Key dates (2024/25) are:

• • Registrations (on-line) open – 1 July 2024
  • Starting:
    • U12 – U17 – Saturday 14^th September 2024
    • U8 to U11 – Saturday 21^st September 2024
  • Holiday break – Saturday 21^st December 2024 (last game)
  • Resuming – Saturday 25^th January 2025
  • Last game & Presentations – Saturday 15^th March 2025.

The U8s to U11s play morning and occasional afternoon games.

The U12’s to U17’s play Saturday mornings between 8.30am to around 12.30 pm.

When can I register?

On-line Registrations open mid-June 2024. Be quick though to ensure your child guarantees their spot to play with their friends.

How do I register?

Register via our website – Register here

It is mandatory to wear Club playing shirts and caps / hat.

All clothing (playing shirts, training shirts, caps & hats) are bought via our website – Order merchandise here

Cricket Academy

We are excited to again offer our own Cricket Academy that has a structured Program with high quality coaches including many Premier 1^st Grade, 1^st Class and BBL cricketers.

The Academy runs for 10 weeks. No other Club offers anything like this and it will again be available exclusively to West Penno players.

What happens at the Academy

• The Academy is run over 10 weeks with a Coach / Player ratio of around 1:4
• Session details are:
  • U11 – U14:
  • U13 – U17 (Girls)
• Specialist expert Coaches /strength and conditioning experts ensure an elite experience for all Academy players
• A1 Grade and Premier 1st Grade cricketers provide specialist 1:1 coaching on a needs basis.

 Cost

$225 for a 10-week Program. This cost is well below any comparable Cricket Academy Program available – anywhere.

We can do it at this low price as we operate on a not-for-profit basis and our Club subsidises any cost shortfall so that our players can get the best coaching available at very low cost.

This season we start on Wednesday 16^th October and run weekly until Friday 06^th December 2023. After the Christmas / New Year break we finish up with 2 sessions in early February 2024.

 Participant’s feedback

A comment from a participant last season:

“The coaches are amazing! They are really good at helping improve cricket skills but they are really nice.”

 How do I register?

Please contact the person for more information and details on next steps:

• Girls – Kapil Dev on Girls email
• Junior Boys – Steve Burrows, Juniors (Mixed) email or 0478 965 255

 Free Clinics

Coaching has a big focus in our Club. Apart from having over 30 active Level 1 Coaches, we have 3 level 2 coaches. We also have a professional coaching arrangement in place that provides high quality coaching to all our junior players at no cost by Level 1 and level 2 qualified coaches who have come through our playing pathway.

A snapshot view:

• 38 teams were registered from U8s to U17s
• Our ‘Participation over Results’ policy ensures that no teams are graded and that everyone gets a ‘fair go’
• Last season we had 10 x Semi Finalists and 6 x Grand Finalists in the 5 Grades that have Finals. Congratulations to our U12; U14 & U17 Premiers
• What was especially pleasing was the cluster of teams finishing within striking distance of the Finals. In the U12’s for example, we had 3 teams in the top 4 positions and 6 Teams in the top 6 positions in a 17 Team comp.

Winning Premierships is always satisfying but a comment from a parent in our Survey of Club Members (February 2021) says it all:

“🌟Congratulations🌟 to the Club.

I have had 3 sons go thru Juniors. I have managed & scored their teams, my husband has umpired. We have had Rob & Steve always on hand for any queries (good or bad) they have gone above & beyond.🌟👏

I have always encouraged anyone thinking of getting their child to play cricket to go to WPHCCC, even Dads. I have said “it’s participation over results” they will GET a GO batting AND bowling.

As we say goodbye to Juniors we will remember the fun times, and of course the washed out semis & GF which could have been. The Tamworth carnival, Academy, Pink Stumps days, the u12 Cup victory, the many batting/bowling trophies, the scoring squabbles (😂), the funny tantrums & bat throwing, the coffee runs, gazebo putting up & downs, everything!

Such wonderful memories.

🌟THANKYOU WPHCCC🌟”

Team entrances for last season (2024/25) were:

One of the great opportunities of playing for West Penno gives is the chance to play in the Country Carnivals over the New Year. Traditionally this is reserved for Representative teams but we are privileged to be invited due to our Club size – the only Club side in NSW to have this opportunity. The Carnivals are:

• U14s Tamworth JCU Carnivals
  This was the first of our Carnivals and goes back to 2010/11. We play teams from Regions such as: Armidale, Barbarians, Tamworth, Nambucca / Belligen,
• U15 Walter Taylor Shield (Armidale)
  Teams that we play include Armidale, Northern District, Lismore, Hunter Valley and Tamworth.
• U16 Stan Austin Cup (Taree)
  The accompanying link gives an insight into how Country Associations see our Club. The link is from an NBN News Report in early January 2015:
  www.nbnnews.com.au/index.php/2014/12/26/ban-on-bouncers-at-stan-austin-cricket-carnival/

A great quote from Rob Hanich, Coach of our U14 side to Tamworth that won 4 out of 5 games in 2017 explains the experience well:

“…even more important than how the boys performed on the cricket field, is the way they bonded as a unit and became great mates and had loads of fun. I am sure there were times when they could have skipped the cricket and just headed straight to the pool. The boys didn’t all know each other before this week, but it didn’t take long. There were no ego’s, no friction, just great fun. I hope they remember this trip for a long time!”

To be eligible to play in any particular grade, a player must be under the age of the nominated age group as listed at midnight on the 31st August of that playing season.

For example: to be eligible to play U9s for the 2024/25 season, your child needs to be 8 years of age, or younger as at 31^st August 2024. To play U14’s, your child needs to be 13 years of age as at 31^st August 2024.

Each Age Division has an Age coordinator. The people looking after these important roles last season (2023/24) are:

Our Club is a strong supporter of the Cricket Australia standards where children are involved. Checkout our dedicated section of the website on Child Protection & Safety for a detailed explanation – here

Introduction

The WPHCCC has a “Participation over Results” policy in Junior Cricket – Junior Blasters, Girls and Boys. Coaches are encouraged to make sure that all players get equal amounts of batting and bowling over a full season – especially in the younger age groups.

For us, the development of cricket at a Junior level is more important than winning trophies. For our Club, success is about retaining or increasing the number of boys and girls playing cricket.

Please remember:

• children play to satisfy themselves and not adults or members of their own peer group
• cricket must be administered, taught and provided for the good of all children who want to play the game. It is their game!

 Player’s Code

• Cricket should be fun. Play because you want to.
• Play by the rules and spirit of the game
• Don’t argue with umpires. Never dispute an Umpires decision by word, gesture or action.
• Sledging other players, deliberately distracting or provoking an opponent is dumb and not good enough. This includes unnecessary noise under the guise of enthusiasm and Team motivation.
• Be a good sport; acknowledge good play, by your team and your opponent
• Bullying or taking unfair advantage of any player is not on. This includes on-field intimidation and off-field bullying by SMS and/or chat-rooms.
• Co-operate with your coach, manager, team-mates, umpires and opponents – without them you don’t have a game.

 Parent’s Code

• Parents are encouraged to actively participate wherever possible. Things like; scoring, umpiring or just being there supporting your child. Cricket, in our Club, should not be seen as a baby-sitting service. Your child will be the winner.
• Remember, children are involved in cricket for their enjoyment, not yours
• Focus on your child’s efforts and performance rather that winning or losing
• Never ridicule or yell at any child for making a mistake – it is only a game.
• Children learn best by example; applaud good play by your team and by members of the opposing team
• Derogatory comments about your own team or other players is unacceptable
• Respect Official’s decisions and teach children to do likewise. Officials are volunteers and without them, your child won’t have a game!
• Differences (gender, ability/disability, cultural) are irrelevant – treat everyone with respect and dignity.

Spectator’s Code

• Children play cricket for their own fun; they are not there to entertain you and they are not playing for sheep stations.
• Be on your best behaviour; don’t use bad language, harass players, coaches or umpires
• Show respect for the opposition, without them there would be no game – applaud good play from both teams
• Never ridicule or scold a player for making a mistake during the game
• Respect the umpire’s decision – always
• Encourage players to play within the laws and spirit of the game.

Coaches Code

• Young people participate for the fun of competing – not just the winning.
• Think about measuring your success by the number of children wanting to play next season. Win/loss ratios are forgotten about at the end of the season and are not important.
• Put things in perspective and move on after adversity – look for the learnings. It is only a game.
• Encourage lots of laughter and a sense of fun
• Make mistakes, give it a go – get involved and don’t take yourself too seriously.
• Never ridicule or yell at a younger player for making a mistake or not coming first
• Be reasonable in your demands on players’ time, energy and enthusiasm
• Sudden change – practice adapting to it. Try players in unfamiliar positions and multi-skill every player
• Operate within the rules and Spirit of Cricket and teach your players to do the same. Show control and respect to everyone involved in cricket. Encourage your players to do the same
• Avoid overplaying the talented players; all young players need and deserve equal time, attention and opportunities
• Ensure that equipment and facilities meet safety standards and are appropriate to the age and ability of players
• Consider attending a Level 0 / Level 1 Coaching course run through the Club, on behalf of Cricket NSW
• Any physical contact with a young person should be appropriate
• Praise children in public but never criticise them in front of their peers
• Give everyone a ‘fair go’ gender, ability, cultural background or religion doesn’t matter.

Umpires Code

• Act on unsporting behaviour from both sides and promote respect for all opponents
• Your behaviour and comments should be positive and supportive – you set an example
• Anyone participating as an umpire, is, according to the Laws of Cricket, deemed to be an umpire. Accordingly, there are responsibilities imposed on them by the Laws:
  • Firstly, the person must act as a qualified umpire – conducting themselves in a dignified way, give decisions in an unbiased and impartial manner and not become involved in lengthy conversations with the players on the field.
  • Secondly, the players are to show proper respect to that person and the decisions given as they would a qualified umpire.

Penalties

• People who choose to play for our Club do so knowing our expectations on behaviour. Should there be breaches of our Code the Club’s Disciplinary Committee will look at issues referred to it as necessary.

This policy has been instrumental in the development of Junior Cricket in our Club so what does it mean?

It is about providing opportunities for ALL players to participate and contribute in matches, as well as providing a positive and encouraging environment for all. This makes for a healthy ‘team culture’ and helps us to retain players year to year, a record our Club is very proud of.

This policy does not necessarily require coaches to evenly allocate overs to all bowlers nor to systematically rotate the batting order in every match, although this is an option that has been used successfully in past seasons. It is acknowledged that every team is unique. Every player has their own unique skill level, abilities, confidence level and their own personal goals. Therefore the coach needs to use their judgement and knowledge of the players and parents to provide opportunities for all players to participate, and to develop their skills over the course of the season.

Many factors need to be considered, including player safety, player ability, confidence levels, the abilities of the opposition, player availability, ambitions and goals of players and parents. Of course our Club wants to be competitive and to celebrate personal and team achievements – but not at the expense of providing an inclusive and supportive environment for all our players. We judge success by the number of children who back-up the next season.

Games are normally played on Saturday between 8.30 am and 12.00 noon – exact times vary between age groups. All games are played in the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai and Hills District. No Club has a ‘home ground’. However, WPHCCC teams are drawn to play on the local grounds on a ‘home’ and away basis.

Players are required to wear:

• white pants (shorts or long pants) – generally the in older the age groups the pants are long
• Club playing shirts are compulsory and training shirts optional – these are high quality shirts of the same material /quality used by International cricketers
• white socks
• predominantly white shoes.

Our Club offers:

• Quality coaching. We have a specialist Coaching Team with Level 2 and Level 1 qualifications. In addition we offer a 10-week Academy plus free skills Clinics that involve our specialist coaches and Premier 1st Grade, First Class & BBL players
• an annual Year Book
• annual Team Photos
• Umpire Training courses
• Coaching Certificate courses
• Finally, we offer a Club culture that embraces a ‘Participation over Results’ policy where everyone gets a fair go and has been recognised at NSW and Australian awards.