The Coaches’ Association’s AGM on 9 June 2026 marked Bruce Wood’s final official event as President, ending 16 years of dedicated volunteer service. As the Founder of the Coaches’ Association in 2010, Bruce played a central role in shaping HKHDCCA’s growth, professionalism and excellent reputation in the local cricket community.
Building Participation and Coaching Pathways – Bruce can be proud of the Association’s achievements over the past 16 years, including:
· conducting 94 school holiday junior cricket clinics, involving 5,700 boys and girls;
· engaging over 170 accredited coaches across Association activities;
· supporting free coaching sessions for BlowFly Cricket;
· organising off-season and pre-season skills development programs;
· facilitating Cricket Australia Community (Level 1) accredited coaching courses; and
· delivering ‘Coach the Coaches’ professional development programs.
Representative Fixtures and Coach Development – Bruce served as Convenor of the annual HK&HDCA U/15 Ross Turner Cup and U/13 Glenn Hourigan Cup fixtures for 16 years. He also umpired 20 consecutive RTC matches from 2006-07 to 2025-26. To make the logistics easier for families, HK&HDCA officials and special guests, Bruce arranged the RTC and GHC matches on adjacent ovals, initially at Kenthurst 1 and 2, before moving them to Turramurra Oval and Karuah Park.
Bruce appointed young HKHDCCA volunteer coaches to expertly guide the RTC and GHC teams. These early opportunities, combined with further experience through the Coaches’ Association’s programs, helped pave the way for successful professional careers in cricket coaching and administration, including those of Dan Anderson, Josh Miller, Dani Chivers and many others.
Overseas Tours – between 2015 and 2025, Bruce helped organise and manage six successful HKHDCCA / NDCC overseas cricket tours – four to India, one to Sri Lanka and one to Barbados / USA. He also umpired matches on four of those tours.
Governance, Funding, Major Reports and Succession Planning – Bruce established the legal and operational framework for the Coaches’ Association, including its Constitution, Incorporated Association status, ATO compliance, Committee structure and AGM processes. He also arranged ClubGRANTS funding from Parramatta Leagues Club from 2015 onwards, which has been incredibly beneficial for HKHDCCA.
His administrative contribution was equally substantial. Bruce prepared 16 HKHDCCA Annual Reports, six overseas tour reports, and 32 RTC / GHC Programs. He set up and maintained the organisation’s social media platforms; and was instrumental in establishing HKHDCCA’s impressive website in 2025. He also compiled a detailed procedural spreadsheet covering all HKHDCCA functions to support committee succession planning.
Lasting Legacy – Bruce can be justifiably proud that the Coaches’ Association has achieved its founding goals: raising the profile and professionalism of cricket coaching in the district, giving accredited coaches practical opportunities to develop their skills, and improving the standard of junior cricketers through a much broader participation base.
Link to photo gallery – www.facebook.com/bgwood/
