It doesn’t seem three months since the season got underway – perhaps because it rained all the way through May – but now here we are: summer holidays on the horizon, and the term-time coaching programme wrapped up.

Thank you very much for your support this season; it has been fantastic to see so many children at the club on Mondays and Fridays, and also to play so many fixtures throughout the season across the age groups.

Despite cancellations, weather postponements (and a lack of urgency from many opponents to re-arrange these games), more than 50 children have played softball games this season, many of them making their debut for TCC.

The hardball teams have enjoyed a very successful season on the pitch, too, with the U11 A side unbeaten to date, demonstrating some excellent squad depth in recent weeks with many younger players stepping up into the A side.

Some of these opportunities came about through regular U11 players being part of the U13 A squad, who won the Ron Maudsley County Cup for the first time in the club’s history, qualifying for the ECB National T20 competition, and also winning Pool 7 of the Oxfordshire League.

The Under 15 side just missed out on winning their own pool – despite beating eventual winners Aston Rowant – but having not fielded a side at this age group for a number of years, it has been a very encouraging return to competition, and many of these junior players are also playing regular senior cricket for the 2nd XI and 3rd Xi on Saturday afternoons.

We were also able to run B teams, playing pairs cricket, at U11 and U13 level for the the first time this summer, and the breadth of opportunities available meant we could continue to offer regular cricket to a large number of players.

We do intend to continue to offer fixtures through the summer, including hardball friendly matches for our girls’ teams thanks to the efforts of Ed Stapley, so please do keep an eye on the fixture spreadsheet and WhatsApp group, please ask if you need access or to join the group.

Summer Academy

After the success of our Easter Academy sessions, we will be offering the following group coaching sessions during the summer. All sessions need to be booked online (first-come, first-served) through the ClubPay portal (£15/£30 for half/full days) and are currently limited to 16 players in any one session.

Those attending the hardball sessions (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) should have prior experience playing hardball cricket and be confident batting and fielding against the leather ball. “New to Hardball” on Tuesday is aimed at children who would like to progress to hardball cricket next summer and full hardball kit is not required (although boys will need a box to be able to bat).

Beginners Softball sessions are aimed at children in Year 1 to Year 3, including those who have completed AllStars this season. If you are unsure which sessions would suit your child, please do get in touch and ask.

One-to-One Training

If you are interested in arranging one-to-one training sessions during the summer holiday, please contact me directly to arrange a suitable time. These sessions carry a suggested donation to the club of £15 per hour.

Neil Pickup
Head of Youth Cricket, Tiddington CC