LV= INSURANCE PRIDE OF CRICKET AWARDS 2023 WINNERS - LV= CLUB HERO: Rachel arrived at Coalpit Heath CC as a cricket mum, after her son had caught the cricketing bug. She soon became an integral part of the day-to-day running of the club
"Every club needs a Rach". So says Michelle Parker, whose clubmate Rachel Sheppard has been crowned LV= Club Hero in the 2023 Pride of Cricket Awards.
Rachel arrived at Coalpit Heath CC as a cricket mum, lured in by the promise of a Friday night barbecue after her son had caught the cricketing bug during a Chance to Shine session at school, but she quickly became an integral part of the day-to-day running of the club.
After being "strong-armed" into joining the women's team, she now serves as the captain, responsible for organising fixtures and festivals, and recently completed her level one coaching qualification. She manages the social media accounts and takes an active role in recruiting new players – her flyer campaign ahead of the 2023 season brought in 15 new members. And she's even undertaken till training in order to work behind the bar.
"As the kids got more involved, I got more involved in helping out with [their] teams, starting the ladies up, and as you see what goes on, the opportunities and the enjoyment that everyone gets, you just get sucked in really. Someone needs to do it, so you find yourself volunteering. It's good fun," Rachel says.
Rachel Sheppard is the LV= Club Hero for 2023 [supplied]
"Initially it was just a case of I'm here, [cricket] looks like good fun, let's give it a go. [But] it needed someone to look after it, nurture it, get more people involved. Anyone who happens to walk past me at the wrong time gets dragged into having a game! During Covid, it was one of the few things you were still allowed to do – it was actually a lifeline for quite a few of us. It took on a bit more meaning and I was really keen to see it continue.
"After Covid, it took a while for things to open again and be brave enough to go out there and market ourselves, so this year it was key that we needed to get a few more youth players in, we needed to get the bar going and the social aspect of the club. [Now] it's back like it used to be."
Perhaps Rachel's biggest success so far, however, has been launching the North Bristol Girls' Hub, which provides opportunities for players at Coalpit Heath and other local clubs to experience girls-only cricket.
"Rach will never say no, she's always willing to go the extra mile. We all say every club needs a Rach"
Michelle Parker, Coalpit Heath CC
"We got to the point last year where we got about six under-13s girls, which is not quite enough for a team, but you're like there's got to be something we can do, so I was looking around local teams, doing a bit of investigation on Play Cricket and realised there was quite a few other girls around.
"I just thought I'd call people and [ask] them: 'do you want to be involved? I've got this idea…' We got three teams this year – under-11s, under-13s softball and under-13s hard-ball – and 30, 35 girls got the chance to play girls-only cricket that otherwise wouldn't have got the opportunity.
"It was really rewarding and on top of that, our under-13 hard-ball team won the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation under-13 final."
Looking ahead, Rachel's work is far from done. She plans to expand the Hub into under-15s while, within the ladies setup, she is in contact with other local clubs to discuss pooling their resources, provide more cricketing opportunities and cater for the demand for both soft and hard-ball cricket.
Rachel is responsible for providing more opportunities for girls to play cricket in her area [supplied]
She admits to being a little embarrassed at being singled out for this award, praising the huge team of volunteers at Coalpit Heath, but considers it an "amazing honour". Michelle, however, one of a number of individuals to nominate Rachel, doesn't understate her friend's contribution.
"We've got lots of really good volunteers at the club but for me, Rach goes above and beyond," she says. "Most people do one or two things; Rach is ladies captain, Girls' Hub manager, social media manager, she's done her level one coaching, she's asked to be trained on the till… She stands out for me for the sheer amount of work she does and the different hats she wears.
"The biggest thing is how much she's raised the profile of women's cricket, not only in our small club but also the wider community. She put us out there and it means a lot to a lot of people.
"Rach will never say no, she's always willing to go the extra mile. We all say every club needs a Rach."
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