Hi All,
This is a message to highlight a few things I mentioned at the AGM for those of you that were not there, but also to put all the information in one place so hopefully we are all aware of what is happening for next season. It is quite a long one, but please bear with me and read as much as you can. If you have any questions, please let me know.
First on my list is teams. I have a meeting on Wednesday with the NW Regional Head of Basketball England (BE) about a new league next season, of which we are a founding member. I went to numerous meetings with BE before Christmas to highlight issues we come across, and lack of competition was the biggest issue. Our current plan is to enter an u12, u14 and u16 team next season in this NW Regional Development league (NWRDL for short). I have spoken with Tom and Bill about the Juniors at Eaton Bank and we have agreed to explore a team for each age group for next season. However, this does present challenges we as a club have to address if we are to be allowed to compete next season. These are listed below.
1. WE NEED HELP. This league isn't just about developing the players. It is aimed at all facets of a club, helping to develop Officials, Referee's and Coaches as well. We at CGBC need help in all areas and as such, are asking you all to be brave and step into the breach with us and learn something new. This could be doing the scorebook as a scorekeeper, refereeing our games or even joining the ranks as a Coach. We seriously need help in these areas, and the future of the club can only be bright should we expand our staffing levels. In the meeting on Wednesday, I will get clarification on when courses will be, and costs of courses, although I have been told previously that courses would be FREE. I will double confirm if this is the case though.
2. TRANSPORT. The format of the leagues are not decided yet, as these are based on the number of teams involved. This means a league of only 4 teams i.e. u10 girls would be a once a month tournament held at one of the clubs venues on a rotational basis. However, the u14s could have 20 teams enter, which would then be split into two smaller leagues of 10, and the two divisions will be location based to minimise travel between games. I will find out about the formats on Wednesday and get back to the appropriate age groups with what's been decided. That being said, we will need help getting to and from games regardless of format. We have been informed that we CAN NOT use the minibus from CHS due to leasing arrangements and insurance, so our only alternatives are hiring a minibus on a case by case basis (meaning higher expenditure) or carpooling to help out. There are legal documents either way we'd need to sign, but the carpooling arrangement is the easiest and most cost effective way to achieve the result we need.
3. KITS. The kits we have this season are still going to be used, however CongletonEats has agreed to join us as a sponsor and provide us with the funds to buy new GAME KIT for each age group. For the teams in the league, this new game kit will be the one used for fixtures. However, should there be a clash in fixtures I.e. u14 and u16 play at same time, the current seasons' black kit will come in handy as well as being a viable backup should any kit go missing etc. We have switched kit provider this season due to the number of issues our last sponsor gave us, and we didn't originally plan to cut ties after one year, however the length of time to just receive kit and the risk of printing being incorrect made the decision a need to do now rather than later. That being said, the club shop is up and online as we speak, with the link below should you be interested in adding to your Grizzlies gear. https://www.hoopfreakz.co.uk/congleton-grizzlies
4. SESSIONS. Next season, we are aiming at having extra sessions for the teams only. These will be closed sessions, and only the team members for that age group will be allowed to attend. We could also use these sessions to help produce coaches (i.e. u16 players can help the Head Coach of the u14s to get a coaching badge, but only in rare cases). These sessions go in tandem with the current Mondays sessions, and will not affect the current structure. An example week would be Monday 7-8 at both CHS and Eaton Bank Academy. A 1 hour Thursday session for the u12s team would be added, and our Fridays session at CHS would become the u14s and then u16s training for the teams. We have to structure it this way as there are no other times available at either of the venues, which are booked out for other sports and clubs. If your child is on a team, you will be expected to pay a monthly subscription fee to cover all costs for that month. This does not affect your child attending Monday sessions either. The monthly subscription costs cover the venue hire for the team training and games, and game expenses i.e. referee's/officials costs. Mondays will still be 'Pay As You Play', but Team members will get a discounted rate, which I will make as low as possible.
5. MEMBERSHIP. All players next season, starting from 1st August 2022, will need to register with the club. All players who are part of a league team will also have to register on Basketball England's website to obtain a player licence, which covers the children in case of injury etc. I do already have a section on the website on how to do this, and will double check to make sure it's fully up to date. However, I am aware that the BE website is a pain in the bum, so if anyone requires help to get this licence, I can try to help as much as I can. Membership fee for next season will be £20 for the entire season, which will need to be paid by September 1st as we need to submit a list of registered members to BE to validate our insurance for the new season. This £20 covers initial insurance cover and club registration, but also goes towards the trophies at the next AGM and awards night for 2023.
I think I have covered everything here, and I am sure some of you will need to read this a few times to wrap your head around things, I know I've had to re-read it before sending! I am sure you will all have questions, so please do not hesitate to reach out and ask. One thing I know from teaching is that if one person has a question, the rest are thinking the same thing!
Once again, thank you for the support this past season, and we at the Grizzlies hope you continue to support us as we take this next step forward as a club, in order to really give our youngsters the best opportunities to be the best versions of themselves.
Thank you and kind regards,
Ryan Anderson
Head Coach and Treasurer
Congleton Grizzlies Basketball Club
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