2009 - 2010: exciting prospects ahead!
Welcome to a new rugby season. As ever, this new season starts with high hopes, high enthusiasm and massive anticipation of the good times and the tough times that will inevitably come our way over the next eight months or so.
This is also a time to look back over the previous season, to rejoice in the highlights and, hopefully, learn from the things that didn't go quite so well.
You'll be able to read full, blow-by-blow accounts of how all the various age groups and senior teams fared in the club handbook, which will be available to all members at the clubhouse. I urge you to do so, as you'll find there some great stories of triumph, achievement and effort.
Special mention should go to the whole of our Sunday section, which really does go from strength to strength. Last season, some 46 tournaments were entered across all the age groups and, in every case, Sevenoaks reached at least the quarter finals. No fewer than 25 finals were reached and 13 of these provided tournament wins. And, perhaps most amazingly of all, we actually topped 500 registered players - a fantastic achievement.
It takes a serious and professional administrative effort to keep all that running smoothly and for the past several seasons we have been fortunate to have one of the very best at the helm. Steve Fuller has kept the ship of Sunday rugby at Sevenoaks safely on course for what must seem to him like a lifetime and now, as he steps down for a very well-earned rest, I am sure the whole club will join me in thanking him for such a tremendous effort - and, at the same time wishing his successor, Bill Belither, continued success. Steve would be the first to admit that having a motivated and dedicated team around you is the key and I'm certain that all you willing volunteers will continue to lend your support as we move into the new era.
On the senior side, the 1st XV had a topsy-turvey season; great start, dreadful middle, great finish. All in all, 6th out of 12 was a reasonable end result and most encouraging of all was the changing face of the team, with several very promising youngsters from our academy now fully-fledged senior players. Outside the 1s, all our other sides had their share of highs and lows but, overall, "mid table" just about sums it up. Of course, what really matters are qualities like team spirit, camaraderie and enjoyment - and in all of these I think we scored pretty well!
Our head coach, Ron Standen, decided to step down at the end of the season - thanks Ron, once again, for all your efforts - and we have decided to replace from within the existing structure. James Leverington has been appointed as his replacement, with Dave Thresher as specialist forward coach. I know they have some innovative and exciting ideas for training and I would urge all players to give it a go. Training is there for everybody, not just the 1st XV.
Off the field, once again a massive "thank you" must go from all of us to the huge body of volunteers that keep this club going. There are far too many to mention, but they will all know who they are and, if you are not one of them, have a quick look through the list of posts and incumbents in this handbook - and, while you do so, bear in mind that just about every one of them could do with an assistant or helper; any volunteers? Don't be shy!
One name that simply must be singled out for special mention is that of Phil Bradshaw. Phil is standing down after several seasons' excellent service as Treasurer - one of the most important but largely unheralded jobs in the club. Next season will actually be the first for around 30 years that Phil has not held one position or another: a truly great servant to the club and someone to whom we all owe a great debt of gratitude. Thanks Phil - great job!
Phil will be succeeded by Simon Cooper, a relatively new but massively enthusiastic club member, and we wish Simon every success in his new role.
It is no secret that these are difficult times from a financial perspective. There is no escaping the fact that the club needs to raise more income and continue to manage budgets frugally. Alan Bumstead has really pulled out all the stops to maintain and in some cases increase our commercial sponsorship, while the 300+ club, again under Bumble's stewardship and benefiting greatly from the efforts of Paul Groves and Malcolm McCulloch, is a potentially excellent revenue source and I would urge all members either to join it or to increase their stake - it really does matter.
Almost in conclusion, a word about the clubhouse extension project: this is proving to be a complicated process and it is easy to see why you hear of so many clubs taking several years to get their facilities rebuilt or refurbished. But I think it is safe to say that, in Stephen Manley, we have the best possible person in charge of the project. This year looks set to be the year of the big fund-raising push and that is something that I hope all members will get involved in - it won't succeed unless you do.
And finally, congratulations to Tom May who, last season, became the third product of our Sunday section to gain a full cap for England, when he played against Argentina at Old Trafford. I'm delighted to say that Tom also accepted our invitation to join his international colleagues David Flatman and Andy Titterrell as an Honourary Life Member of the club. Well done Tom - and best of luck for the season.
Indeed, best of luck to all involved with SRFC for the coming season. Above all else, let's make sure we enjoy it!
Lee Adamson
Chairman, Sevenoaks RFC