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Hello my fellow cricketers,

When joining in September as a very nervous fresher, I don’t think I could have ever imagined how big of a part cricket would play in my first-year at uni. Not only has UOLWCC allowed for me to enhance my cricketing ability, it has provided me with some of my closest friendships and most importantly introduced me to my fave place ever (literally having popworld withdrawals as I type this). On a serious note, I honestly would say cricket has made my first year in Leeds, and it would be an honour to become the development secretary of this great club and to have the opportunity to spread my passion for cricket throughout the whole of the society.

As someone who has always been surrounded by cricket, yet never been a member of a team, I have benefitted greatly from Friday night training sessions where I can’t thank enough the coaches and other members of committee for their efforts in making every single session enjoyable and engaging. A big shout out to Holly and Katie, who have made Friday nights the highlight of my week, and as a result I have noticed a huge improvement in my cricketing skills. I will now always remember to stand up straight when bowling and attack the ball in fielding drills, although I can’t quite say yet I have grasped the art of a defensive shot but don’t worry, I will be practicing all summer #nobodyisperfect #slogger.

Throughout this year, under the care and nurture of the coaching team, and other members of committee I have gained so much confidence on the pitch and because of this I have been able to make the step from beginners to advanced cricket. Therefore, I would love to have the opportunity to give back to this amazing club and become the development secretary, where I can continue to create an environment in which girls are inspired to either pick up a bat again, or try a totally new sport.

I am not only a regular at training, but I am involved in many different aspects of the club especially socially. Therefore, I would like to be that friendly face across the whole club who can encourage further participation in the cricketing aspects of our club. I understand, from first-hand experience, how daunting it is to pick up a sport again, or trying something new for the very first time. Therefore, I would like for all members, especially social members, to feel comfortable to come and give it a go, by providing an environment in which is welcoming and inclusive.

As development secretary, a key aim would be introducing a dev team into the local softball league. By doing this, it would allow for dev players to be given greater in-match opportunities providing invaluable experience for their further development. Further to this, I would like to work closely with the coaching team and 1st team captain in introducing more hard-ball experience into our Friday training sessions, allowing for dev players to get greater experience with the hard-ball game, facilitating the advancement into future UOLWCC BUCS players. However, I understand that not everyone has suitable kit so I would be keen to work with the CC and kit sec in possibly investing into more appropriate communal club equipment, providing all members with the opportunity to reach their full potential.

I would like to encourage further development for our beginners by working with the fixture sec in providing a greater number of beginner friendlies in the format of pairs cricket initially. This provides an opportunity for all players to show off their new skills learnt from training in a low-pressured environment, but as development enhances to switch to the normal format with the aim to help players advance into the development team in the local league. As someone who made the step from beginners to advanced cricket, I feel like I understand what is required for players to get to that point. So I would be keen to work alongside the coaches in helping to plan suitable training sessions in which promote this development into more advanced cricket, and with this experience be able to offer support throughout these sessions.

Thanks for reading all this but one final thing to say is that my main aim would be if I became dev sec is to make sure that everyone hits the ball with the bat , instead of kicking it (not looking at anyone particular here!).

I will always be proud to be a member of this club, forever bleeding green.

Lucy