“We’re going in the right direction” - Future looking bright at Blackley Cricket Club

The future is looking bright for Blackley Cricket Club.
Blackley's under 18 team. Photo: Macauley ShielBlackley's under 18 team. Photo: Macauley Shiel
Blackley's under 18 team. Photo: Macauley Shiel

For the past few years, the Elland-based side have been instigating a culture of youth development that runs through every level of the club.

And the man at the top couldn’t be more proud.

Chairman Lance Greenwood, 60, only lives a mile from the ground, and played for Blackley for around 38 seasons, captaining the club’s Sunday side to two league titles.

Juniors training at Blackley Cricket Club. Photo: Alice HesmondhalghJuniors training at Blackley Cricket Club. Photo: Alice Hesmondhalgh
Juniors training at Blackley Cricket Club. Photo: Alice Hesmondhalgh

But his focus these days is on the next generation.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We run Friday night coaching sessions with level 2 coaches, and one or two first team players also help out,” he says.

“We think we’re going in the right direction.

“We realise it’s important, it’s the future of the club.

Juniors training at Blackley Cricket Club. Photo: Alice HesmondhalghJuniors training at Blackley Cricket Club. Photo: Alice Hesmondhalgh
Juniors training at Blackley Cricket Club. Photo: Alice Hesmondhalgh

“That’s why we have these Friday night sessions.

“We’ve made a conscious decision about first-team players getting involved because the young lads look up to them.

“It’s the way forward. We could see a lot of clubs where players had all grown up together and all retired together, and there’d been no juniors coming through.

“We said ‘it’s not right, we’ve got to get these sessions going’ and we’re blessed with some good junior coaches.

Juniors training at Blackley Cricket Club. Photo: Alice HesmondhalghJuniors training at Blackley Cricket Club. Photo: Alice Hesmondhalgh
Juniors training at Blackley Cricket Club. Photo: Alice Hesmondhalgh
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We look at their strengths and weaknesses and try to improve them, coaching one on one.

“Young lads tend to listen to current or former first team players.

“Two of our lads who play for the first team are level 2 coaches.

“In my day, we didn’t have that. The first team players didn’t want to know the junior players.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“But what we’ve done is change the ethos and the thinking of the senior players so they hand their experience down to these kids.”

And the approach is paying dividends.The club has teams at under 9s, 11s, 13s, 15s and 17s levels, and their under 15s and under 17s won the Collinson Cup last year, while their under 18’s became the Halifax Cricket League’s under 18’s champions this season.

“We’ve also got four open age teams, which no-one else in Halifax has,” says Lance.
It’s not just in the junior ranks where Blackley’s youngsters are making an impression either.

“Last week we had five in the first team, four in the second team and then four or five in both Sunday sides,” says Lance.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We’re giving them the opportunity to step up into the fourth team and hopefully through to the first team.”

The Blackley first team were promoted last year from the First Division into the Premier Division, while the second team finished runners-up in the Premier Division last year.

We’ve got other clubs who are coming to us and asking us how we’re doing it,” says Lance, whose association with the club started in 1974.”W

“hat are you doing? How do you do this?

“We’re open to helping out other clubs. they know we’re going in the right direction and I think they want a bit of it now.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“They realise what we’re doing is right, so come along on a Friday night and have a look, we’ll show you the way to go.

“We don’t have any problems from any of these youngsters.

“They all seem pretty well adjusted kids, they have respect, they don’t get into trouble.

“Because we treat them with a bit of respect, they give it back.

“They’re all good kids. We talk to them and put them on the right track to show respect and it helps them to fit into society.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Obviously one or two go to university and don’t come back, they move away, but generally, the lads tend to stop with us.
“One or two get offers from other clubs but they stop with us because they like playing in our environment, with their mates.

“The hardest part for me is to make way for these juniors, we have to drop certain senior players who’ve played for the club for a few years.

“I find that’s difficult. You’re more or less telling a guy ‘I’m sorry mate, you’re not good enough for the first team now, we’ve got a kid coming through’.”

For someone steeped in the history of the club, Lance’s pride in Blackley’s ethos is clear.

“I think you can tell that I am proud,” he says.

“It’s really an honour to be chairman, because I know that everything we do is good and what we’re doing is positive.

“We’re going in the right direction.”