Nic Cains has come full circle with the Norfolk County Golf Union, returning to take on the captaincy role.
Cains was a teenager when he climbed the county golf ladder, swiftly progressing from Norfolk juniors through to first-team level.
He has gone on to enjoy a successful career in the sport and is the current head professional at Swaffham Golf Club.
Now he is back in familiar colours as the non-playing county captain and will be teaming up with Alex Piccolo, who was recently appointed as NCGU manager.
Cains, 30, said: “It will be nice to try and take the county forward. I think I was 17 when I played county first team golf, I was in the seconds the year before – now I’m looking after them all. It should be good and I’m looking forward to working with Alex.”
Norfolk start their Anglian League season on May 11 – the first team are in Spalding to play Lincolnshire, while the seconds are at Bawburgh Golf Club to face the same county.
Preparations for the new campaign have been ongoing since early in the year with Cains and Piccolo overseeing a series of squad catch-ups.
Cains added: “We’ve played a few different clubs – Bawburgh, Sprowston, Royal Norwich and Royal Cromer. We’ve been here, there and everywhere getting guys to play foursomes matches, just to try and get a better understanding of where we’re going to go with the pairings. We’ve also played some singles.
“We’ve got some youngsters coming through, which is good. Also, I know players at club level that are probably good enough to play for the county. It’s about trying to get them into the county set-up.”
Piccolo is a new face on the Norfolk golf scene, having moved last autumn to Peter Field Golf from Colchester Golf Club.
The PGA professional will fulfil operational duties around NCGU first and second-team affairs.
Piccolo, 31, said: “There’s the management side, organising games. But there’s also the personal side – encouragement and promotion. There needs to be guidance and that falls to Nic and myself. There will be quite a bit of tying in with Sammy Martin (NCGU development officer) as well.
“It needs to be ‘Norfolk Golf’. It needs to be ‘we’re all part of the same squad’. We need to help each other and push everybody forward.”
