RHC LIONS

NEWS

RH Corstorphine CC Annual General Meeting
Held at RHS Clubhouse, Barnton, on 27/11/2008
Chairman: Mr A Sathiy
Secretary: Mr T Rutherford

Minutes
The minutes of the previous AGM were read and agreed as an accurate record. There were no formal matters airsing.

Resignations / New Appointments.
It was noted that Preston Mommsen, and Kevin West would be stepping down as captain of the 1 st and 2 nd XI respectively.

The issue of having a smaller committee, better able to take decisions and see that they are carried out was discussed. It was felt that the existing large committee was unwieldy, did not lead to action being taken, and distracted some people, whose strength was not in committee work, from their role as players and captains. It was agreed in principle that, subject to the formal procedure to amend the constitution, this smaller committee would be put into operation.

The following appointments were made, nem con.

1 st XI Captain – Kevin Mclaren
2 nd XI Capatin – Paul Geoghegan
3 rd XI Captain – Alan Moore
President - Arnie Sathiy
Vice President – Nick Adams
Secretary – Tom Rutherford
Treasurer – Paul Chapman
Youth Convenor – Steve Sadler
Players Rep - Kevin West

Captains’ Reports

1 st XI – Preston Mommsen
Preston reported that, by almost any standard, the 1sts had had a successful season, starting with good commitment to indoor training, and fitness. This was a must if the success of this season was to be repeated, and built upon. After a good start, the challenge became one of trying to maintain standards. This was achieved, for 955 of the time, but the missing 5% became the difference between winning the league, and not.

Areas for potential improvement included training throughout the season. Preston thought it would be helpful if it was possible to make a block booking of indoor nets, so that even in the event of bad weather, at least one nets session per week could be guaranteed.

Preston thanked everybody who had been involved in the 1 st team over the course of the summer, and wished his successor well for the future.

2 nd XI – Kevin West
Kevin reported that the 2 nd XI had enjoyed a very successful season, winning every game played, and finishing top of the league, thus earning promotion into ESCA Division 2. He thanked everyone who played for their efforts over the season , and particularly for the character displayed in tight situation, which were turned into victories that might, in the past have been losses. He noted that there were some minor instances of bickering on the field, but felt that this was due to everyone wanting to contribute personally, which was not always possible in a successful team. He felt that another area to work on was in attempting to dismiss batsmen, and bowl sides out, rather than just restrict the scoring. He noted that the team was one of the fittest in Division 3, but that these levels needed to be maintained and improved to keep this status into Division 2.

Paul Geoghegan thanked Kevin for the tremendous amount of work and thought that had gone into the captain’s role of the previous seasons, which showed in results. He looked forward to continuing the winning way, and said that the team should aim to finish well in Divison 2, rather than letting the momentum dissipate.

3 rd XI – Alan Moore
Alan thanked Sean Hoffmann and Ally Urquhart for their working in developing the 3 rd XI, to the point at which it was able to go through the season losing only 1 game, and comfortably winning Division 8 of the East League. He noted that the bowling attack was easily the pick of Divison 8, and would again be very strong in Division 7, but that greater application with the bat, and an acceptance of the need to build an innings would be necessary.

One of the most pleasing aspects of the season had been the inclusion of a number of juniors in the team, and the consequent competition for places that this had resulted in. Kevin Meier and Ozzie Malik had been particularly successful, and were drawing praise and jealousy from opposing clubs in equal measure.

Head Coach’s Report – Kevin McLaren
Kevin reported that the 1 st XI had done well, and only the vagaries of the league points system had denied them promotion. Preston had done very well coming in to the club and immediately assuming the mantle of captaincy, which was never an easy task. The bar had been raised for next season, where nothing short of winning the league could be considered a success.

Training had been successful for the most part, but there were definite areas to work on. The 1 st XI should know enough about their games to be able to know what needed development, but the 2 nd and 3 rd XI had not taken advantage of the coaching resources available. Kevin suggested that for the forthcoming season, the 2 nd and 3 rd XIs should prioritise coming to nets on a Tuesday, while the 1sts prioritised Thursday. Winter nets would start in February, and go through until the start of the season, and would be focussed on skills training. Players had a responsibility to themselves and the club to ensure that their fitness levels were where they should be – it was not possible to devote significant amounts of net time to fitness training.

Communication would be improved within the club, with the 3 captains meeting regularly on a Tuesday to agree selections and other issues for the forthcoming matches. If any players had issues, the first point of contact should be the captain – discussing issues was far more productive than silently allowing them to fester.

Kevin stated that he hoped the team for next season could be maintained from this year – while bringing in players was something of an easy option, it was more beneficial to the long-term health of the club to develop from within wherever possible.

Treasurer’s Report – Paul Chapman
Paul reported that the club had 3 main income streams – subscriptions, sponsorship, and fundraising. Subscriptions had increased by 10% this year, owing to more people signing up for direct debits than previously. However, sponsorship income was down, with the club not having a main sponsor, and the money received from Betfair being received only very late in the day. In the current financial situation, it was hard to imagine that sponsorship income would be significantly increased in future years.

The finances of the club were heavily dependent upon some generous donations, and the senior section receiving help from the juniors. This would not be the case in future years, and it was necessary for fundraising efforts, and sponsorship where possible, to meet the funding gap.

Junior Report – Steve Sadler
Steve noted that many of the issues that had been reported at the last AGM with regard to the juniors had not yet been resolved. There was still a transparent lack of respect for the junior section of the club, with senior members not making the effort to get involved, or even to welcome the juniors at practice sessions or matches. Steve explained that having a junior section was a requirement of the Top Club scheme, and was necessary for playing cricket not only in the SNCL, but in the higher echelons of the East league. Unless the club wished the existence of the junior section to become a “tick-box exercise”, which would meet the minimum requirements but do nothing to safeguard the future of the club then more support had to be forthcoming.

The parents of juniors were often keen to offer assistance, both logistical and financial, but without the seniors offering reciprocal support and encouragement, this could not be taken forward. It must be recognized that there are many ways for youngsters to spend their free time, and that a relatively small investment of time by the senior sections of the club would pay massive dividends in terms of the results achieved. 11 juniors had achieved selection for representative sides, and this was a measure of the potential available within the club, if it could be fully developed.

Kevin McLaren commented that it was clear that discussing this issue for a period of time had not borne fruit, and that the captains would meet, and ensure that players were deputed to make contact with the juniors, and ensure that the visibility of the senior section of the club improved by orders of magnitude.

President’s Report – Arnie Sathiy
Arnie summarized the feelings that, on the field, the club had had a successful season, with only 2 league matches lost among the 3 senior sides, a record which no other club in Scotland could match. For a club still regarded by some as a small club, this was a record of which we could be justly proud. Arnie thanked everyone who had worked behind the scenes, from ground staff, to Tom and Nancy Greig with their usual superb teas, and the bar staff at the clubhouse.

The issue of money was again raised, and the support the juniors provided to the seniors in past year, which would no longer be available. He reminded all club members that, rather than posit grand idea which were unlikely to lead to fruition, small amounts of money raised by individuals would be tremendously helpful in ensuring the future financial viability of the club. Future large donations by individual members, either in cash or in kind simply was not sustainable. Every member should commit to attending the Annual Dinner, and race night, and bringing along as many people as possible to these events. Another event mentioned was a sponsored walk organised by the Earl Haig Fund, but that somebody would have to take responsibility for organising this.

Looking forward, the future appeared to be bright on the field, with sustained success in Divisions 2 and 7 for the 2 nd and 3 rd XI respectively, and the 1 st being favoured to win Division 2 next season. He looked forward to developing another set of great memories, but this time both on the field and off it.

Present:
Azhar Abid
David Adamson
Clive Allen
Mark Allen
Paul Chapman
Paul Geoghegan
Richard Goar
Angus Hoffmann
Sean Hoffmann
Jason Kay
Gordon Lamb
David Lawrie
Kevin McLaren
Preston Mommsen
Alan Moore
Ally Sadler
Patrick Sadler
Steve Sadler
Ally Urquhart
Kevin West
Mike Yellowlees

Apologies:
Bryan Potter
Tim Hancock
James Bonner
David Bradshaw
Arun Jay
Robin Yellowlees