In this regular series, Insider Sport speaks to volunteers at Old Glossop to uncover what goes into sustaining grassroots sport, who the people are away from the game, and what drives their dedication.
If you were to find a to-do list on the floor of a grassroots cricket club, detailing all the jobs someone needed to do that week, it might give you a few clues about the role they hold.
Take a groundsman, for instance. They may have some common chores such as filling up petrol, but seeding the grass, cutting and marking the square would give some huge hints.
However, if that piece of paper included filling out a funding application, organising a cinema night, gathering ideas from members and repressurising fire extinguishers, you may have several people come to mind when looking to return it to its owner.
Well, if you ever find one similar to this at Old Glossop Cricket Club, just know it more than likely belongs to Rebecca O’Neil, the club’s secretary.
Ironically, if it had been O’Neil who found that list before she stepped in, she probably wouldn’t have recognised half the tasks.
When the previous secretary stepped down due to health reasons, the former chairman asked O’Neil if she could help, even though she had no real idea what the role involved. “I had to feel around in the dark a little bit and ask questions,” she admits.
Her first involvement with the club, however, came through her daughter, who played junior cricket. At the time, the club was putting together plans for new training nets and O’Neil, working for a surveying practice, was asked to help with the planning application, looking at materials, specifications and liaising with the council. That was how she first got “drawn in,” as she puts it.
Since stepping into the role head-first, she has now been the club’s secretary for two seasons, providing much needed continuity and support to new Chairman George White, who had taken on a big role following the past chairman and his wife, the couple who by all accounts had previously run the club almost single-handedly.
The secretary’s weekly to-do list
However, she has not just provided more of the same, but has led many new initiatives across the club, from managing finances and health and safety to coordinating fundraising and community events, all while juggling a full-time job and family commitments.
“I have to pick it up and put it down because I work full time. I’m renovating my own house and I’ve got my daughter to look after. I have to deal with it in spurts,” O’Neil explains. “I tend to look at it for an hour or two each week and see what’s necessary.”
This means liaising with treasurer Stephen Lumb, who spoke to Insider Sport about his role, on utilities and club finances, overseeing health and safety, including fire extinguisher checks, asbestos surveys and first aid training.
Fundraising and grants form a huge part of the role. O’Neil keeps an eye on opportunities from the National Lottery, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and local council, as well as leads from colleagues. One success has been the new training nets, funded through a mix of crowdfunding, matched fundraising and club contributions.
“It’s really tough because there’s a lot of criteria that has to be met… even when we put the application in, it’s not guaranteed we will win,” she says. “You have to show you’ve gone and got a full spec, you’ve gone out to tender… it can’t just be bits jumbled up.”
Community initiatives are another area O’Neil has strengthened. Outdoor Cinema Nights at the end of the season, for example, are “an opportunity to open the club up to the wider community but also bring in profits from sales of food and drinks.”
Additionally, weekly Friday food traders alongside Dynamos and All-Stars junior sessions combine fundraising with participation. “Parents don’t have to worry about feeding the kids or themselves. They can grab food at cricket. And it’s just another draw for the club that it’s kind of an all-around service,” she adds.
As White told Insider Sport in a past edition of this series: “[Food Trucks alongside training] really got a whole bunch more folks down, funnily enough. Food, beer and free childcare is a great formula. And then after that… suddenly we’re like 100 kids down here on a Friday night.”
Keeping these initiatives running isn’t always straightforward. Other local clubs have caught on to the food trader model, making bookings more competitive. O’Neil keeps a close eye on social media and other clubs’ activities, aiming to keep Old Glossop at the forefront of new ideas that are proving popular with the local community.
Keeping everyone on the same page
Clubs cottoning onto the food and training formula isn’t the only challenge O’Neil faces in her role. Managing volunteers, committees and subgroups requires constant attention and getting everyone on the same page can be tricky.
“I think that really is it – how far do you go with it?” she says. “You can have all these great ideas and committee meetings, social events… but if someone comes up with something, are they going to run with that? It’s one thing to come up with an idea… it’s another to step up and take responsibility for it.”
Under O’Neil’s watch, subgroups have been established, from cleaning crews to social committees, to distribute responsibilities which previously fell almost entirely on the former chairman’s wife.
“There’s a WhatsApp channel with different groups: juniors, players, committee, social, cleaning… and in there, things move forward. George [White] has oversight, I have oversight, and we can keep a tracker. But then it’s about delegating, putting messages out, and finding volunteers,” she explains.
Even with systems in place, differing opinions remain a challenge. This is something O’Neil experiences daily. As secretary, she has touchpoints across the club, making it her responsibility to get everyone on the same page.
“Instead of having one or two voices, you can suddenly find you’ve got 15 voices with different opinions,” she explains. “How do you get them on the same page and make sure stuff is actioned instead of just talked about?”
Even if there are already plenty of voices in the mix, O’Neil doesn’t mind adding one more, especially when it’s close to home. Her daughter, who has recently moved from the juniors to the women’s team, was raising funds for a school trip to Africa, organised a car boot sale at the club which attracted a whole new crowd.
Her daughter promoted the event on local pages and put posters up around the town, and many visitors were surprised to discover the ground at all. “People were saying they didn’t even realise this was here,” O’Neil recalls.
The success of that day has encouraged her to think about how the club can connect with its wider community, particularly those not affiliated with Old Glossop. During the summer, the ground is known locally as Glossop’s best beer garden, and O’Neil wants to build on that reputation. Plans are being discussed to host regular car boot sales and other early-morning events, giving locals another reason to visit.
A shift towards juniors and women
Her daughter’s move from the junior ranks into the women’s team has been a proud parenting moment, as well as it’s been a catalyst for her own involvement in that side of the club.
“I’ve gotten more involved in the women’s cricket team over the last year because my daughter’s moved away from juniors and started playing in the women’s team,” she says. “It’s really lovely to see that she’s been accepted amongst the women. It’s such a nice group that really encourages the juniors. Yes, there’s a competitive edge, but they don’t take it too seriously, and she’s really relishing that.”
In the previous edition of Insider Sport’s Old Glossop series, women’s captain Annette Bell reflected on the same theme. What began as a team of mostly older women has become increasingly popular among girls coming through from the juniors, though she noted facilities, coaching support and umpiring still need to catch up.
O’Neil also recognises this and is planning to help the women’s side receive the same backing the men’s and juniors enjoy, from coaching to facilities.
“I’m keen to see that they get the support they need through some coaches. Whether we build a second team if there’s enough people and just build it that way so that the women’s side rival the men’s side,” she says. “For a long time the men’s cricket has taken precedence, but now it’s really nice to see that the juniors are rising and the women’s team as well.”
This shift has also been reflected in the club’s priorities. The new nets, part of the recent investment in infrastructure, have helped both the juniors and the women’s sides raise their level of play.
For O’Neil, this shared use, and the sense of connection across generations, captures what grassroots cricket should be about.
“Being secretary, it’s a mixed bag,” she says. “You jump in and out of different areas, so you mix with everybody at the club. Some people have been here for years, others are new, but everyone has a voice. That’s what’s so good about Old Glossop, it’s welcoming of new people, while keeping the traditions of the older families that have been here a long time.”
