New Norfolk cricket junior development report

Josh Walsh

ANOTHER successful season has come to an end for the New Norfolk Cricket Club's junior teams. Only a couple of weeks before the start of the season, it looked like we were going to struggle for numbers, with the Under 13s having only five players and the Under 16s not having much more. When the season started however, the 13s ended up with 12 players and the 16s had 13 players, which was an amazing effort.

As the club's junior development officer, I don't base success on wins and losses. Although winning is great, I get joy out of seeing kids improve and becoming more confident in their ability.

In the Under 13s, we had an extremely young side, with seven-year-old Tate Browning being our youngest player. I was proud to coach these boys and witness their continued improvement. I was proud of how much our team encouraged each other, which stood out especially when Cameron McMaster and Cale Browning both had operations during the season and were ruled out for the last few games but continued to support the boys by attending the games, which showed awesome character. The boys were well captained by Jordon Gittus, who showed great leadership. I'd like to thank all the parents who helped me during the year. In particular I'd like to thank Craig McMaster for all his of help and Jamie Hill for everything he does for this club.

Josh Rowlands

The Under 16s were coached by Josh Rowlands who did a fantastic job. After losing captain Nathan Rice for six weeks early on due to his appendix, the boys had to find players to stand up in his place. During the season, they had numerous highlights and every player performed well at different stages. Thirteen-year-old Jye Bearman had a fantastic year, averaging 40-plus runs and bowling and wicket keeping very well. It was awesome to see so many of these players playing men's cricket this at different times, which furthered their development. Josh would like to thank everyone who helped him this year and hopes these boys stick together.

Six sides from New Norfolk and Gretna participated in the T20 Blast this year.  Thanks to Leigh Berry and Trent Mayne for helping me with this and well done to all the kids who participated.

The future of Derwent Valley cricket looks bright, with a heap of young players coming through. I look forward to being the JDO next year for New Norfolk and seeing the continued improvement of the kids.

JOSH WALSH

Under 13 Awards - Rising star: Jordon Gittus; Runner up: Jordan George. Most improved: Jakob QuarrellCoaches award: Jack Morgan.

Under 16 Awards - Best and Fairest: Jye Bearman; Runner up: Nathan Rice. Coaches award: Cody Morgan. Most improved: Dylan Browning.

New Norfolk Cricket Club junior players and officials at their trophy
presentations at Tynwald Park recently.