Leader courses are run for Colts aged 14 and over and the club sponsors Colts who show a real aptitude in supporting coaches through their coaching course. So far the club has 10 qualified Young Leaders, 10 Level 1 coaches and 3 Level 2 coaches all taken from the Colts section. They all support or run sessions in training periods.

As an inclusive club, BCC wants to encourage girls to participate in cricket and is working hard to establish a Women’s and girls section during 2009.

Training for Women over the age of 16 is on Monday evenings – 6:30 – 8:30
Training for girls under the age of 16 is on Thursday evenings – 6:00 – 7:30
Training for boys U14-U16 is on Thursday evenings – 6:00 – 8:00
Training for all other Colts is on Friday evenings – 6:00 – 8:00

BCC's view of youth cricket

The club believes that its younger members are an essential part of Brentwood Cricket Club and are vital to the Club’s present and future success. BCC aims to do all it can to encourage and include younger players and make them feel a valued part of the Club, irrespective of their age, gender or level of ability or length of time with the Club. It also expects that youngsters should be able to enjoy their cricket and develop their abilities to their full potential in a safe environment, free from harassment, bullying or other risks.

Priorities

The club's priorities for all aspects of youth cricket, including coaching, youth matches and adult matches involving youngsters centre on the safety and welfare of the individual and it therefore aim to:-s

Enable youngsters to enjoy the game;
Coach and encouraging younger players to help them develop their cricketing skills;
Help children to establish self-confidence, both on and off the field, and develop enthusiasm for the game of cricket.

Contact Details

Colts Chair – Julie Welham – Julie.welham@sky.com

To find out more about the club visit their website at http://www.brentwoodcc.co.uk/.