How Holly Brooks turned junior cricket around in West Wyalong
In just three years, junior cricket has made a remarkable comeback in West Wyalong, mostly due to the tireless efforts of local volunteer Holly Brooks. Since starting her journey in the 2021 cricket season, Brooks has transformed the junior cricket landscape, giving the diminishing cricket club a new lease of life and local children a fresh chance to play and love cricket.
At the outset, Brooks was facing significant challenges. “I had no cricket experience, I didn’t even know about the kind of equipment that was needed,” she said. Brooks’ son, who was playing Woolworths Cricket Blast until then, was looking to transition to junior cricket, but his team’s coach of previous years had decided to move on to coaching seniors.
There were no other accredited coaches and umpires in the area to take junior cricket on. The equipment that she received in the handover from the previous group that ran junior cricket was outdated, mouldy, unusable and even had pest issues. Brooks knew that she had to take action.
Determined to create a fun and welcoming environment for young players, Brooks rallied a group of parents to form a committee dedicated to rejuvenating the club. The committee currently has about seven members, and decisions are made unanimously.
To solve the problem of the lack of umpires and coaches, Brooks reached out to the Cricket NSW Central West Cricket Manager, Angus Norton. Norton realised it was asking for too much -to get coaches and umpires to do a 500-plus kilometre round trip multiple times just to conduct junior cricket in West Wyalong, but a one-time trip was definitely possible for some of Cricket NSW’s most experienced umpires and coaches.
With the help of funding from the Cricket NSW Foundation, the charitable arm of Cricket NSW, Norton organised for three Cricket NSW staff members to visit. NSW’s most decorated female umpire, Claire Polosak and Coach and Umpire Experience Specialist Neil McDonald were joined by Premier and Country Cricket Coach Education Specialist Brett Rankin to go and upskill the club’s volunteers on cricket coaching and umpiring.
The efforts to revive cricket paid off dramatically, with participation in Cricket Blast increasing from 13 to 28 players and junior cricket numbers soaring from 30 to 77 in the last season. “The excitement from these programs has inspired even more children to join in,” Brooks said. “It was great to get hands-on experience.”
During the holidays this year, the CNSW Foundation funded a holiday program for 45 children. Currently, the Foundation is looking to donate cricket gear to the club to carry on playing. The collaboration with the CNSW Foundation has been pivotal for the community, providing local kids with equipment, quality coaching and reinvigorating the cricket scene in West Wyalong.
Reflecting on her journey, Brooks recalls the difficult beginnings, including inheriting unusable gear and a confusing list of expenses from the previous committee. Rather than being discouraged, she worked hard and reached out for support, and that made all the difference to rebuilding junior cricket in the region.
“I believe the measure of success is seeing happy kids coming back every week,” said Brooks. “It’s not about winning or losing; it’s about making sure the kids enjoy the game.”
