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The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Mar 23, 2016

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Page 1: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014
Page 2: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014
Page 3: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

3

Contents

Grassroot Media ContactsTwitter @grassrootmedia Facebook.com/grassrootmedia

LinkedIn search for Matthew Court

Office telephone number 0800 8 20 21 22 or 01992 27 44 27

Mathew Court’s email address [email protected]

5 MD’s Letter

9 JMN Sports

Exclusive football deals for member clubs

10 Environmental Sustainability For Clubs

Andy Carmichael from www.sustainablecricket.com

writes about how being sustainable can benefit clubs

in more ways than one

12 The Grassroot Cricket & Football Groundsman

Ian Avery talks us through what can be done on the

cricket square and now football pitch too this month

15 Cricket Club Corner

Nick Begy from Oakham Cricket Club

17 ESU Scoreboards

Scoreboard offers for member clubs

18 Player Fitness with Isaiah Barratt

Isaiah looks at coming up with a fitness programme

for footballers but also transfer to cricketers

21 Owzat Insurance

Cricket club insurance from Owzat Insurance - peace

of mind guaranteed

22 Sports Psychology with David Harrison

Get some tips to change the way you think about the

game – this month mental imagery and rehearsal

25 Twitter Directory

See which clubs are where on Twitter – if you’d like

to be added talk to Mat Court

26 Grassroot Trophies

A new launch from Grassroot giving clubs great

deals on those usually expensive awards & trophies –

our range comes in at over 30% off RRP with free

engraving included

27 Sponsor A Local Club

A new idea from us to help clubs get more coverage

and awareness for their sponsorship opportunities

from local businesses

27 Club Funding News

A new section each month giving you info on

fundraising schemes we’ve found out about

32 Match Minutes FC

A great (and free) app that helps you tweet live

updates on your club’s games.

32 Alpha Bet

A new risk-free way for your club to make money

out of being an agent for a brand new book maker

32 Flooding

A piece showing you what went on over here during

the recent flooding

36 Cricket Coaching with Andrew Beaven

Andrew tells us what we need to know about winter

nets and how we can make the more effective

42 Grassroot Teamwear

If your cricket club is looking for new playing shirts

you probably won’t be able to find them this cheap

anywhere else

45 VS Cricket

A great new cricketing social media tool for clubs,

players, members and fans

47 Colin Smith

Colin is back to give you details on some interesting

loopholes/ideas – this time it’s all about his

experiences running events – some great top tips!

50 easyfundraising.org

Easy & cost-free way to raise club funds

Page 4: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

If you would like to find out more about what we do at

Grassroot Media:

Go to our website www.grassrootmedia.com

Call 0800 8 20 21 22 or 01992 27 44 27

Email [email protected]

Be part of the team...

We make money for football and cricket clubs

by putting frames up in changing rooms, selling

the space and then paying a rent for you letting

us do it.

It is easy, does not cost the clubs a penny and

all you have to do is take a photo each month

of the posters once you’ve changed them (we

send them out in the post to you).

Page 5: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Water, water everywhere. That seems to have been the story over the last

few weeks and it also takes up a large chunk of the magazine this month.

First off I have to say my thoughts are with everyone who has been

affected at all by the flooding across the country. There doesn’t seem to

be a region that’s not been hit in some way shape or form and there are

some truly awful tales and photo’s doing the rounds. It’s obviously sad

when a club or business is hit but nothing compared to what people who

have had their homes flooded have been through, or are still going

through.

In this month’s issue we’ve got some shameless plugs for our new trophy

service. We’ve done a few quotes for clubs already and the savings are

pretty good with the range coming in at over 30% off RRP so hopefully

you can see why I’m trying to get the message out to people about it.

Editorially we’ve got some great content from the Secret Non-League

Footballer, a very relevant piece on sustainable sports clubs, a couple of

new fundraising ideas to kick off a new club fundraising news section and

plenty more from our regular contributors. I especially like David’s piece

on mental imagery and Isaiah’s article on planning a fitness programme.

And Colin Smith gives us some more great tips on how to run events.

Happy reading,

Mat Court - MD 5

The MD’s

Letter

Page 6: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

The Secret

Non-League

Footballer

Boyd buoyed

after ‘failed’

medical

As luck goes, George Boyd was

undoubtedly short of it when he

failed a medical in January 2013

and his proposed move from

Peterborough United to

Nottingham Forest fell through due

to an inconclusive eye test.

OK, people within the game are

fully aware that this “inconclusive

eye test” was more down to politics

Each month we print an article from the excellent Secret Footballer

website – you can see more at www.thesecretfootballer.com

behind closed doors at Forest. The

phrase “utter bullshit” is what

springs readily to mind.

Subsequently, the deal collapsed,

as the then Forest manager Alex

McLeish wanted to sign the player

but the board pulled the plug and

didn’t back their gaffer.

Heartbreaking for any player.

Boyd had to return to his parent

club, devastated, embarrassed and

now labelled with a dodgy eye,

contrary to his fine form in front of

goal.

“... People say that

things happen for a

reason – in this case,

for the better...”

6

Page 7: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

People say that things happen for a

reason – in this case, for the better.

Boyd later signed on loan with Hull

City for the remainder of the

season and he helped the club

earn promotion back to the

Premier League. He then joined

them on a permanent basis and is

enjoying himself in the Premier,

having previously played in non-

league.

Maybe the medical that he “failed”

was a blessing in disguise.

As medicals go, they all depend on

what the physiotherpist at that

specific club is like. I have had

three medicals in my career. One of

them was pretty much non-existent.

In fact, the physio performed a few

movements with my legs, which

looked somewhat robotic, then

winked at me and said: “You’ve

passed, mate! Go get the

paperwork signed.”

On the other hand, I was at one

club where it didn’t go so smoothly.

I had agreed personal terms and

entered the physio’s room to

undergo the medical when, halfway

through his examination, he left the

room without saying anything and

returned ten minutes later with the

manager.

“... I began to sink

into a shell and had

heart palpitations...”

I won’t forget the feeling when they

both came in. I began to sink into a

shell and had heart palpitations; I

knew that they were about to give

me bad news. The physio had

diagnosed my hernia slightly out of

place and said that I would require

surgery.

Therefore, under his rules, I didn’t

pass the medical. The cost of an

operation was out of their budget

so I left the club feeling deflated.

Nightmare.

Not every club in non-league have

medicals but, when a player is

brought in to sign, generally the

bigger clubs perform these

examinations – especially when

they are securing a player on a

longer contract or if there has been

a transfer fee for him.

I know one particular club in non-

league that signed a well-known

and experienced player. And this

player used his experience

extremely well. He was drafted in

on a long-term contract on big

wages and he passed his medical.

Web: thesecretfootballer.com Twitter: @tsfnonleague

Facebook: /TSFootballer

Page 8: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

However, he was fully aware that he

had an existing injury, which had

prevented him from playing in the

past and was, in fact, career

threatening.

“...It was rumoured

the player had an

injection beforehand,

to pass the

medical...”It didn’t stop him signing his

contract … and he went on to make

not one appearance for the club!

It was rumoured that the player had

had an injection beforehand, in

order to pass the medical, which he

did. However, this wasn’t

acknowledged until further down

the line when he required surgery

after specialists had confirmed the

previous damage.

He had been caught out but with no

evidence, just an indication and

hint from the medical team when

they finally put two and two

together. It was later established

that the player had signed the

paperwork before any medical was

undertaken; therefore, he had done

no wrong.

Other than conning a big club for a

big contract.

Web: thesecretfootballer.com

Twitter: @tsfnonleague

Looking for:

TROPHIES

AWARDS

MEDALS

SHIELDS

SALVERSAnd want 30-40% off RRP?

And free engraving?

And free centre caps?

Go to grassroottrophies.com

Or email Mat at Grassroot Media

on [email protected]

Page 10: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Why Is Sustainability

Relevant?

In the last 45 years every region of

the UK has witnessed increased

heavy precipitation as a proportion

of winter rainfall, whereas in

summer it has decreased for all

regions except North East England

and North Scotland (UKCIP 2011).

Extremes of weather increase the

likelihood of flooding and drought.

Rising populations and developing

nations demand greater volumes of

fossil fuels and the ease and safety

of extracting them can be difficult

to ensure. Between now and 2037

the UK population is projected to

grow by 9.6 million (Office for

National Statistics 2012). As UK

owned oil and gas resources

decline there will be greater

pressure on UK consumers from

rising and more volatile prices

(DECC 2010).

The need to adapt the way energy

is considered and utilised is

evident.

Yet the UK consumption of fossil

fuels has increased from 147.5

million tonnes of oil equivalent

(mtoes) in 1990 to 155.0 mtoes in

2008 (ONS 2011). Resources are

under pressure in ways never

before experienced.

At the same time participation in 19

of Sport England's funded sports

(including football, cricket and

rugby union) is down on a

comparison of once per week

involvement (Oct 2012-Oct 2013

compared against Apr 2012 - Apr

2013). Swimming, athletics and

cycling are England's most popular

sports. The direct income from

purely playing (memberships,

match fees, etc) will not cover the

operating costs of hosting the

activity in many cases. The

rationale for doing nothing and

expecting grass based sports to

pay for themselves simply does not

make sense.

Andy Carmichael from www.sustainablecricket.com gives us more food for

thought on sustainability and grassroots sport.

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Page 11: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

11

“...The Environment

Agency clearly faces

an enormous task...”

The Environment Agency clearly

faces an enormous task and

provides numerous resources for

people to help themselves with

pre-emptive action. Mapping on

the EA website

http://maps.environment-

agency.gov.uk/ can highlight areas

of particular risk.

Their free alert service can warn of

conditions and a free to download

flood planner is available

alongside a community group

flood policy pack.

In recognising the very real threat

to the existence of some of our

facilities Sport England now

carries a set of guidance

documents appropriate to sports

clubs, well worth viewing;

http://sportengland.org/facilities-

planning/tools-guidance/flood-

guidance/

You can find out more about Andy’s

work in sustainability on his

website www.

sustainablecricket.com

One recommendation noted from

the various club audits I have

conducted is that awareness and

planning for flood events needs to

improve.

In the event there is perhaps very

little that can be done to combat

the kind of extremes of weather we

have seen once they overwhelm

defences but if they are to become

a more recognisable feature of the

climate of the UK clubs need to be

prepared to minimise the damage

done. Flood policies should be a

standard feature of a club's

documentation, with a clear set of

guidelines as to what should be

done, when and by whom. No one

is suggesting some sort of King

Canute act, please always consider

safety when dealing with both

flooding and the aftermath, but

measures such as moving

machinery to a location where it

may not suffer damage, regular

inspection of any drainage outlets,

and simply being aware of the

likelihood of occurrence can be

achieved.

“...Flood policies

should be a standard

feature of a club’s

documentation...”

Page 12: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

The Grassroot

Football & Cricket

Groundsman

Cricket: Fun in

February?

As the wet weather is in no hurry to

depart and some parts of the

country have been under water for

over a month I thought I’d give you

a few ideas what you can do once

the water subsides.

Unfortunately if your ground has

been flooded for over a month

there is little chance that the grass

plants will of survived and

reseeding once the surface has

been cleared of rubbish and

spiked to allow air back into the

profile is your only option

hopefully none or only a very few

will be in that situation.

For the rest of us once the water

has cleared and you can walk on it

without getting stuck or damaging

the surface you need to remove all

debris and open up the surface. For

outfields you can use a tractor

mounted spiker, if you can beg

borrow or hire one on the square,

either a sorrel roller or a light

forking without lifting the surface. If

you’re happy your ground wont dry

out to quickly you can spike the

square in February however if it

dries out quickly you will have

cracks across the square not good.

Please wait until you can do this

work without damaging the

surface.

“...The grass will

need a feed after all

this wet weather...”

The grass will also need a feed

after all this wet weather and again

moss may be an issue so a low

nitrogen fertiliser with iron is ideal.

Ian Avery, Head of Grounds at Sutton Valence School talks you through what can be

done in February for the 2014 season for both football and cricket groundstaff

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Page 13: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

13

Football: Winter

Pitches

As this nightmare winter continues

and the pressure mounts to get

matches played on sodden pitches

what can we do to help the pitch?

Firstly don’t drive any machinery

on it where you can see the tracks

or bring up water.

“...what can we do to

help the pitch?...”

Get the trusty fork out and fork

around the goal mouths and other

hard-wear areas adding sand if you

have the money and a few bodies

to give you a hand.

Line marking can be very difficult

if you use a wheel to wheel

machine this is when the battery

powered jet marker comes into its

own, maybe the time to ask the

treasurer for some spending

money is now. If you have a private

school or large sports club nearby

they may be willing to lend you

one.

As we get into March and the

season will be extending further

and further it may be worth

spending some money on a couple

Once you can work on the square

and before starting any preseason

rolling it’s a good idea to square

the square even if like me you mark

the corners with pegs etc. It’s worth

measuring the diagonals just to

check there has been no

movement, they should be the

same, give or take a little, to allow

for tape stretch.

If you haven’t done this before

stretch a line of 22 yards at the top

of your square then at one end run

a line at right angles to the end of

your square.

Run a tape along the top line to 3m

and put in a peg, run a tape down

the side line and measure to 4m a

put in a peg, now measure between

the two pegs they should measure

5m if not adjust the lines I would

start with the side line.

Once this is achieved you have a

right angle repeat at the other

three corners, place a peg at each

corner measure the diagonals they

should be the same.

This now gives you a square also

the correct distance between the

stumps and when you come to

mark in pitches they will line up

square. I mark in ten yard gaps to

give me the exact width of a pitch.

Here’s to some drier weather in

March and April.

Page 14: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

14

When the weather does turn in

March a general turf fertiliser will

help boost the grass health

improve the look of the pitch and

help recovery, a lot of the natural

goodness in soils will have been

leached away during this winter

and the grass will have a yellow

colour to it.

Avoid fertilising when frost is

forecast and of course the fertiliser

needs watering-in if no rain (I know

not likely) after 3 days.

The surface would also benefit

from opening up with a spiker if

you have the equipment available

this will help the grass recover and

help drainage if the weather

worsens.

“...Rolling should be

avoided...”

Rolling should be avoided as this

compresses the surface sealing it

up reducing the water/air

exchange and can cause certain

weeds to thrive including Plantigo

major. If the pitch is uneven

because of divots etc. use a chain

harrow this will level lumps out

without serious damage.

Good luck to you all,

Ian

of bags of seed and just before

weekend matches spread the seed

over the worse areas this is a cheap

way of pushing the seed into the

soil and covering it. Again, if you

can spread some sand over the

seeded areas after the match this

will help even more. This is a cheap

way of semi renovating your pitch if

you can’t afford the full works in the

off season.

“...When the weather

does turn a general

turf fertiliser will help

boost grass health...”

Page 15: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Nick Begy, Chairman at Oakham Cricket Club of Oakham

in Rutland, Leicestershire

15

Cricket

Club CornerTell us a bit about your club... what

do you do, where are you, which

leagues, how many members etc...

Oakham CC are in the newly

restructured Leicestershire and

Rutland League, with teams in Div 3

and 7, plus a Sunday Team in the

Rutland League 3. We also run a

junior programme for over 200

kids from U7s up to Colts. We also a

midweek and social side.

Oakham is the County town of

Rutland, the country's smallest

county.

Have you had any famous players

pull on the shirt?

We have a number of current

county players who have turned

out for OCC, but I suppose our big

claim to fame was when Jonny

Bairstow and Jo Root knocked off

over 400 runs in a day to beat

Durham in a 2nd XI game at OCC,

with Jonny Bairstow beating the

single highest score at the ground

of 201, scored by 16 year old Jamie

McCormack only the week before.

Tell us something interesting about

your club...

Our proudest claim is that we have

been voted the 2nd best ground for

pitch, outfield and facilities in

Leicestershire and Rutland for the

last 3 seasons.

Who does what at the club to do

with revenue generation/

sponsorship?

Most of our revenue goes in to 2

projects. Primarily juniors where

we fund coaching and equipment

and it is an area we are really

proud of.

The other side is our ground, and

what is a batting paradise.

Page 16: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

16

Have you got any advice for other

clubs in our network looking to be

more successful when it comes to

generating funds?

We have had success in a number

of areas. I think the clear strategy is

to have a story to sell to potential

sponsors. You have to be clear how

you can benefit the sponsor, and

show that you have a development

plan as a club. Get sponsors

involved and feel part of your Club.

Be clear on how you will broadcast

their brand, such as email, Twitter

followers, Facebook and off page

advertising such as the ground.

Also you have to show how your

members will support their

business

I think the other thing we have

found, is with limited volunteers

focus the effort on to events that

make the big money. We focus on

one main event making nearly £4k

profit. Plus when looking to recruit

volunteers look for them to run one

event, not a small group running

many. This really does spread the

load.

What do you find is the best

approach to getting advertisers

and sponsors in and around the

club?

Use their business. Follow them on

social media. Plus just invite them,

give them an incentive to turn up,

like a lunch and watch a game.

We have also found sponsorship in

kind works well, such as meat from

a butcher. Even large multiples like

Tesco are happy to support you but

again with goods.

Have you had particular success in

selling to particular markets?

Local businesses and in particular

pubs and restaurants, as it is easy

to reciprocate the sponsorship by

using their business and running

events with them.

Are you involved in any other

sports? Is there anything our clubs

can learn from clubs outside of

cricket and football?

I also coach rugby, and the

principles are the same. The one

thing I have learned from rugby is

getting sponsors involved in the

club where they then buy in to the

Club at a far higher level.

Have you got a Twitter page our

other clubs can make contact with

you on?

We use this alot, and try to help

anyone that asks. Indeed we used

Twitter contacts (Thanks Dave at

Langwith CC) to build our web site.

Our Twitter account is

@OakhamCricket

Page 18: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

In his player fitness column this month, Isaiah Barratt looks at long term training

plans. While aimed at footballers, a lot is transferable to cricket fitness.

Player Fitness

Isaiah Barratt

Hello and welcome back, I cannot

believe it is February already! Over

the Christmas and New Year period

I hope you found my advice and

tips helpful but now it’s back to the

reality of hard training and constant

healthy eating.

So this month I am going to cover

why it is important for an athlete to

have a recovery phase and why this

might benefit you during these few

bad months of weather conditions.

So to start with ‘Periodization’ is the

term we use for a training plan with

is divided into periods of training.

This is then linked together with

progressive training designed to

permit an athlete to peak at a time

in which there want to achieve their

specific goal. A Periodization tend

to have 4 phases to the training

plan consisting on base building,

sharpening, competition and then

finally rest and recovery phase

before you then start the cycle

again.

On the next page you’ll see an

example of a Periodization chart,

when creating your own suit it best

to your needs and be willing to

change and adapt it to sudden

occurrences such as bad weather

which could cause postponed

matches.

A lot of athletes know that getting

enough rest after vigorous amounts

of exercise is essential for any

high-level performances yet so

many of them still over train and

feel guilty when they miss a day or

two when they take a day off. Which

is when the body is simply

repairing and strengthening itself

between workouts, so by

overtraining by continuously

training every day you then

actually weaken the muscles which

then leads to injuries.

18

Page 19: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

There are two types of recovery to

think about, ‘Short’ and ‘Long’ term

recovery, which I will tell you a bit

of both. The short term recovery is

immediate recovery from a

particularly intense training

session, sometimes called active

recovery which occurs in the hours

immediately after intense training.

It refers to engaging in low

intensity exercise after workouts

during both cool down phase

straight after your intense exercise

as well as the days following this

intense workout.

Both types of active recovery are

linked with performance benefits

but don’t forget another major

factor to remember after training

and that is to replenish your energy

Rest days are important to any

sport athlete for many reasons,

some of those reasons are

physiological and others

psychological. Rest is physically

necessary for the muscles to repair

themselves, rebuild and

strengthen. In the worst of

scenarios too few rest days can

lead to overtraining syndrome

which is when your performances

actually decrease due to lack of

recovery to the body. Symptoms

and signs of overtraining to look

out for are:

• Feeling of general malaise

• Staleness

• Depression

• Decreased sporting

performance levels

Page 20: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Long term recovery refers to those

that are built in to a seasonal

training program such as

footballers. Most well designed

training program schedules will

have recovery days and weeks

which is built into an annual

program. This is also why coaches

and athletes change their training

programs throughout the year to

adapt their changes whether it is

intensity, distance, time or any

other training variable.

Here are some recovery tips:

• Replace fluids; water supports

every metabolic function and

nutrient transfer

• Eat properly after to refuel your

body - ideally within 60 minutes

• Stretch

• Rest

• Perform active recovery

• Have a massage

• Have a cold ice bath: helps

reduce the chance of DOMS

(delayed onset muscle soreness)

setting in

• Get high quality sleep

• Avoid overtraining

Thank you for reading this month’s

article I hope it is of some use to

you and your training. Or not

training! Depends if you choose to

have a recovery week due to his

terrible weather were having.

I look forward to writing for you

next month.

Isaiah Barratt

Personal trainer, Train4Health

stores. With the loss of fluid during

training you need to replenish

these stores and optimise protein

synthesis which is simply the

process of increasing the protein

content of muscle cells that

prevents your muscles from

breaking down and decreasing in

size by eating the rights foods in a

post-exercise meal. This is the time

in which soft tissue such as

tendons, ligaments and muscles

start to repair and the removal of

chemicals that build up as the

result of cell activity.

Always be aware that an efficient

amount of sleep is needed as part

of a short term recovery, but

especially when doing hard

training. One or two night’s poor

sleep won’t have much of an effect

or impact on your performance but

consistently lacking efficient

amounts of sleep can result in

subtle changes in your hormone

levels. Especially those related to

stress, mood or muscle recovery!

No one really understands the

complexities of sleep but research

indicates that sleep deprivation

can lead to increased levels of

cortisol (which is the stress

hormone), decreased levels of

human growth hormone that is

active during tissue repair, and

some research shows a decrease in

glycogen synthesis, aerobic

endurance and increased ratings of

perceived exertion.20

Page 21: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

TO BE DONE

Page 22: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

David Harrison from Pinnacle Performance looks at imagery and mental rehearsal

to help your players rehearse their sport in their minds.

Sports

psychology

Imagery &

Mental

Rehearsal

We continue our look at all things

sport psychology and today we

looking at imagery and mental

rehearsal. I work on this with my

athletes as all athletes will do this

to differing levels. Imagery or

mental rehearsal refer to creating

an experience in the mind of the

athlete. So Imagery is a form of

simulation and is similar to a real

sensory experience but occurs

entirety in the mind (Weinberg and

Gould, 1999). Mental Rehearsal is

about rehearsing your sport in your

mind.

Imagery/Mental Rehearsal can be

used to:

• Improve concentration

• Build confidence

• Control emotional response

• Acquire and practice skills

• Acquire and practice strategy

• Cope and recover with injury

As an athlete You want to aim for,

and get into your image as many

senses and feelings (positive and

negative) as possible. The senses

are vision, sound, smell, feel, and

how your body feels when it

completes an action. To improve

your ability to mentally rehearse

start by rehearsing something like

peeling an orange or putting your

feet into icy water or even better

something familiar like your

bedroom.

For example

See your bedroom and its contents

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Page 23: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

23

senses and feelings in there as

possible. Make these senses and

feelings realistic.

When you are comfortable in a

sport specific image you need to

work on the key elements of

successful imagery.These are:

Vividness

Make sure you use all the senses

and feelings in there. A good way

to think of this is to think of

watching a 3D film. If you take the

glasses off you get a blurry image.

The image you create should be

with your glasses on. Brilliant,

clear, vivid. Work on recreating as

closely as possible the event and if

you are having problems go back

to practicing on things that are

familiar (like your bedroom).

“...the image you

create should be

brilliant, clear,

vivid...”

Controllability

Ensure the images do what you

want them to. You want to work on

controlling the rehearsal. Have fun

with this. Can you make yourself

superfast? Can you make the

goalkeeper small and the net

bigger? Play around with this.What

and where they are in relation to

each other. Hear your favourite

music playing from your iPod

docking station, what other sounds

are there and you can hear in the

room? What does your room smell

like? What does the carpet feel like

on your feet? How do you feel when

you are in your room?

“...it is important to

get a good, clear,

controllable image...”

Be aware of the different types of

types of Imagery/Mental

Rehearsal.They are:

• Internal – imagining the

execution of a skill from your

own vantage point. Like Call of

Duty on the Playstation.

• External – perspective of an

external observer. Like Grand

Theft Auto on the Playstation.

Athletes switch between the 2

types so be aware of which you as

an athlete prefer. What is more

important is to get a good, clear,

controllable image (more on this

later).

Once you are comfortable with

rehearsing something familiar

move onto sport specific

rehearsing. Again get as many

Page 24: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

works for you? Work on controlling

image will ensure you see what you

want to accomplish instead of

seeing errors.

To mentally rehearse start by doing

it for 10 minutes in the morning

and 10 minutes before you go to

sleep. Ensure you are comfortable,

relaxed and have no distractions.

Once you have done this do it on

the bus, in the car to training and

slowly increase the time you spend

doing it. Your body will think it is

doing the skill and you might feel

your muscles twitch. This is normal

as you can ‘lie’ to your body

through mental rehearsal!

Overall imagery is a powerful

technique to develop and can be

the difference between a player

that doesn’t make it and one that

does. If you have any comments

about the article then I would be

happy to hear them. Contact me via

email at

[email protected] and

visit my website

www.pinnacleperformance.co.uk

for more information on sport

psychology.

Looking for:

TROPHIES

AWARDS

MEDALS

SHIELDS

SALVERSAnd want 30-40% off RRP?

And free engraving?

And free centre caps?

Go to grassroottrophies.com

Or email Mat at Grassroot Media

on [email protected]

Page 25: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

25

Twitter

Directory

Birmingham County FA: @birminghamfa

Bosham FC: @boshamfc

Bronze CC: @bronzecc

Clifton CC: @cliftoncricket

Clifton CC ground: @cliftonccdevt

Crawley Down Gatwick Football Club:

@officialcdgfc

Epping CC: @eppingcc

Gateshead Fell CC: @gatesheadfellcc

Hailsham Cricket Club: @hailshamcc

Lodway CC: @lodwaycc

Marsden CC: @cuckooscricket

Old Parkonians Association: @oldparks

Old Parkonians FC: @oldparksfc

Parkfield Amateur AFC: @parkfieldafc

South Loughton CC: @southloughtoncc

Southgate Compton CC: @sccricketclub

Stapleton CC: @stapletoncc

Steeple Langford CC: @steeplelangford

Sussex County FA: @sussexcountyfa

Thaxted CC: @thaxtedcc

Tynedale CC: @tynedalecc

Westinghouse CC: @westinghousecc

Whickham CC: @whickhamcc

Winterbourne CC: @winterbournecc

Woodnesborough FC: @woodiesfc

Worlington CC: @worlingtoncc

Worthing FC @worthing_fc

List your club’s Twitter account in here so everyone else can get following you. Only those clubs that are members of the network like yours are allowed on this list. To get listed just drop Mat a note at [email protected] or on Twitter @grassrootmediaGrassroot Media recommends:@birminghamfa@fvhtweets@sussexcountyfa@meadonscricket@4grants@chance2shine@vscricketsn

Page 26: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Here’s a bit of background on our newest idea. It’s a trophy shop called Grassroot

Trophies. See what we’re talking about here: www.grassroottrophies.com

Grassroot Trophies: A

New Way To Save Money

Trophies,

awards, medals,

salvers, shields

at 33% off RRP

A while ago a club came to me and

asked if I could find them a

discount on trophies. They were

spending hundreds of pounds a

year on trophies & medals and

didn’t think they were getting a

great deal. I thought I did a great

job finding a retailer that gave us a

7.5% discount off their prices, but

now I’ve found out we can do much,

much better than this.

After visiting the Trophex

exhibition at Birmingham NEC last

month I found out a little about how

the trophy business works and

have come up with a new business

model with one of the biggest

Trophy manufacturers/distributors

that sees us being able to offer big

discounts against their RRP’s while

at the same time offering free

engraving and centre caps, which

most places charge for. The

delivery is expensive if it’s a small

order as it’s a flat fee of £9 or so but

this covers you up to 20kg so

there’s value in it if it’s more than a

few trophies being ordered. Even if

it’s a very small order we’re still

cheaper than most places, but if it’s

more than two or three awards or

trophies I’ve not seen any one else

in the market offering these kinds

of prices.

I’ve built a website in my spare

time (well, while the missus was

watching Big Brother) and it’s all up

and running now. Each night I add

more trophies to the product range

but if you don’t see what you’re

looking for please drop me an

email and we’ll come back with

some options not yet on the site.

Thanks, Mat Court.26

Page 27: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

A quick update on an idea I’ve had to help you sell sponsorship and advertising in

your clubs to local firms. I’ve imaginatively called it ‘Sponsor A Local Club’...

Use grassrootmedia.com to

showcase your sponsorship

opportunities

We’re very much in to the

sponsorship season for cricket

clubs with a lot of you putting

yourselves out there to local

businesses.

While this is great I know how

difficult it can be and that any help

you can get is, well, help.

I’ve had an idea for a page on the

website to give you some support,

there’s not much I can do from this

office for you, but this is something.

It’s free for everyone to use, and

doesn’t take me any time to run (all

I do is copy and paste what you

send) it doesn’t cost me anything

either.

The plan is for us build up a

selection of club sponsorship

opportunities from all over the

country – I can then push this page

via social media with a view to

getting local businesses going on

there and looking for clubs to

sponsor in their area. I have no

idea if it will work, I doubt it will

bring anything in at the moment as

there is only one opportunity on

there, but have a look, see what you

think and if you’d like to give it a go

drop me an email on

[email protected] with

the relevant details (if you copy

and paste and then amend the

entry that’s on there already that

will do the job).

It’s not going to drastically change

the way you do your selling, but it

might just bring a couple of quid in

for one of you – I can see it being

useful once it’s got more entries on

there.

And remember, it’s free – the

businesses will be dealing with you

directly, not me so there’s no need

for Grassroot Media to take a

commission or make any £ from it.

Cheers, Mat Court.27

Page 28: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Each month we’re going to find a scheme, grant, competition or anything else that

we think could benefit our clubs and write about it. As it’s our first month here’s two

Club Funding

News

Think You Know

The Worst

Football Pitch In

The Country?

Then “Pitch To

Win”

A nationwide search is underway

to find the worst football pitch in

mainland Britain.

Briggs & Stratton, one of the world’s

leading producers of petrol lawn

mower engines, has re-launched its

Pitch to Win competition that offers

a £3000 pitch makeover to the

worst football playing surface in

Britain.

The engine company is calling

upon all under 18 amateur

footballers, both girls and boys, to

nominate their pitch if they think

that it is in drastic need of

improvement.

The winning team shall receive not

only the new pitch but also

sponsorship throughout the

2014/2015 season and a new team

kit. Runners up will win a £500

boost for the club kitty as well as

sponsorship and a new team kit.

First ran in 2008, Briggs & Stratton

has re-launched the competition to

help support health initiatives and

to get children active.

Ian Small, UK sales and marketing

manager at Briggs & Stratton, said:

“Pitch to Win was very popular

when it first ran. We received a

fantastic amount of entries and

were shocked at some of the

conditions of pitches in the UK.

28

Page 29: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

”With health and obesity warnings

in the UK on the increase,

particularly for children, it is

becoming imperative that playing

facilities improve to help raise

fitness levels nationwide. Not only

that but a successful local football

club really enhances a community.

We want to really highlight the

importance of local football clubs,

and the significant contribution

that they make to their community.”

The Pitch to Win judging panel

consists of a variety of experts

including representatives from

Briggs & Stratton, experienced

groundsmen, and a selection of turf

and football journalists.

To enter the competition and to

find out more information please

visit

http://www.pitchtowin.org.uk/. You

can also follow the competition on

Twitter (@Pitch_ToWin) or search

on Facebook.

The deadline for the competition is

Friday 28 March 2014.

277

If you know of a cricket

or football club that you

think could host our

panels, please feel free

to tell them about us and

what we do.

We are also on the look

out for leagues that want

to spread the word of

Grassroot Media so

again, if you know any

then please ask them to

get in touch, the more

clubs we have on board,

the easier it is to sell to

advertisers and the more

money we can make for

each club.

www.grassrootmedia.com

Tel: 0800 8 20 21 22

Mob: 07795 49 59 69

Email:

[email protected]

Page 30: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

donate between £250 - £500

directly to that team.

A local youth side are about to

benefit from our initiative.

Northfield Town U11’s who play in

the CWYFL, were approached by

Mark who spoke to their Manager

Stephen Glenn. Steve embraced

the idea as he fully understands the

importance of funding to provide

these clubs and teams with

everything they need and

explained that sponsorship was

extremely hard to come by in

today’s economic climate.

A vacancy was passed on and LRE

were able to source an ideal

candidate that is due to start the

new role in March and the under

11’s bank account will benefit with

a donation of £500.

Stephen who is also Vice Chairman

of Northfield Town has passed on

all the information to every team

manager for them to pass on to the

parents of the players.

We are keen to offer this scheme to

any sports club in need of funding

and is enlisting the backing of

some very prominent sporting

stars who are behind the idea.

To find out more about this fantastic

project contact Mark Murphy on

Mobile: 07975 500603

Email: [email protected]

Lean

Recruitment

Enterprise

supporting

Grassroots

Football

The following is as article written

by Lean Recruitment Enterprise,

organisers of a new scheme we’ve

found out about...

You all understand the importance

of funding to ensure clubs’ survival,

and to provide adequate

equipment and facilities for the

members to enjoy.

An initiative started by us at Lean

Recruitment Enterprise (LRE), an

independent recruitment business

based in Rubery Birmingham, is

giving these clubs to opportunity

to bring in much needed funding.

Mark Murphy, Operations Director,

had the idea to approach local

youth football clubs with a very

simple yet rewarding scheme: if a

club was able to pass on a vacancy

within any business that a manager

or parent of a player is associated

with that LRE could fill we would

Page 31: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

The Match Minutes FC app helps insert hashtags, match time, score and

player names.

Fast, professional-looking match commentary during

the game, clean records for writing match reports

after the game.

Struggling to tweet live match updates

from a mobile phone?

Available at http://matchminutesfc.com/the-app.html

Page 32: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Your Club Can Become

It’s as easy

Alpha-Bet is a new bookmaking

company looking to develop

mutually beneficial partnerships

with sports clubs.

For more details call us on:

Email us at:

Visit us at:

Like us on Facebook & spread the word:

In return for promoting our book

pay clubs a 10% commission on any

Page 33: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

An Agent For

as A, B, C

020 7100 6021

[email protected]

www.a-bet.co

facebook.com/Alphabetbookmaker

making business to your members we

losses from the people you refer to us.

Page 34: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

A new regular feature from Mat Court on preparing for what are probably the worst

kind of weather events to hit sports clubs: floods.

Hertford Town FC, a lot

of water, and a Flood

Defence Officer (me)

As some of you are aware,

Grassroot Media works out of the

local football club Hertford Town

FC. And as those of you that follow

either @grassrootmedia or

@hertfordtownfc on Twitter will

have read about how the recent

floods affected the club. While I

have an interest in keeping the

club as dry as possible in that I go

to work there, I also hate it when

something happens that affects

sports clubs which do such a great

job for the local communities they

serve.

So I’ve put myself forward to be

Hertford Town FC’s first ever Flood

Defence Manager and I’m

delighted to say that my

application has been accepted by

the Chairman and General

Manager. I don’t know if other

clubs have a Flood Defence

Manager or not, but if you don’t

then perhaps think about assigning

the post to someone – my plan is

over time to develop a flood

defence plan for the club which

can be implemented quickly and

easily by anyone at the club when

there is a risk of flooding. My

thinking is that it needs one person

to own the plan but that plan

shouldn’t be reliant on just one

person. What if he/she is on

holiday when the next flood hits?

What if they can’t get to the ground

because of closed roads? You get

my point.

The idea behind me writing about

it each month in this magazine is

not to preach, but to hopefully show

you how someone with absolutely

no experience with flooding can

still lend a hand and come up with

a viable plan.

This month I’ll talk you through

how badly we were affected and

what we’ve done to try to limit the

damage, and some of the learnings

I’ve taken from the past week or

so...

Page 35: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

It all started Friday 7th February as

I was driving to work in the

morning. I noticed a lot of traffic on

the back roads I use to get to the

club. I soon found out this traffic

was caused by a broken down car.

It had broken down because the

driver had tried to drive through

two foot of water. It was a sign of

things to come. A journey that

should have taken no more than ten

minutes took over and hour. It was

just like living in London again.

And this was the scene when I

finally reached the club:

I’d seen the pitch waterlogged

before but had never seen the

water flowing in to the ground like

it was directly from the river. Here’s

a map to show you the position the

club is in:

As you can see the club is in an

‘interesting’ position being

bordered by two rivers joining in to

one, which can’t be a good thing

when it comes to water.

But there’s not a lot we can do

about that is there. It’s how we work

with what we have that sets us

apart as a species eh?

When I made it in to the ground the

water started rising pretty quickly

and all I could really do was try

move everything up a few feet off

the ground to protect as much as I

could and hope for the best. If I had

a plan to follow, had materials and

equipment to hand I think I could

have at least stopped the water

from coming in to the changing

room/office area. And this is what

got me thinking – can a little bit of

work once a month have prevented

the scale of the damage to the

club? This is what I am going to try

to do, work up a plan and stockpile

the relevant equipment and

materials so that when the next

flood warning sounds just on or two

people can protect as much of the

club as possible in under half an

hour.

But getting back to the events of

that Friday, as I said, all I could do

was move stuff off the ground to try

to stop it from getting wet. Big

heavy appliances had to stay

where they were however.35

Page 36: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Above was the scene just before

the water started getting really

high. By lunchtime the hard

standing to the right was a foot

under and water was all over the

changing rooms and office areas.

Below is the office after the water

got in. This was when I decided to

call it a day and get out of there

and go for a pint.

The water had receded by Sunday

and all that was left to do in the

immediate future was clean up and

implement some short term

measures to try and protect as

much property as we could on a

budget with little man power.

The carpet has bought it but that’s

not end of the world in a

boardroom office – it can still

function without it and can be

replaced when funds allow.

But the time spent cleaning up after

was something I wasn’t keen on

repeating so I set about building

some makeshift sandbag defences.

My advice to anyone in the same

position when looking for

sandbags is do not buy the pre-

made ones. They are very

expensive and it only takes a

couple of minutes to make a

sandbag from raw materials, and

costs about a 1/5th of the pre-made

ones.

I found a good article on how to

construct sandbags walls to protect

doorways, which was the main

concern for me and the club but

the main issue was not having

enough sand. It’s heavy to transport

in standard cars so this will

36

Page 37: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

be a major thing to consider when I

start work on the flood planning

going forward. I lost a lot of time

going to and from the builders

merchants for little reward in terms

of material gathered.

Anyway, I was happy with

everything until I saw a piece on

BBC news on the floods which

showed a flood board being used

to brace a doorway that didn’t have

a door. I looked at one of my

doorways and realised if water had

hit it would not have stood a

chance. I looked at flood board

costs and they were a bit too pricey

so instead found some very strong

wood which fit the doorway with

enough overlap to provide support

for the sandbag wall. Obviously the

other doorways’ walls were

supported by the locked door so

not too much concern there in the

short term.

From what I’ve read the sandbags

should be laid perpendicular to the

doorway but I have run out of

sandbags and to do it the proper

way would me water easily goes

over the top. They look pretty well

set the way they are so I’m not too

concerned. Hopefully I’ll never find

out whether they would’ve worked

or not as a) I’ll have more sandbags

soon to rebuild the wall or b) it

won’t flood again.

The doorway I mentioned with the

makeshift flood board is as well

constructed as I could make it but

just needs another few levels of

sandbags to make sure.

The club has worked the flood hard

in terms of trying to get local

support and awareness levels up.

The twitter account has been very

active, club members have been

sending the local paper

photographs of the scenes, the club

photographer has got the club

featured on the local radio station

and a few photos featured in the

paper. All of this led to Sky Sports

News coming down and doing an

interview piece with the club

Chairman. (see next page)37

Page 38: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

I’m now trying to use this coverage

to get the local branch of a large

builders merchants involved with

the club as Flood Defence Partner.

The idea is they give us help,

advice and materials to help stop

the flooding both in the short and

long term and in return they get

shouted about by the club along

with some pitchside boards and

anything else the club can offer

that doesn’t cost it money, but that

has a value for the builders

merchants.

This is where clubs can do really

good things I think. I know many of

you already have partnerships with

local firms but if you haven’t, just

have a think about who can help

you and how you can help them. It

doesn’t have to result in money

coming in to the club, an

advertising deal or partnership

where you get materials or

expertise in return can sometimes

be more valuable. Have another

read of the Lewes FC feature we

did a few months ago which has

more detail on this.

Where we are now is that the water

has gone from everywhere apart

from the pitch, I’ll be happy with

the building protection if we get

another 40 sandbags deployed

tonight in advance of the forecast

very heavy rain tomorrow, and my

thoughts are moving towards how

we can potentially stop this

happening to such a bad extent

again.

The main thing I’ve taken from the

last week really has been what an

effect such a simple thing like

water can have. I’d never

experienced flooding before and

can now start to imagine just how

bad some of you have had it, and

just how bad some of the people in

Somerset and other places have

had it, some of them being under

water for over a month. My

thoughts are with them all.

I’ll keep you up to date with how

we get on here – hopefully next

month I’ll be able to say my little

defences have held fast and I’ll do

a little piece on building a

stockpile of sandbags, how to

deploy them properly and keeping

them safe and out of harms way

until they are needed. Basically

they’ll last forever if you do it right

is what I’ve learned.

Keep dry, Mat38

Page 39: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Andrew

Beaven

Winter nets –

more than just

hit and hope!

Before Christmas I posted an

article on ways to get the most from

your off-season practice sessions.

With the new season in the UK now

only two months' away (weather

permitting!), I wanted to share a

few more ideas on how to make

your net practice even more

constructive.

Competitive nets – make it

matter

First thought – try to make your net

sessions competitive.

Set batters specific challenges -

playing only in the "V" for the first

10 deliveries,say, then hitting only

on the off-side for 10 deliveries.

"10 off the last four balls" is fine, so

long as you encourage effective

power hitting, not wild slogging.

Do the same with the bowlers –

have them bowl to a plan (make

them think of a plan, then execute it

– more on this later).

Challenge the players with

different scenarios, and make them

think.

For the coach and the player –

concentrate on outcomes – hitting

the ball along the ground and into

spaces, for example. This close to

the start of the season you would

probably want to spend more time

accommodating your style to the

demands of the game, rather than

trying to re-build a stroke, or a

bowling action.

39

This month Andrew Beaven from The Twenty20 Cricket Company looks at getting the

most of pre-season netting

Page 40: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Working with a coach in the nets

– horror movies

As coaches, we have moved on

from standing at the side of the net

and giving general encouragement

or admonishment, as appropriate,

before occasionally stopping a

session to demonstrate a technical

point with the batsman.

David Hinchliffe, of PitchVision

Academy, advocates "horror

movie" net coaching.

“...watch your players [in the nets]

closely...say little but...log the

information as you go...

Then, after the quiet, you pounce on

your victim and give the key

feedback after he or she has

batted.”

If you have a coach with a video

camera, record the batsman in

action, then confront him with the

evidence.

“...If you have a

coach with a video

camera, record the

batsman in action...”

Review takes no more than a

minute. Often, the the batter will

recognise the relevant technical

points with little prompting, leaving

the coach to devise an appropriate

intervention.

“...Make your players

think for themselves -

watching is a great

way of learning...”

The beauty of video is that it can

be replayed (perhaps annotated

using a video analysis app) with

the batter before he bats in the

next session, and reinforced with a

short drill or well-placed

"statement of intent" e.g. "hit the

cut into the ground" or "play the

on-drive to mid-on, not mid-

wicket".

Then, aside from a reminder before

he goes in to bat, leave the batter

alone for a couple of weeks to work

out how to put the advice into

practice. You might need to task

the bowlers to concentrate on

attacking the technique – see

“Head Hunters”, below.

Harry Shapiro, Coaching

Consultant at Boland Cricket Union,

takes non-intervention a step

further, encouraging his players to

analyse and give feedback on their

own performance and of their

fellow players before the coach

gives any input at all.

40

Page 41: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Make the players think for

themselves – watching is a great

way of learning.

Head hunter net

This works equally well with a

coach, or without, and more

directly involves your bowlers – set

them the explicit task of identifying

and ruthlessly exploiting any

weakness they can in the batsmen.

The bowlers then have to work to a

(realistic) plan of attack (or

defence – sometimes, they will

work simply to denying the batter

the opportunity to smear the ball

over mid-wicket).

Which in turn makes the batters

work harder, and forces them to

think about their techniques and

how to apply them to best effect.

Having a coach, trained to observe

divergence from technical models,

is ideal, but you don't need

qualified coaches to be head

hunters – a couple of experienced

bowlers will be just as good

(maybe even better).

In conclusion – look for ways to

make net practice competitive,

challenge your players to think

about their game, but most of all

make it fun.

Looking for:

TROPHIES

AWARDS

MEDALS

SHIELDS

SALVERSAnd want 30-40% off RRP?

And free engraving?

And free centre caps?

Go to grassroottrophies.com

Or email Mat at Grassroot Media

on [email protected]

Page 42: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Call: 0800 8 20 21 22

Flexible payment plans, spread the cost across the season

or use your end of season Grassroot Media payments to

pay for your kit - email or call Mat Court for details

Long and short sleeves available

Quotes from our product testers:

...the quality is excellent......comfortable, lightweight and look

good...NOW IN SHORT SLEEVE TOO!!!

Page 43: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Style of

print

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transferred

club crest

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sponsor logo

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club crest

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exc. VAT and

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Page 44: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014
Page 45: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

VS Cricket is a new social media service to cricket clubs, players and fans giving

them the chance to discuss all things cricket from international level to local teams

45

Remember when Channel 4

broadcast the cricket and mambo

no5 was what we listened to prior

to start of play? Remember the

ground breaking graphics and

analysis that accompanied the

telecasts? Well the company

behind those stats and graphics

has just launched a social network

devoted to cricket and grass roots

cricket clubs in particular.

Virtual Spectator is an Australian

based sports graphics company

with offices in the UK and USA and

is well placed to develop

VSCricket.com, the cricket social

network.

It is early days but it is hoped that

VSCricket.com will become the

Facebook of cricket.

A welcome twist from a multi-

national company is that a core

element of the network is to

revenue share any advertising

income back to the grass roots

clubs that participate on the

network.

"The idea is obvious, most local

clubs have strong links to their

local communities and

VSCricket.com now gives

businesses in those communities a

vehicle by which they can support

their local clubs financially" said

Peter Lamb, CEO VS Europe Ltd.

A screen shot of a club page on

vscricket.com

Page 46: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

“... a core element

of the network is

to revenue share any

advertising income

back to the

participating clubs...”

Each club that wishes to can have

their own page on VSCricket.com

where people can interact, post

photos, videos and links related to

the club. On each club page there

are advertising spots available and

for just £10 per month, local

businesses can sponsor their club.

The business gets their ad seen by

all who visit and use the page and

the club gets much needed

additional revenue (50%).

The more people use the network,

the greater value it will be to a

sponsor.

In addition, all clubs that are on

VSCricket.com will automatically

be entitled to a FREE Ipad based

scoring system developed

exclusively by Virtual Spectator for

VSCricket.com.

If clubs score their games using

this app, the scores will be

uploaded to the network and

displayed in the form of batting

and bowling cards on a clubs page.

This has a number of benefits:

.It means every team can see their

results in professionally produced

digital content

.More people will visit the page

every week to check stats

.Sponsors will get their ad seen by

a bigger audience

.It gives the smallest of clubs the

same scoring capabilities as

broadcast TV

The scoring app is due for release

in April 2014.

In addition to club pages, major

series will be covered. For instance

in the current Ashes series, Virtual

Spectator has a pundit at every

game who is posting match

summaries and photos through the

day.

Feel free to go over to

www.vscricket.com and have a

look around and see what it could

do for your club.

46

Page 47: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

Colin Smith from Elvington & Tilmanstone Colliery Welfare Cricket Club

continues his monthly column with more tips for our clubs.

47

Colin Smith

Organizing

Fund Raising

Events

Organising fund raising events is

one of my great passions in life. I

love to set up an evening or a day

time event that will raise money for

in some cases more than one good

cause or charity. Here I will give

you some good tips and advice

from the events I have put on in the

past. I have learned from mistakes

how to put together a well

organized event that nearly

everybody will enjoy. You will not

please everybody so don’t worry

about it.

Some of my experiences have

involved celebrities such as former

Chelsea footballer, Ron Chopper

Harris, and England and Kent

cricket legend Deadly Derek

Underwood M.B.E. I have

organised events that have

involved an opening presentation

or a question and answer session

with these two sporting stars. The

Ron Harris night also involved a

comedian, Mickey Pugh, that

compered the whole evening and

really made for a great night that

everybody enjoyed. Yes everybody

this was an exceptional night.

I have also put on or helped put on

5 a side football tournaments

attended by 1200 people and 48

teams, trips to Wembley to see

England internationals, 3km

Charity Fun Runs, quiz nights etc.,

and I have Britain's number 1 Elvis

impersonator booked for the 3rd

May this year in aid of the Katie

Piper Foundation (KPF) - a burns

survivors charity. What I really

enjoy is if more than one cause or

charity can benefit from the same

Page 48: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

48

equipment, money towards a

charity in general like my KPF

night, money towards a local youth

club trip for underprivileged or

disabled children, a hospice etc.

“...choose a date

near the start of the

month when

everybody has just

been paid...”

Once you’ve chosen your charity

find the right venue. This can be

tricky but in my case my local

clubhouse is an obvious choice.

Especially as it has a fully licensed

bar and a commercial kitchen.

Make sure if you are selling 200

tickets the venue can legally

accommodate this. Choose a date

near the start of the month when

everybody has just been paid, like

the 3rd May. As this is for charity

do some begging – I’m good at it

ask the missus. Only joking but ask

companies for discounts for the

night as it is for charity. I asked a

company called Cardzoo for a

discount on my Elvis night tickets,

which should have cost £85 to print,

and they promptly gave them to me

for nothing – brilliant and it only

cost me an email.

event. For example the Elvis night

will benefit the KPF from the ticket

sales of £5 each, and the bar take

from the venue will go to

Tilmanstone Miners Welfare,

another registered charity. Good

work I say.

Above: The Elvington &

Tilmanstone CWCC committee,

Derek Underwood and me

Below: Ron ‘Chopper Harris, me,

the missus and my son Dan

Tips

So some top tips for you are to first

of all choose your charity or good

cause. Then decide what you want

the money for i.e. a new piece of

Page 49: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

So you’ve got the act booked, date

agreed, venue hired, done some

begging for the raffle and auction

etc. now for selling out the night.

Make some posters and display

them in the local shop, put them on

noticeboards at work, inform local

groups, put them on your website,

twitter them, Facebook them. All of

these will help sell out your

evening.

“...once you’ve sold all

your tickets, try and

enjoy the evening...”

Once you’ve sold all your tickets

try and enjoy the evening yourself

– don’t sit there fretting all night -

enjoy it yourself. Don’t forget to

announce at the end of the night

how much you have raised for the

cause – the attendees like this as it

gives them a buzz as well.

It is a great feeling putting on

events for charities I’ve done a few

and enjoyed all of them. Looking

forward to the Elvis night on 3rd

May for Katie Piper’s charity. So far

I have sold 5 tickets and given out 6

complimentaries, so should be a

great night with 11 of us there -

LOL. Seriously though have a go it’s

a way of having fun and raising

money and people do appreciate it

which is why I do it as an unpaid

volunteer.

7

If you know of a cricket

or football club that you

think could host our

panels, please feel free

to tell them about us and

what we do.

We are also on the look

out for leagues that want

to spread the word of

Grassroot Media so

again, if you know any

then please ask them to

get in touch, the more

clubs we have on board,

the easier it is to sell to

advertisers and the more

money we can make for

each club.

www.grassrootmedia.com

Tel: 0800 8 20 21 22

Mob: 07795 49 59 69

Email:

[email protected]

Page 52: The Grassroot Magazine February 2014

If you would like to find out more about what we do at

Grassroot Media:

Go to our website www.grassrootmedia.com

Call 0800 8 20 21 22 or 01992 27 44 27

Email [email protected]

Be part of the team...

We make money for football and cricket clubs

by putting frames up in changing rooms, selling

the space and then paying a rent for you letting

us do it.

It is easy, does not cost the clubs a penny and

all you have to do is take a photo each month

of the posters once you’ve changed them (we

send them out in the post to you).