Portsmouth & Southsea Cricket Club

I Thought I would take this opportunity to express what a huge privilege it is to be appointed Chairman of our fantastic club and take this as a chance to share some thoughts with you on how I see our club now and in the future.

I am very lucky to be appointed Chairman at a time when so many things are going so well for the club,  We have a first team full of young players that have progressed through our hugely succesful youth system plying their trade in the Southern League,  at one of the finest batting tracks in the County and we have a great committee dedicated to keeping this club moving successfully forward on its already strong foundations.  This does make me wonder what I can bring to the job that is not already here but I will try and here are my thoughts on what I will be looking to add to the club

Adult Coach
As most of you will be aware,  but for those that aren't  We have recruited Paul Barsby a Level 3 coach who has had a very successful playing and coaching career for the Navy and United Services as our Adult Coach.  Those that have been to the nets have hopefully benefitted already,  and I advise you all if time allows come to Indoor or Outdoor nets and make the most of Pauls expertise.  During the summer Paul will be working with the first team on Matchdays and will be at the Evening Nets both In and Out from now on.

Chairman of Selectors
I have bought in this role (which for this year will be filled by me) as a person to oversee the selection process, and make sure that players with potential are given every opportunity to shine.  This role also means that people will be made fully aware of their role, and what they can expect in terms of selection and also someone to be the bearer of good or bad news about team selection and the reasons behind any promotions or demotions that take place during a seson.  I will be talking to you all personally over the coming weeks to see what aspirations you have for where you play and also being honest with you about where I see your playing roles within the club, hopefully most of you will still be talking to me at the end of this process

Overseas Player
Presently we have no plans to have an overseas player, as feel that the moneys for that can be better spent elsewhere,  obviously if one appears free of charge on a working holiday they will be welcomed, but we have no plans to recruit at this stage

Organisation and Roles within the Club
What I will be doing overt he next few months is detailing every task that needs to be undertaken to run this great club from stocking up the toilet rolls through to Rolling the Pitch,  I will be recording who is responsible for each of these tasks and who the backup person is.  I expect quite a few gaps doing this and will be making sure these are filled.  More of this below!!

All of the above is about what we are doing for you - Now I want to tell you how I would like the other half of this agreement to work

We are a small community club at the moment overly reliant on a small bunch of volunteers,  most of which are no longer actvie players,  this needs to change so I will be looking to all of you, particularlry those with first team aspirations to give something back to the club and will be looking to you to add your names to the job list in some capacity so start thinking of what you can do for YOUR club.  The final job for you in this is that now we have a chairman of selectors and a focal point for managing availability and selection then you need to be open and honest about your availability.  The plan will be to pick the sides 7 days in advance (i.e. the proceeding Saturday) at that point you need to be able to say if you are definitely available, definitely unavailable,  or if there is an element of doubt then you need to tell me what that is and when you will know, so that we can select accordingly. and are not chopping and changing on a Thursday because 4 people have forgot they have a wedding to go to!, in return for that I promise to be open, honest and transparent when it comes to selection so lets work together and have no surprises.

That's all for Now but hope to speak to you all in the next few weeks,  but if you want to speak to me before I get to you  my mobile is 07854 779604

Chairman Chis