the grassroot magazine february 2014
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Grassroot Media's Grassroot Magazine giving grassroots and amateur sports club ideas and ways to save and make more money.TRANSCRIPT
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Contents
Grassroot Media ContactsTwitter @grassrootmedia Facebook.com/grassrootmedia
LinkedIn search for Matthew Court
Office telephone number 0800 8 20 21 22 or 01992 27 44 27
Mathew Court’s email address [email protected]
5 MD’s Letter
9 JMN Sports
Exclusive football deals for member clubs
10 Environmental Sustainability For Clubs
Andy Carmichael from www.sustainablecricket.com
writes about how being sustainable can benefit clubs
in more ways than one
12 The Grassroot Cricket & Football Groundsman
Ian Avery talks us through what can be done on the
cricket square and now football pitch too this month
15 Cricket Club Corner
Nick Begy from Oakham Cricket Club
17 ESU Scoreboards
Scoreboard offers for member clubs
18 Player Fitness with Isaiah Barratt
Isaiah looks at coming up with a fitness programme
for footballers but also transfer to cricketers
21 Owzat Insurance
Cricket club insurance from Owzat Insurance - peace
of mind guaranteed
22 Sports Psychology with David Harrison
Get some tips to change the way you think about the
game – this month mental imagery and rehearsal
25 Twitter Directory
See which clubs are where on Twitter – if you’d like
to be added talk to Mat Court
26 Grassroot Trophies
A new launch from Grassroot giving clubs great
deals on those usually expensive awards & trophies –
our range comes in at over 30% off RRP with free
engraving included
27 Sponsor A Local Club
A new idea from us to help clubs get more coverage
and awareness for their sponsorship opportunities
from local businesses
27 Club Funding News
A new section each month giving you info on
fundraising schemes we’ve found out about
32 Match Minutes FC
A great (and free) app that helps you tweet live
updates on your club’s games.
32 Alpha Bet
A new risk-free way for your club to make money
out of being an agent for a brand new book maker
32 Flooding
A piece showing you what went on over here during
the recent flooding
36 Cricket Coaching with Andrew Beaven
Andrew tells us what we need to know about winter
nets and how we can make the more effective
42 Grassroot Teamwear
If your cricket club is looking for new playing shirts
you probably won’t be able to find them this cheap
anywhere else
45 VS Cricket
A great new cricketing social media tool for clubs,
players, members and fans
47 Colin Smith
Colin is back to give you details on some interesting
loopholes/ideas – this time it’s all about his
experiences running events – some great top tips!
50 easyfundraising.org
Easy & cost-free way to raise club funds
If you would like to find out more about what we do at
Grassroot Media:
Go to our website www.grassrootmedia.com
Call 0800 8 20 21 22 or 01992 27 44 27
Email [email protected]
Be part of the team...
We make money for football and cricket clubs
by putting frames up in changing rooms, selling
the space and then paying a rent for you letting
us do it.
It is easy, does not cost the clubs a penny and
all you have to do is take a photo each month
of the posters once you’ve changed them (we
send them out in the post to you).
Water, water everywhere. That seems to have been the story over the last
few weeks and it also takes up a large chunk of the magazine this month.
First off I have to say my thoughts are with everyone who has been
affected at all by the flooding across the country. There doesn’t seem to
be a region that’s not been hit in some way shape or form and there are
some truly awful tales and photo’s doing the rounds. It’s obviously sad
when a club or business is hit but nothing compared to what people who
have had their homes flooded have been through, or are still going
through.
In this month’s issue we’ve got some shameless plugs for our new trophy
service. We’ve done a few quotes for clubs already and the savings are
pretty good with the range coming in at over 30% off RRP so hopefully
you can see why I’m trying to get the message out to people about it.
Editorially we’ve got some great content from the Secret Non-League
Footballer, a very relevant piece on sustainable sports clubs, a couple of
new fundraising ideas to kick off a new club fundraising news section and
plenty more from our regular contributors. I especially like David’s piece
on mental imagery and Isaiah’s article on planning a fitness programme.
And Colin Smith gives us some more great tips on how to run events.
Happy reading,
Mat Court - MD 5
The MD’s
Letter
The Secret
Non-League
Footballer
Boyd buoyed
after ‘failed’
medical
As luck goes, George Boyd was
undoubtedly short of it when he
failed a medical in January 2013
and his proposed move from
Peterborough United to
Nottingham Forest fell through due
to an inconclusive eye test.
OK, people within the game are
fully aware that this “inconclusive
eye test” was more down to politics
Each month we print an article from the excellent Secret Footballer
website – you can see more at www.thesecretfootballer.com
behind closed doors at Forest. The
phrase “utter bullshit” is what
springs readily to mind.
Subsequently, the deal collapsed,
as the then Forest manager Alex
McLeish wanted to sign the player
but the board pulled the plug and
didn’t back their gaffer.
Heartbreaking for any player.
Boyd had to return to his parent
club, devastated, embarrassed and
now labelled with a dodgy eye,
contrary to his fine form in front of
goal.
“... People say that
things happen for a
reason – in this case,
for the better...”
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People say that things happen for a
reason – in this case, for the better.
Boyd later signed on loan with Hull
City for the remainder of the
season and he helped the club
earn promotion back to the
Premier League. He then joined
them on a permanent basis and is
enjoying himself in the Premier,
having previously played in non-
league.
Maybe the medical that he “failed”
was a blessing in disguise.
As medicals go, they all depend on
what the physiotherpist at that
specific club is like. I have had
three medicals in my career. One of
them was pretty much non-existent.
In fact, the physio performed a few
movements with my legs, which
looked somewhat robotic, then
winked at me and said: “You’ve
passed, mate! Go get the
paperwork signed.”
On the other hand, I was at one
club where it didn’t go so smoothly.
I had agreed personal terms and
entered the physio’s room to
undergo the medical when, halfway
through his examination, he left the
room without saying anything and
returned ten minutes later with the
manager.
“... I began to sink
into a shell and had
heart palpitations...”
I won’t forget the feeling when they
both came in. I began to sink into a
shell and had heart palpitations; I
knew that they were about to give
me bad news. The physio had
diagnosed my hernia slightly out of
place and said that I would require
surgery.
Therefore, under his rules, I didn’t
pass the medical. The cost of an
operation was out of their budget
so I left the club feeling deflated.
Nightmare.
Not every club in non-league have
medicals but, when a player is
brought in to sign, generally the
bigger clubs perform these
examinations – especially when
they are securing a player on a
longer contract or if there has been
a transfer fee for him.
I know one particular club in non-
league that signed a well-known
and experienced player. And this
player used his experience
extremely well. He was drafted in
on a long-term contract on big
wages and he passed his medical.
Web: thesecretfootballer.com Twitter: @tsfnonleague
Facebook: /TSFootballer
However, he was fully aware that he
had an existing injury, which had
prevented him from playing in the
past and was, in fact, career
threatening.
“...It was rumoured
the player had an
injection beforehand,
to pass the
medical...”It didn’t stop him signing his
contract … and he went on to make
not one appearance for the club!
It was rumoured that the player had
had an injection beforehand, in
order to pass the medical, which he
did. However, this wasn’t
acknowledged until further down
the line when he required surgery
after specialists had confirmed the
previous damage.
He had been caught out but with no
evidence, just an indication and
hint from the medical team when
they finally put two and two
together. It was later established
that the player had signed the
paperwork before any medical was
undertaken; therefore, he had done
no wrong.
Other than conning a big club for a
big contract.
Web: thesecretfootballer.com
Twitter: @tsfnonleague
Looking for:
TROPHIES
AWARDS
MEDALS
SHIELDS
SALVERSAnd want 30-40% off RRP?
And free engraving?
And free centre caps?
Go to grassroottrophies.com
Or email Mat at Grassroot Media
Why Is Sustainability
Relevant?
In the last 45 years every region of
the UK has witnessed increased
heavy precipitation as a proportion
of winter rainfall, whereas in
summer it has decreased for all
regions except North East England
and North Scotland (UKCIP 2011).
Extremes of weather increase the
likelihood of flooding and drought.
Rising populations and developing
nations demand greater volumes of
fossil fuels and the ease and safety
of extracting them can be difficult
to ensure. Between now and 2037
the UK population is projected to
grow by 9.6 million (Office for
National Statistics 2012). As UK
owned oil and gas resources
decline there will be greater
pressure on UK consumers from
rising and more volatile prices
(DECC 2010).
The need to adapt the way energy
is considered and utilised is
evident.
Yet the UK consumption of fossil
fuels has increased from 147.5
million tonnes of oil equivalent
(mtoes) in 1990 to 155.0 mtoes in
2008 (ONS 2011). Resources are
under pressure in ways never
before experienced.
At the same time participation in 19
of Sport England's funded sports
(including football, cricket and
rugby union) is down on a
comparison of once per week
involvement (Oct 2012-Oct 2013
compared against Apr 2012 - Apr
2013). Swimming, athletics and
cycling are England's most popular
sports. The direct income from
purely playing (memberships,
match fees, etc) will not cover the
operating costs of hosting the
activity in many cases. The
rationale for doing nothing and
expecting grass based sports to
pay for themselves simply does not
make sense.
Andy Carmichael from www.sustainablecricket.com gives us more food for
thought on sustainability and grassroots sport.
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“...The Environment
Agency clearly faces
an enormous task...”
The Environment Agency clearly
faces an enormous task and
provides numerous resources for
people to help themselves with
pre-emptive action. Mapping on
the EA website
http://maps.environment-
agency.gov.uk/ can highlight areas
of particular risk.
Their free alert service can warn of
conditions and a free to download
flood planner is available
alongside a community group
flood policy pack.
In recognising the very real threat
to the existence of some of our
facilities Sport England now
carries a set of guidance
documents appropriate to sports
clubs, well worth viewing;
http://sportengland.org/facilities-
planning/tools-guidance/flood-
guidance/
You can find out more about Andy’s
work in sustainability on his
website www.
sustainablecricket.com
One recommendation noted from
the various club audits I have
conducted is that awareness and
planning for flood events needs to
improve.
In the event there is perhaps very
little that can be done to combat
the kind of extremes of weather we
have seen once they overwhelm
defences but if they are to become
a more recognisable feature of the
climate of the UK clubs need to be
prepared to minimise the damage
done. Flood policies should be a
standard feature of a club's
documentation, with a clear set of
guidelines as to what should be
done, when and by whom. No one
is suggesting some sort of King
Canute act, please always consider
safety when dealing with both
flooding and the aftermath, but
measures such as moving
machinery to a location where it
may not suffer damage, regular
inspection of any drainage outlets,
and simply being aware of the
likelihood of occurrence can be
achieved.
“...Flood policies
should be a standard
feature of a club’s
documentation...”
The Grassroot
Football & Cricket
Groundsman
Cricket: Fun in
February?
As the wet weather is in no hurry to
depart and some parts of the
country have been under water for
over a month I thought I’d give you
a few ideas what you can do once
the water subsides.
Unfortunately if your ground has
been flooded for over a month
there is little chance that the grass
plants will of survived and
reseeding once the surface has
been cleared of rubbish and
spiked to allow air back into the
profile is your only option
hopefully none or only a very few
will be in that situation.
For the rest of us once the water
has cleared and you can walk on it
without getting stuck or damaging
the surface you need to remove all
debris and open up the surface. For
outfields you can use a tractor
mounted spiker, if you can beg
borrow or hire one on the square,
either a sorrel roller or a light
forking without lifting the surface. If
you’re happy your ground wont dry
out to quickly you can spike the
square in February however if it
dries out quickly you will have
cracks across the square not good.
Please wait until you can do this
work without damaging the
surface.
“...The grass will
need a feed after all
this wet weather...”
The grass will also need a feed
after all this wet weather and again
moss may be an issue so a low
nitrogen fertiliser with iron is ideal.
Ian Avery, Head of Grounds at Sutton Valence School talks you through what can be
done in February for the 2014 season for both football and cricket groundstaff
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Football: Winter
Pitches
As this nightmare winter continues
and the pressure mounts to get
matches played on sodden pitches
what can we do to help the pitch?
Firstly don’t drive any machinery
on it where you can see the tracks
or bring up water.
“...what can we do to
help the pitch?...”
Get the trusty fork out and fork
around the goal mouths and other
hard-wear areas adding sand if you
have the money and a few bodies
to give you a hand.
Line marking can be very difficult
if you use a wheel to wheel
machine this is when the battery
powered jet marker comes into its
own, maybe the time to ask the
treasurer for some spending
money is now. If you have a private
school or large sports club nearby
they may be willing to lend you
one.
As we get into March and the
season will be extending further
and further it may be worth
spending some money on a couple
Once you can work on the square
and before starting any preseason
rolling it’s a good idea to square
the square even if like me you mark
the corners with pegs etc. It’s worth
measuring the diagonals just to
check there has been no
movement, they should be the
same, give or take a little, to allow
for tape stretch.
If you haven’t done this before
stretch a line of 22 yards at the top
of your square then at one end run
a line at right angles to the end of
your square.
Run a tape along the top line to 3m
and put in a peg, run a tape down
the side line and measure to 4m a
put in a peg, now measure between
the two pegs they should measure
5m if not adjust the lines I would
start with the side line.
Once this is achieved you have a
right angle repeat at the other
three corners, place a peg at each
corner measure the diagonals they
should be the same.
This now gives you a square also
the correct distance between the
stumps and when you come to
mark in pitches they will line up
square. I mark in ten yard gaps to
give me the exact width of a pitch.
Here’s to some drier weather in
March and April.
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When the weather does turn in
March a general turf fertiliser will
help boost the grass health
improve the look of the pitch and
help recovery, a lot of the natural
goodness in soils will have been
leached away during this winter
and the grass will have a yellow
colour to it.
Avoid fertilising when frost is
forecast and of course the fertiliser
needs watering-in if no rain (I know
not likely) after 3 days.
The surface would also benefit
from opening up with a spiker if
you have the equipment available
this will help the grass recover and
help drainage if the weather
worsens.
“...Rolling should be
avoided...”
Rolling should be avoided as this
compresses the surface sealing it
up reducing the water/air
exchange and can cause certain
weeds to thrive including Plantigo
major. If the pitch is uneven
because of divots etc. use a chain
harrow this will level lumps out
without serious damage.
Good luck to you all,
Ian
of bags of seed and just before
weekend matches spread the seed
over the worse areas this is a cheap
way of pushing the seed into the
soil and covering it. Again, if you
can spread some sand over the
seeded areas after the match this
will help even more. This is a cheap
way of semi renovating your pitch if
you can’t afford the full works in the
off season.
“...When the weather
does turn a general
turf fertiliser will help
boost grass health...”
Nick Begy, Chairman at Oakham Cricket Club of Oakham
in Rutland, Leicestershire
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Cricket
Club CornerTell us a bit about your club... what
do you do, where are you, which
leagues, how many members etc...
Oakham CC are in the newly
restructured Leicestershire and
Rutland League, with teams in Div 3
and 7, plus a Sunday Team in the
Rutland League 3. We also run a
junior programme for over 200
kids from U7s up to Colts. We also a
midweek and social side.
Oakham is the County town of
Rutland, the country's smallest
county.
Have you had any famous players
pull on the shirt?
We have a number of current
county players who have turned
out for OCC, but I suppose our big
claim to fame was when Jonny
Bairstow and Jo Root knocked off
over 400 runs in a day to beat
Durham in a 2nd XI game at OCC,
with Jonny Bairstow beating the
single highest score at the ground
of 201, scored by 16 year old Jamie
McCormack only the week before.
Tell us something interesting about
your club...
Our proudest claim is that we have
been voted the 2nd best ground for
pitch, outfield and facilities in
Leicestershire and Rutland for the
last 3 seasons.
Who does what at the club to do
with revenue generation/
sponsorship?
Most of our revenue goes in to 2
projects. Primarily juniors where
we fund coaching and equipment
and it is an area we are really
proud of.
The other side is our ground, and
what is a batting paradise.
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Have you got any advice for other
clubs in our network looking to be
more successful when it comes to
generating funds?
We have had success in a number
of areas. I think the clear strategy is
to have a story to sell to potential
sponsors. You have to be clear how
you can benefit the sponsor, and
show that you have a development
plan as a club. Get sponsors
involved and feel part of your Club.
Be clear on how you will broadcast
their brand, such as email, Twitter
followers, Facebook and off page
advertising such as the ground.
Also you have to show how your
members will support their
business
I think the other thing we have
found, is with limited volunteers
focus the effort on to events that
make the big money. We focus on
one main event making nearly £4k
profit. Plus when looking to recruit
volunteers look for them to run one
event, not a small group running
many. This really does spread the
load.
What do you find is the best
approach to getting advertisers
and sponsors in and around the
club?
Use their business. Follow them on
social media. Plus just invite them,
give them an incentive to turn up,
like a lunch and watch a game.
We have also found sponsorship in
kind works well, such as meat from
a butcher. Even large multiples like
Tesco are happy to support you but
again with goods.
Have you had particular success in
selling to particular markets?
Local businesses and in particular
pubs and restaurants, as it is easy
to reciprocate the sponsorship by
using their business and running
events with them.
Are you involved in any other
sports? Is there anything our clubs
can learn from clubs outside of
cricket and football?
I also coach rugby, and the
principles are the same. The one
thing I have learned from rugby is
getting sponsors involved in the
club where they then buy in to the
Club at a far higher level.
Have you got a Twitter page our
other clubs can make contact with
you on?
We use this alot, and try to help
anyone that asks. Indeed we used
Twitter contacts (Thanks Dave at
Langwith CC) to build our web site.
Our Twitter account is
@OakhamCricket
In his player fitness column this month, Isaiah Barratt looks at long term training
plans. While aimed at footballers, a lot is transferable to cricket fitness.
Player Fitness
Isaiah Barratt
Hello and welcome back, I cannot
believe it is February already! Over
the Christmas and New Year period
I hope you found my advice and
tips helpful but now it’s back to the
reality of hard training and constant
healthy eating.
So this month I am going to cover
why it is important for an athlete to
have a recovery phase and why this
might benefit you during these few
bad months of weather conditions.
So to start with ‘Periodization’ is the
term we use for a training plan with
is divided into periods of training.
This is then linked together with
progressive training designed to
permit an athlete to peak at a time
in which there want to achieve their
specific goal. A Periodization tend
to have 4 phases to the training
plan consisting on base building,
sharpening, competition and then
finally rest and recovery phase
before you then start the cycle
again.
On the next page you’ll see an
example of a Periodization chart,
when creating your own suit it best
to your needs and be willing to
change and adapt it to sudden
occurrences such as bad weather
which could cause postponed
matches.
A lot of athletes know that getting
enough rest after vigorous amounts
of exercise is essential for any
high-level performances yet so
many of them still over train and
feel guilty when they miss a day or
two when they take a day off. Which
is when the body is simply
repairing and strengthening itself
between workouts, so by
overtraining by continuously
training every day you then
actually weaken the muscles which
then leads to injuries.
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There are two types of recovery to
think about, ‘Short’ and ‘Long’ term
recovery, which I will tell you a bit
of both. The short term recovery is
immediate recovery from a
particularly intense training
session, sometimes called active
recovery which occurs in the hours
immediately after intense training.
It refers to engaging in low
intensity exercise after workouts
during both cool down phase
straight after your intense exercise
as well as the days following this
intense workout.
Both types of active recovery are
linked with performance benefits
but don’t forget another major
factor to remember after training
and that is to replenish your energy
Rest days are important to any
sport athlete for many reasons,
some of those reasons are
physiological and others
psychological. Rest is physically
necessary for the muscles to repair
themselves, rebuild and
strengthen. In the worst of
scenarios too few rest days can
lead to overtraining syndrome
which is when your performances
actually decrease due to lack of
recovery to the body. Symptoms
and signs of overtraining to look
out for are:
• Feeling of general malaise
• Staleness
• Depression
• Decreased sporting
performance levels
Long term recovery refers to those
that are built in to a seasonal
training program such as
footballers. Most well designed
training program schedules will
have recovery days and weeks
which is built into an annual
program. This is also why coaches
and athletes change their training
programs throughout the year to
adapt their changes whether it is
intensity, distance, time or any
other training variable.
Here are some recovery tips:
• Replace fluids; water supports
every metabolic function and
nutrient transfer
• Eat properly after to refuel your
body - ideally within 60 minutes
• Stretch
• Rest
• Perform active recovery
• Have a massage
• Have a cold ice bath: helps
reduce the chance of DOMS
(delayed onset muscle soreness)
setting in
• Get high quality sleep
• Avoid overtraining
Thank you for reading this month’s
article I hope it is of some use to
you and your training. Or not
training! Depends if you choose to
have a recovery week due to his
terrible weather were having.
I look forward to writing for you
next month.
Isaiah Barratt
Personal trainer, Train4Health
stores. With the loss of fluid during
training you need to replenish
these stores and optimise protein
synthesis which is simply the
process of increasing the protein
content of muscle cells that
prevents your muscles from
breaking down and decreasing in
size by eating the rights foods in a
post-exercise meal. This is the time
in which soft tissue such as
tendons, ligaments and muscles
start to repair and the removal of
chemicals that build up as the
result of cell activity.
Always be aware that an efficient
amount of sleep is needed as part
of a short term recovery, but
especially when doing hard
training. One or two night’s poor
sleep won’t have much of an effect
or impact on your performance but
consistently lacking efficient
amounts of sleep can result in
subtle changes in your hormone
levels. Especially those related to
stress, mood or muscle recovery!
No one really understands the
complexities of sleep but research
indicates that sleep deprivation
can lead to increased levels of
cortisol (which is the stress
hormone), decreased levels of
human growth hormone that is
active during tissue repair, and
some research shows a decrease in
glycogen synthesis, aerobic
endurance and increased ratings of
perceived exertion.20
TO BE DONE
David Harrison from Pinnacle Performance looks at imagery and mental rehearsal
to help your players rehearse their sport in their minds.
Sports
psychology
Imagery &
Mental
Rehearsal
We continue our look at all things
sport psychology and today we
looking at imagery and mental
rehearsal. I work on this with my
athletes as all athletes will do this
to differing levels. Imagery or
mental rehearsal refer to creating
an experience in the mind of the
athlete. So Imagery is a form of
simulation and is similar to a real
sensory experience but occurs
entirety in the mind (Weinberg and
Gould, 1999). Mental Rehearsal is
about rehearsing your sport in your
mind.
Imagery/Mental Rehearsal can be
used to:
• Improve concentration
• Build confidence
• Control emotional response
• Acquire and practice skills
• Acquire and practice strategy
• Cope and recover with injury
As an athlete You want to aim for,
and get into your image as many
senses and feelings (positive and
negative) as possible. The senses
are vision, sound, smell, feel, and
how your body feels when it
completes an action. To improve
your ability to mentally rehearse
start by rehearsing something like
peeling an orange or putting your
feet into icy water or even better
something familiar like your
bedroom.
For example
See your bedroom and its contents
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senses and feelings in there as
possible. Make these senses and
feelings realistic.
When you are comfortable in a
sport specific image you need to
work on the key elements of
successful imagery.These are:
Vividness
Make sure you use all the senses
and feelings in there. A good way
to think of this is to think of
watching a 3D film. If you take the
glasses off you get a blurry image.
The image you create should be
with your glasses on. Brilliant,
clear, vivid. Work on recreating as
closely as possible the event and if
you are having problems go back
to practicing on things that are
familiar (like your bedroom).
“...the image you
create should be
brilliant, clear,
vivid...”
Controllability
Ensure the images do what you
want them to. You want to work on
controlling the rehearsal. Have fun
with this. Can you make yourself
superfast? Can you make the
goalkeeper small and the net
bigger? Play around with this.What
and where they are in relation to
each other. Hear your favourite
music playing from your iPod
docking station, what other sounds
are there and you can hear in the
room? What does your room smell
like? What does the carpet feel like
on your feet? How do you feel when
you are in your room?
“...it is important to
get a good, clear,
controllable image...”
Be aware of the different types of
types of Imagery/Mental
Rehearsal.They are:
• Internal – imagining the
execution of a skill from your
own vantage point. Like Call of
Duty on the Playstation.
• External – perspective of an
external observer. Like Grand
Theft Auto on the Playstation.
Athletes switch between the 2
types so be aware of which you as
an athlete prefer. What is more
important is to get a good, clear,
controllable image (more on this
later).
Once you are comfortable with
rehearsing something familiar
move onto sport specific
rehearsing. Again get as many
works for you? Work on controlling
image will ensure you see what you
want to accomplish instead of
seeing errors.
To mentally rehearse start by doing
it for 10 minutes in the morning
and 10 minutes before you go to
sleep. Ensure you are comfortable,
relaxed and have no distractions.
Once you have done this do it on
the bus, in the car to training and
slowly increase the time you spend
doing it. Your body will think it is
doing the skill and you might feel
your muscles twitch. This is normal
as you can ‘lie’ to your body
through mental rehearsal!
Overall imagery is a powerful
technique to develop and can be
the difference between a player
that doesn’t make it and one that
does. If you have any comments
about the article then I would be
happy to hear them. Contact me via
email at
visit my website
www.pinnacleperformance.co.uk
for more information on sport
psychology.
Looking for:
TROPHIES
AWARDS
MEDALS
SHIELDS
SALVERSAnd want 30-40% off RRP?
And free engraving?
And free centre caps?
Go to grassroottrophies.com
Or email Mat at Grassroot Media
25
Directory
Birmingham County FA: @birminghamfa
Bosham FC: @boshamfc
Bronze CC: @bronzecc
Clifton CC: @cliftoncricket
Clifton CC ground: @cliftonccdevt
Crawley Down Gatwick Football Club:
@officialcdgfc
Epping CC: @eppingcc
Gateshead Fell CC: @gatesheadfellcc
Hailsham Cricket Club: @hailshamcc
Lodway CC: @lodwaycc
Marsden CC: @cuckooscricket
Old Parkonians Association: @oldparks
Old Parkonians FC: @oldparksfc
Parkfield Amateur AFC: @parkfieldafc
South Loughton CC: @southloughtoncc
Southgate Compton CC: @sccricketclub
Stapleton CC: @stapletoncc
Steeple Langford CC: @steeplelangford
Sussex County FA: @sussexcountyfa
Thaxted CC: @thaxtedcc
Tynedale CC: @tynedalecc
Westinghouse CC: @westinghousecc
Whickham CC: @whickhamcc
Winterbourne CC: @winterbournecc
Woodnesborough FC: @woodiesfc
Worlington CC: @worlingtoncc
Worthing FC @worthing_fc
List your club’s Twitter account in here so everyone else can get following you. Only those clubs that are members of the network like yours are allowed on this list. To get listed just drop Mat a note at [email protected] or on Twitter @grassrootmediaGrassroot Media recommends:@birminghamfa@fvhtweets@sussexcountyfa@meadonscricket@4grants@chance2shine@vscricketsn
Here’s a bit of background on our newest idea. It’s a trophy shop called Grassroot
Trophies. See what we’re talking about here: www.grassroottrophies.com
Grassroot Trophies: A
New Way To Save Money
Trophies,
awards, medals,
salvers, shields
at 33% off RRP
A while ago a club came to me and
asked if I could find them a
discount on trophies. They were
spending hundreds of pounds a
year on trophies & medals and
didn’t think they were getting a
great deal. I thought I did a great
job finding a retailer that gave us a
7.5% discount off their prices, but
now I’ve found out we can do much,
much better than this.
After visiting the Trophex
exhibition at Birmingham NEC last
month I found out a little about how
the trophy business works and
have come up with a new business
model with one of the biggest
Trophy manufacturers/distributors
that sees us being able to offer big
discounts against their RRP’s while
at the same time offering free
engraving and centre caps, which
most places charge for. The
delivery is expensive if it’s a small
order as it’s a flat fee of £9 or so but
this covers you up to 20kg so
there’s value in it if it’s more than a
few trophies being ordered. Even if
it’s a very small order we’re still
cheaper than most places, but if it’s
more than two or three awards or
trophies I’ve not seen any one else
in the market offering these kinds
of prices.
I’ve built a website in my spare
time (well, while the missus was
watching Big Brother) and it’s all up
and running now. Each night I add
more trophies to the product range
but if you don’t see what you’re
looking for please drop me an
email and we’ll come back with
some options not yet on the site.
Thanks, Mat Court.26
A quick update on an idea I’ve had to help you sell sponsorship and advertising in
your clubs to local firms. I’ve imaginatively called it ‘Sponsor A Local Club’...
Use grassrootmedia.com to
showcase your sponsorship
opportunities
We’re very much in to the
sponsorship season for cricket
clubs with a lot of you putting
yourselves out there to local
businesses.
While this is great I know how
difficult it can be and that any help
you can get is, well, help.
I’ve had an idea for a page on the
website to give you some support,
there’s not much I can do from this
office for you, but this is something.
It’s free for everyone to use, and
doesn’t take me any time to run (all
I do is copy and paste what you
send) it doesn’t cost me anything
either.
The plan is for us build up a
selection of club sponsorship
opportunities from all over the
country – I can then push this page
via social media with a view to
getting local businesses going on
there and looking for clubs to
sponsor in their area. I have no
idea if it will work, I doubt it will
bring anything in at the moment as
there is only one opportunity on
there, but have a look, see what you
think and if you’d like to give it a go
drop me an email on
[email protected] with
the relevant details (if you copy
and paste and then amend the
entry that’s on there already that
will do the job).
It’s not going to drastically change
the way you do your selling, but it
might just bring a couple of quid in
for one of you – I can see it being
useful once it’s got more entries on
there.
And remember, it’s free – the
businesses will be dealing with you
directly, not me so there’s no need
for Grassroot Media to take a
commission or make any £ from it.
Cheers, Mat Court.27
Each month we’re going to find a scheme, grant, competition or anything else that
we think could benefit our clubs and write about it. As it’s our first month here’s two
Club Funding
News
Think You Know
The Worst
Football Pitch In
The Country?
Then “Pitch To
Win”
A nationwide search is underway
to find the worst football pitch in
mainland Britain.
Briggs & Stratton, one of the world’s
leading producers of petrol lawn
mower engines, has re-launched its
Pitch to Win competition that offers
a £3000 pitch makeover to the
worst football playing surface in
Britain.
The engine company is calling
upon all under 18 amateur
footballers, both girls and boys, to
nominate their pitch if they think
that it is in drastic need of
improvement.
The winning team shall receive not
only the new pitch but also
sponsorship throughout the
2014/2015 season and a new team
kit. Runners up will win a £500
boost for the club kitty as well as
sponsorship and a new team kit.
First ran in 2008, Briggs & Stratton
has re-launched the competition to
help support health initiatives and
to get children active.
Ian Small, UK sales and marketing
manager at Briggs & Stratton, said:
“Pitch to Win was very popular
when it first ran. We received a
fantastic amount of entries and
were shocked at some of the
conditions of pitches in the UK.
28
”With health and obesity warnings
in the UK on the increase,
particularly for children, it is
becoming imperative that playing
facilities improve to help raise
fitness levels nationwide. Not only
that but a successful local football
club really enhances a community.
We want to really highlight the
importance of local football clubs,
and the significant contribution
that they make to their community.”
The Pitch to Win judging panel
consists of a variety of experts
including representatives from
Briggs & Stratton, experienced
groundsmen, and a selection of turf
and football journalists.
To enter the competition and to
find out more information please
visit
http://www.pitchtowin.org.uk/. You
can also follow the competition on
Twitter (@Pitch_ToWin) or search
on Facebook.
The deadline for the competition is
Friday 28 March 2014.
277
If you know of a cricket
or football club that you
think could host our
panels, please feel free
to tell them about us and
what we do.
We are also on the look
out for leagues that want
to spread the word of
Grassroot Media so
again, if you know any
then please ask them to
get in touch, the more
clubs we have on board,
the easier it is to sell to
advertisers and the more
money we can make for
each club.
www.grassrootmedia.com
Tel: 0800 8 20 21 22
Mob: 07795 49 59 69
Email:
donate between £250 - £500
directly to that team.
A local youth side are about to
benefit from our initiative.
Northfield Town U11’s who play in
the CWYFL, were approached by
Mark who spoke to their Manager
Stephen Glenn. Steve embraced
the idea as he fully understands the
importance of funding to provide
these clubs and teams with
everything they need and
explained that sponsorship was
extremely hard to come by in
today’s economic climate.
A vacancy was passed on and LRE
were able to source an ideal
candidate that is due to start the
new role in March and the under
11’s bank account will benefit with
a donation of £500.
Stephen who is also Vice Chairman
of Northfield Town has passed on
all the information to every team
manager for them to pass on to the
parents of the players.
We are keen to offer this scheme to
any sports club in need of funding
and is enlisting the backing of
some very prominent sporting
stars who are behind the idea.
To find out more about this fantastic
project contact Mark Murphy on
Mobile: 07975 500603
Email: [email protected]
Lean
Recruitment
Enterprise
supporting
Grassroots
Football
The following is as article written
by Lean Recruitment Enterprise,
organisers of a new scheme we’ve
found out about...
You all understand the importance
of funding to ensure clubs’ survival,
and to provide adequate
equipment and facilities for the
members to enjoy.
An initiative started by us at Lean
Recruitment Enterprise (LRE), an
independent recruitment business
based in Rubery Birmingham, is
giving these clubs to opportunity
to bring in much needed funding.
Mark Murphy, Operations Director,
had the idea to approach local
youth football clubs with a very
simple yet rewarding scheme: if a
club was able to pass on a vacancy
within any business that a manager
or parent of a player is associated
with that LRE could fill we would
The Match Minutes FC app helps insert hashtags, match time, score and
player names.
Fast, professional-looking match commentary during
the game, clean records for writing match reports
after the game.
Struggling to tweet live match updates
from a mobile phone?
Available at http://matchminutesfc.com/the-app.html
Your Club Can Become
It’s as easy
Alpha-Bet is a new bookmaking
company looking to develop
mutually beneficial partnerships
with sports clubs.
For more details call us on:
Email us at:
Visit us at:
Like us on Facebook & spread the word:
In return for promoting our book
pay clubs a 10% commission on any
An Agent For
as A, B, C
020 7100 6021
www.a-bet.co
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making business to your members we
losses from the people you refer to us.
A new regular feature from Mat Court on preparing for what are probably the worst
kind of weather events to hit sports clubs: floods.
Hertford Town FC, a lot
of water, and a Flood
Defence Officer (me)
As some of you are aware,
Grassroot Media works out of the
local football club Hertford Town
FC. And as those of you that follow
either @grassrootmedia or
@hertfordtownfc on Twitter will
have read about how the recent
floods affected the club. While I
have an interest in keeping the
club as dry as possible in that I go
to work there, I also hate it when
something happens that affects
sports clubs which do such a great
job for the local communities they
serve.
So I’ve put myself forward to be
Hertford Town FC’s first ever Flood
Defence Manager and I’m
delighted to say that my
application has been accepted by
the Chairman and General
Manager. I don’t know if other
clubs have a Flood Defence
Manager or not, but if you don’t
then perhaps think about assigning
the post to someone – my plan is
over time to develop a flood
defence plan for the club which
can be implemented quickly and
easily by anyone at the club when
there is a risk of flooding. My
thinking is that it needs one person
to own the plan but that plan
shouldn’t be reliant on just one
person. What if he/she is on
holiday when the next flood hits?
What if they can’t get to the ground
because of closed roads? You get
my point.
The idea behind me writing about
it each month in this magazine is
not to preach, but to hopefully show
you how someone with absolutely
no experience with flooding can
still lend a hand and come up with
a viable plan.
This month I’ll talk you through
how badly we were affected and
what we’ve done to try to limit the
damage, and some of the learnings
I’ve taken from the past week or
so...
It all started Friday 7th February as
I was driving to work in the
morning. I noticed a lot of traffic on
the back roads I use to get to the
club. I soon found out this traffic
was caused by a broken down car.
It had broken down because the
driver had tried to drive through
two foot of water. It was a sign of
things to come. A journey that
should have taken no more than ten
minutes took over and hour. It was
just like living in London again.
And this was the scene when I
finally reached the club:
I’d seen the pitch waterlogged
before but had never seen the
water flowing in to the ground like
it was directly from the river. Here’s
a map to show you the position the
club is in:
As you can see the club is in an
‘interesting’ position being
bordered by two rivers joining in to
one, which can’t be a good thing
when it comes to water.
But there’s not a lot we can do
about that is there. It’s how we work
with what we have that sets us
apart as a species eh?
When I made it in to the ground the
water started rising pretty quickly
and all I could really do was try
move everything up a few feet off
the ground to protect as much as I
could and hope for the best. If I had
a plan to follow, had materials and
equipment to hand I think I could
have at least stopped the water
from coming in to the changing
room/office area. And this is what
got me thinking – can a little bit of
work once a month have prevented
the scale of the damage to the
club? This is what I am going to try
to do, work up a plan and stockpile
the relevant equipment and
materials so that when the next
flood warning sounds just on or two
people can protect as much of the
club as possible in under half an
hour.
But getting back to the events of
that Friday, as I said, all I could do
was move stuff off the ground to try
to stop it from getting wet. Big
heavy appliances had to stay
where they were however.35
Above was the scene just before
the water started getting really
high. By lunchtime the hard
standing to the right was a foot
under and water was all over the
changing rooms and office areas.
Below is the office after the water
got in. This was when I decided to
call it a day and get out of there
and go for a pint.
The water had receded by Sunday
and all that was left to do in the
immediate future was clean up and
implement some short term
measures to try and protect as
much property as we could on a
budget with little man power.
The carpet has bought it but that’s
not end of the world in a
boardroom office – it can still
function without it and can be
replaced when funds allow.
But the time spent cleaning up after
was something I wasn’t keen on
repeating so I set about building
some makeshift sandbag defences.
My advice to anyone in the same
position when looking for
sandbags is do not buy the pre-
made ones. They are very
expensive and it only takes a
couple of minutes to make a
sandbag from raw materials, and
costs about a 1/5th of the pre-made
ones.
I found a good article on how to
construct sandbags walls to protect
doorways, which was the main
concern for me and the club but
the main issue was not having
enough sand. It’s heavy to transport
in standard cars so this will
36
be a major thing to consider when I
start work on the flood planning
going forward. I lost a lot of time
going to and from the builders
merchants for little reward in terms
of material gathered.
Anyway, I was happy with
everything until I saw a piece on
BBC news on the floods which
showed a flood board being used
to brace a doorway that didn’t have
a door. I looked at one of my
doorways and realised if water had
hit it would not have stood a
chance. I looked at flood board
costs and they were a bit too pricey
so instead found some very strong
wood which fit the doorway with
enough overlap to provide support
for the sandbag wall. Obviously the
other doorways’ walls were
supported by the locked door so
not too much concern there in the
short term.
From what I’ve read the sandbags
should be laid perpendicular to the
doorway but I have run out of
sandbags and to do it the proper
way would me water easily goes
over the top. They look pretty well
set the way they are so I’m not too
concerned. Hopefully I’ll never find
out whether they would’ve worked
or not as a) I’ll have more sandbags
soon to rebuild the wall or b) it
won’t flood again.
The doorway I mentioned with the
makeshift flood board is as well
constructed as I could make it but
just needs another few levels of
sandbags to make sure.
The club has worked the flood hard
in terms of trying to get local
support and awareness levels up.
The twitter account has been very
active, club members have been
sending the local paper
photographs of the scenes, the club
photographer has got the club
featured on the local radio station
and a few photos featured in the
paper. All of this led to Sky Sports
News coming down and doing an
interview piece with the club
Chairman. (see next page)37
I’m now trying to use this coverage
to get the local branch of a large
builders merchants involved with
the club as Flood Defence Partner.
The idea is they give us help,
advice and materials to help stop
the flooding both in the short and
long term and in return they get
shouted about by the club along
with some pitchside boards and
anything else the club can offer
that doesn’t cost it money, but that
has a value for the builders
merchants.
This is where clubs can do really
good things I think. I know many of
you already have partnerships with
local firms but if you haven’t, just
have a think about who can help
you and how you can help them. It
doesn’t have to result in money
coming in to the club, an
advertising deal or partnership
where you get materials or
expertise in return can sometimes
be more valuable. Have another
read of the Lewes FC feature we
did a few months ago which has
more detail on this.
Where we are now is that the water
has gone from everywhere apart
from the pitch, I’ll be happy with
the building protection if we get
another 40 sandbags deployed
tonight in advance of the forecast
very heavy rain tomorrow, and my
thoughts are moving towards how
we can potentially stop this
happening to such a bad extent
again.
The main thing I’ve taken from the
last week really has been what an
effect such a simple thing like
water can have. I’d never
experienced flooding before and
can now start to imagine just how
bad some of you have had it, and
just how bad some of the people in
Somerset and other places have
had it, some of them being under
water for over a month. My
thoughts are with them all.
I’ll keep you up to date with how
we get on here – hopefully next
month I’ll be able to say my little
defences have held fast and I’ll do
a little piece on building a
stockpile of sandbags, how to
deploy them properly and keeping
them safe and out of harms way
until they are needed. Basically
they’ll last forever if you do it right
is what I’ve learned.
Keep dry, Mat38
Andrew
Beaven
Winter nets –
more than just
hit and hope!
Before Christmas I posted an
article on ways to get the most from
your off-season practice sessions.
With the new season in the UK now
only two months' away (weather
permitting!), I wanted to share a
few more ideas on how to make
your net practice even more
constructive.
Competitive nets – make it
matter
First thought – try to make your net
sessions competitive.
Set batters specific challenges -
playing only in the "V" for the first
10 deliveries,say, then hitting only
on the off-side for 10 deliveries.
"10 off the last four balls" is fine, so
long as you encourage effective
power hitting, not wild slogging.
Do the same with the bowlers –
have them bowl to a plan (make
them think of a plan, then execute it
Challenge the players with
different scenarios, and make them
think.
For the coach and the player –
concentrate on outcomes – hitting
the ball along the ground and into
spaces, for example. This close to
the start of the season you would
probably want to spend more time
accommodating your style to the
demands of the game, rather than
trying to re-build a stroke, or a
bowling action.
39
This month Andrew Beaven from The Twenty20 Cricket Company looks at getting the
most of pre-season netting
Working with a coach in the nets
– horror movies
As coaches, we have moved on
from standing at the side of the net
and giving general encouragement
or admonishment, as appropriate,
before occasionally stopping a
session to demonstrate a technical
point with the batsman.
David Hinchliffe, of PitchVision
Academy, advocates "horror
movie" net coaching.
“...watch your players [in the nets]
closely...say little but...log the
information as you go...
Then, after the quiet, you pounce on
your victim and give the key
feedback after he or she has
batted.”
If you have a coach with a video
camera, record the batsman in
action, then confront him with the
evidence.
“...If you have a
coach with a video
camera, record the
batsman in action...”
Review takes no more than a
minute. Often, the the batter will
recognise the relevant technical
points with little prompting, leaving
the coach to devise an appropriate
intervention.
“...Make your players
think for themselves -
watching is a great
way of learning...”
The beauty of video is that it can
be replayed (perhaps annotated
using a video analysis app) with
the batter before he bats in the
next session, and reinforced with a
short drill or well-placed
"statement of intent" e.g. "hit the
cut into the ground" or "play the
on-drive to mid-on, not mid-
wicket".
Then, aside from a reminder before
he goes in to bat, leave the batter
alone for a couple of weeks to work
out how to put the advice into
practice. You might need to task
the bowlers to concentrate on
attacking the technique – see
“Head Hunters”, below.
Harry Shapiro, Coaching
Consultant at Boland Cricket Union,
takes non-intervention a step
further, encouraging his players to
analyse and give feedback on their
own performance and of their
fellow players before the coach
gives any input at all.
40
Make the players think for
themselves – watching is a great
way of learning.
Head hunter net
This works equally well with a
coach, or without, and more
directly involves your bowlers – set
them the explicit task of identifying
and ruthlessly exploiting any
weakness they can in the batsmen.
The bowlers then have to work to a
(realistic) plan of attack (or
defence – sometimes, they will
work simply to denying the batter
the opportunity to smear the ball
over mid-wicket).
Which in turn makes the batters
work harder, and forces them to
think about their techniques and
how to apply them to best effect.
Having a coach, trained to observe
divergence from technical models,
is ideal, but you don't need
qualified coaches to be head
hunters – a couple of experienced
bowlers will be just as good
(maybe even better).
In conclusion – look for ways to
make net practice competitive,
challenge your players to think
about their game, but most of all
make it fun.
Looking for:
TROPHIES
AWARDS
MEDALS
SHIELDS
SALVERSAnd want 30-40% off RRP?
And free engraving?
And free centre caps?
Go to grassroottrophies.com
Or email Mat at Grassroot Media
Call: 0800 8 20 21 22
Flexible payment plans, spread the cost across the season
or use your end of season Grassroot Media payments to
pay for your kit - email or call Mat Court for details
Long and short sleeves available
Quotes from our product testers:
...the quality is excellent......comfortable, lightweight and look
good...NOW IN SHORT SLEEVE TOO!!!
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Heat
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exc. Delivery 14.16 16.99 16.28 19.12
Email: [email protected]
VS Cricket is a new social media service to cricket clubs, players and fans giving
them the chance to discuss all things cricket from international level to local teams
45
Remember when Channel 4
broadcast the cricket and mambo
no5 was what we listened to prior
to start of play? Remember the
ground breaking graphics and
analysis that accompanied the
telecasts? Well the company
behind those stats and graphics
has just launched a social network
devoted to cricket and grass roots
cricket clubs in particular.
Virtual Spectator is an Australian
based sports graphics company
with offices in the UK and USA and
is well placed to develop
VSCricket.com, the cricket social
network.
It is early days but it is hoped that
VSCricket.com will become the
Facebook of cricket.
A welcome twist from a multi-
national company is that a core
element of the network is to
revenue share any advertising
income back to the grass roots
clubs that participate on the
network.
"The idea is obvious, most local
clubs have strong links to their
local communities and
VSCricket.com now gives
businesses in those communities a
vehicle by which they can support
their local clubs financially" said
Peter Lamb, CEO VS Europe Ltd.
A screen shot of a club page on
vscricket.com
“... a core element
of the network is
to revenue share any
advertising income
back to the
participating clubs...”
Each club that wishes to can have
their own page on VSCricket.com
where people can interact, post
photos, videos and links related to
the club. On each club page there
are advertising spots available and
for just £10 per month, local
businesses can sponsor their club.
The business gets their ad seen by
all who visit and use the page and
the club gets much needed
additional revenue (50%).
The more people use the network,
the greater value it will be to a
sponsor.
In addition, all clubs that are on
VSCricket.com will automatically
be entitled to a FREE Ipad based
scoring system developed
exclusively by Virtual Spectator for
VSCricket.com.
If clubs score their games using
this app, the scores will be
uploaded to the network and
displayed in the form of batting
and bowling cards on a clubs page.
This has a number of benefits:
.It means every team can see their
results in professionally produced
digital content
.More people will visit the page
every week to check stats
.Sponsors will get their ad seen by
a bigger audience
.It gives the smallest of clubs the
same scoring capabilities as
broadcast TV
The scoring app is due for release
in April 2014.
In addition to club pages, major
series will be covered. For instance
in the current Ashes series, Virtual
Spectator has a pundit at every
game who is posting match
summaries and photos through the
day.
Feel free to go over to
www.vscricket.com and have a
look around and see what it could
do for your club.
46
Colin Smith from Elvington & Tilmanstone Colliery Welfare Cricket Club
continues his monthly column with more tips for our clubs.
47
Colin Smith
Organizing
Fund Raising
Events
Organising fund raising events is
one of my great passions in life. I
love to set up an evening or a day
time event that will raise money for
in some cases more than one good
cause or charity. Here I will give
you some good tips and advice
from the events I have put on in the
past. I have learned from mistakes
how to put together a well
organized event that nearly
everybody will enjoy. You will not
please everybody so don’t worry
about it.
Some of my experiences have
involved celebrities such as former
Chelsea footballer, Ron Chopper
Harris, and England and Kent
cricket legend Deadly Derek
Underwood M.B.E. I have
organised events that have
involved an opening presentation
or a question and answer session
with these two sporting stars. The
Ron Harris night also involved a
comedian, Mickey Pugh, that
compered the whole evening and
really made for a great night that
everybody enjoyed. Yes everybody
this was an exceptional night.
I have also put on or helped put on
5 a side football tournaments
attended by 1200 people and 48
teams, trips to Wembley to see
England internationals, 3km
Charity Fun Runs, quiz nights etc.,
and I have Britain's number 1 Elvis
impersonator booked for the 3rd
May this year in aid of the Katie
Piper Foundation (KPF) - a burns
survivors charity. What I really
enjoy is if more than one cause or
charity can benefit from the same
48
equipment, money towards a
charity in general like my KPF
night, money towards a local youth
club trip for underprivileged or
disabled children, a hospice etc.
“...choose a date
near the start of the
month when
everybody has just
been paid...”
Once you’ve chosen your charity
find the right venue. This can be
tricky but in my case my local
clubhouse is an obvious choice.
Especially as it has a fully licensed
bar and a commercial kitchen.
Make sure if you are selling 200
tickets the venue can legally
accommodate this. Choose a date
near the start of the month when
everybody has just been paid, like
the 3rd May. As this is for charity
do some begging – I’m good at it
ask the missus. Only joking but ask
companies for discounts for the
night as it is for charity. I asked a
company called Cardzoo for a
discount on my Elvis night tickets,
which should have cost £85 to print,
and they promptly gave them to me
for nothing – brilliant and it only
cost me an email.
event. For example the Elvis night
will benefit the KPF from the ticket
sales of £5 each, and the bar take
from the venue will go to
Tilmanstone Miners Welfare,
another registered charity. Good
work I say.
Above: The Elvington &
Tilmanstone CWCC committee,
Derek Underwood and me
Below: Ron ‘Chopper Harris, me,
the missus and my son Dan
Tips
So some top tips for you are to first
of all choose your charity or good
cause. Then decide what you want
the money for i.e. a new piece of
So you’ve got the act booked, date
agreed, venue hired, done some
begging for the raffle and auction
etc. now for selling out the night.
Make some posters and display
them in the local shop, put them on
noticeboards at work, inform local
groups, put them on your website,
twitter them, Facebook them. All of
these will help sell out your
evening.
“...once you’ve sold all
your tickets, try and
enjoy the evening...”
Once you’ve sold all your tickets
try and enjoy the evening yourself
– don’t sit there fretting all night -
enjoy it yourself. Don’t forget to
announce at the end of the night
how much you have raised for the
cause – the attendees like this as it
gives them a buzz as well.
It is a great feeling putting on
events for charities I’ve done a few
and enjoyed all of them. Looking
forward to the Elvis night on 3rd
May for Katie Piper’s charity. So far
I have sold 5 tickets and given out 6
complimentaries, so should be a
great night with 11 of us there -
LOL. Seriously though have a go it’s
a way of having fun and raising
money and people do appreciate it
which is why I do it as an unpaid
volunteer.
7
If you know of a cricket
or football club that you
think could host our
panels, please feel free
to tell them about us and
what we do.
We are also on the look
out for leagues that want
to spread the word of
Grassroot Media so
again, if you know any
then please ask them to
get in touch, the more
clubs we have on board,
the easier it is to sell to
advertisers and the more
money we can make for
each club.
www.grassrootmedia.com
Tel: 0800 8 20 21 22
Mob: 07795 49 59 69
Email:
If you would like to find out more about what we do at
Grassroot Media:
Go to our website www.grassrootmedia.com
Call 0800 8 20 21 22 or 01992 27 44 27
Email [email protected]
Be part of the team...
We make money for football and cricket clubs
by putting frames up in changing rooms, selling
the space and then paying a rent for you letting
us do it.
It is easy, does not cost the clubs a penny and
all you have to do is take a photo each month
of the posters once you’ve changed them (we
send them out in the post to you).