Our volunteer for day two is Mr 170 himself, Warren Troye. When he's not busy hitting sixes into double decker buses in the middle of Birmingham, Woz can be found injecting some seriously positive vibes to training and matches involving our teenage members looking to find their way into senior cricket. A quality that should never be underestimated.
Over to Woz (if you can do accents in your head then I do recommend you read it in South African)...
'Name & Background:
I, Warren (Woza) Troye, am 42 yrs old and have now been associated and involved with ABCC for about 3 years. I came to the club initially because my son (Stefan Troye) and his friend Rufus Neil were not enjoying their time at their previous cricket club and we had heard good things about the junior cricket development at ABCC; we therefore decided to come and give it a go one Friday evening.....and I am delighted in retrospect that we did because both boys have thrived and are loving being part of the squad here.
Since they joined, I have been involved in assisting with the coaching of their practice sessions and also umpiring matches when they were in the u13; u14 and now u15 squads (estimated to be about 3-4 hours per week)
I myself was a very keen cricketer and all-round sportsman until my mid 20's, but then working life and becoming a father saw my involvement for my sporting passions dwindle....I also had a serious knee injury in 2015 that stopped me playing sport for a number of years.....however with the encouragement from some wonderful members at ABCC and my amazing wife, they gave me the courage to kick-start my cricket playing days once again. I am so grateful that they did because I have loved being involved once more and it made me realise how much I missed competitive sport and the team comradery....the fact that I have had a couple of good innings with the bat also really helped too ;-)
I have also in the past volunteered for Redditch swimming club, where I was an accredited Swim England coach that supported the junior squad (ages 10-15).
What is my role at ABCC:
I see my role as predominately to support the senior coaches/managers with developing the junior boys and girls at ABCC.
The fact that the ABCC 4th team regularly includes 4-5 junior players in the Saturday match XI, shows how much confidence we have in our youngsters....that I also get to bat and field a bit for the 3's & 4's is just a big added bonus!
What do I like about being a volunteer at ABCC:
I personally love (and think it's my greatest strength) helping to instill self belief in the abilities of juniors and allowing them to reach their full potential and develop self confidence from playing sport (that's the intrinsic reward I get, because sport is 100% where I got my own confidence).
The high standards expected and level of forethought that goes into the junior practice sessions has been the best I have seen in the area, I have enjoyed being a part of this and have learnt so much from the other more experienced coaches.
I think the next step for me will be to partake in a formal cricket coaching qualification so that I can continue my own personal development that will ultimately better support the club and its future bright stars.
How do I think it would help ABCC if more people became volunteers:
There is a real sense of community at ABCC that is galvanised by some particular long-standing club members, for whom it clearly means so much....so I feel that even in my own small way of trying to support and contribute, it is helping to benefit the culture and overall stability of the club.
At amateur sporting level, clubs cannot survive without its volunteers, so the more people that get involved (regardless of their level of contribution), it will then inspire others to do the same....to the benefit of all. Additionally cricket is an amazing sport for people of all sporting levels to get involved in, watching children, who historically may not have taken up a sport like this thrive, is wonderful to see and it can only be done if sufficient numbers of volunteers step forward and commit some of their time.
Warm regards and best wishes
Woz'
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