KEY DATES:    19th April  First Outdoor Coaching/Practice Sessions     20th April   Bunbury Day - supporting Royal National Lifeboat Institution                 7th Sept  Bunbury Day - supporting "Heads Up" Cancer charity             13th September   Colts'Club/Presentation Day

Welcome to North Midd for the 2008 Season which I hope we will all enjoy!  To keep this Newsletter as short as possible we have cross referred in many places to NMCC's much improved website where you can access stacks of Colts' info (including photos and 2007 Colts' Stats - click on 'Colts' and then on 'Documents').  The address is still  www.northmiddlesexcc.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTIONS, REGISTRATION AND FORMS

	*        Subscriptions for 2008 will be £40 for all Colts except those attending the Under 7s coaching on Saturday mornings who will pay £2 per session.  No match fees are payable for outdoor games (league, cup or friendlies).  *        Please complete the attached registration form and return it as soon as possible to Susie Nicoll  who is our Colts' Treasurer and Club Welfare Officer.  Apologies for the length of the form but we need all the requested information please to comply with ECB Clubmark requirements.  *     Cheques should be made payable to North Middlesex Cricket Club Limited.

*        We have negotiated complimentary Pavilion membership for parents/carers of paid up Colts Members - this allows use of the bar and restaurant facilities - normal charge for this is £30 per person.

*        In relation to subscriptions/registrations please note -

*        No Colt will be eligible for selection for any NMCC fixture unless their subs have been paid.  If any Colt has problems making the payment he or she should please contact Susie Nicoll.

*        Under Middlesex Colts Association Rules once a Colt is registered for one club he/she will not be entitled to play for any other Club in any MCA competitions for that season or the following indoor season.

	COACHING/PRACTICE SESSIONS   As for last year these will take place at North Midd at the following times...... * U7s and below Saturday mornings 9.30am to 10.30am * U8s to and including U11 Saturday mornings 9am to 10.30am * U12s to and including U15s Saturday mornings 10.30am to 12 noon * U16s, U17s and U18s Tuesday evenings between 5pm and 6pm

*        Please note that allocation of Colts to squads for practice sessions may take into account ability and experience as well as age. Please try to be at the Club 10 minutes before the allotted start time.  Time is short and we are keen to start promptly.  To comply with Clubmark  we must take a register at the start of each session - another reason to arrive promptly please. 

*        Contact details for Managers/Coaches of the various age groups will be published shortly on the Website. 

*        If the weather is doubtful on a Saturday morning, parents should check with the relevant team manager that the practice is definitely on before leaving their son/daughter at the Club.  Parents should also be prepared to collect early if the weather deteriorates.

*        As always, we need more helpers/coaches.  Our own coaches are often overstretched.  If you will be watching your Colts playing and taking them to and from matches, it is a small step to helping more actively.  It is not necessary to have played cricket yourself - all help is appreciated.  If you are able to help (occasionally or more regularly) please make this known to your age group manager/coach or to Richard Nicoll.

FIXTURES/MATCH TIMES

*        A preliminary fixture list is on the Colts Section of the website.

*        The teams will be picked by the relevant manager/coach who will notify the selected players.  Age group managers will be in touch separately about selection policies.

*        Weekday matches usually start at 6pm and weekend matches at 9.30am and take approximately 2-2½ hours.  For home matches you should arrive at the ground at least 20 minutes before the start time.  The team manager will make arrangements for away matches.

*        If the weather is poor on the match day, parents should telephone the team manager to find out if the game is still on and be prepared to collect early if the weather deteriorates.

*        As well league/cup games, we do our best to organise friendlies, in particular for those Colts not picked regularly for our league teams.

EQUIPMENT/NMCC KIT/RESPONSIBILITY

*        Whites should always be worn for matches.  Blue/grey tracksuit trousers worn with white tops are fine for the practice sessions.  Proper cricket boots are not essential but pimple soles (not ordinary) trainers are useful in damp conditions.  No studs must be worn in the nets or on the non-turf practice wicket.

*        All male Colts should have a box (abdominal protector) - they must wear it to bat or when wicket keeping.

*        All Colts must wear a helmet when batting or close wicket keeping when a hard ball is used.  The Club has a limited stock of communal helmets. 

*        Some tips as to buying the right size bat are or will shortly be on the Colts section of the Website.

*        We encourage Colts selected to represent the Club to wear NMCC kit.  A kit list with prices and order forms is on the Website - click on 'Club Shop'. Kit will also be on sale at early season practices. Any profit will go to Colts' funds.

*        Also at early Season practices we will be operating a bring and buy stall for outgrown clothing and kit.  Again any proceeds of sale will go to Colts' funds.  Please recycle any outgrown kit you may have.

*        Please ensure that all  your Colts' kit is named. Inevitably your bat and other equipment will become mixed up with others. Our coaches have enough on their plates in running the practices so we can't take responsibility for equipment  which may go missing.

COLTS COUNCIL AND CLUB DEVELOPMENT PLAN

*        The 2008 Council is being assembled.  This is a forum at which Colts of all ages can give their feedback and ideas on how they think our Club is being or should be run.  Views expressed are passed on to the Colts' Coaches and the Club Committee.  Any Colt interested in being on the Council should contact Steve Nurse or Mark Pittman.

*        This Council is one of many initiatives and aims mentioned in the NMCC Development Plan, the latest draft of which will shortly be on the Website.  Steve and Mark are our Development Plan Managers so any comments on the draft Plan should please be directed to them.

DONATIONS

*        The Club is always looking to improve the facilities and practice aids we can offer to Colts.

*        With that in mind, any parents who would like to make a donation (however small) to Club funds are encouraged to do so.   

*        Parents have been very generous over the last couple of years.  From their donations and grants from the Lord's Taverners and Middlesex Centenary Youth Trust we have been able to fund a variety of improvements including relaying the non-turf practice wicket and purchase of mobile net cage, catching nets, wicket keeping kit, practice balls, cones, kit bags, catching mitts and other things. 

*        Any further donations would be most welcome.  These donations should be in the form of cheques made payable to 'North Middlesex Cricket Club Limited' and also sent to Susie Nicoll. 

COACHING FROM OVERSEAS PLAYER

*        There is a possibility that 'one to one' coaching may be available at the Club again this Summer from our overseas first X1 player.  Keep watching the Website for details.

SENIOR CRICKET AT NORTH MIDD

*        Full info about the Senior Section of our Club is on the Website. 

*        NMCC will be running a Saturday League Fourth XI again this year.  This is partly intended to give the older Colts a better chance of playing senior cricket.

*        The experiment of running a Development Team made up of 8 Colts and 3 Seniors to promote integration between the Colts and Senior Sections will be repeated in 2008.  The Team will play 6 (80 over) matches on Sunday afternoons in the Shepherds' Cot League.

CLUBMARK/SPIRIT OF CRICKET

*        "Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game".

*        This Spirit is a key element of ECB/Sport for England Clubmark accreditation which we are close to achieving.  As part of the Clubmark process we have published Codes of Conduct for players, parents/carers and coaches.  These can be accessed on the Website - click on 'Colts' and then on 'Documents'    Please read and live up to them - they are important for maintaining the culture of the Club.

Any queries on anything about the Colts' section please contact Richard Nicoll, preferably out of office hours.  Enjoy the Summer!