Newsletter January 2004
Contents
Sponsored Walk
Cancelled Training
Successful Teams
Referees Rule OK!
Presentation Evenings
Summer 7-a-side
Parents Challenge Cup 2004
Design a Club Badge Competition
Christmas Party
Gregson Lane JFC is a CASC
FA Coaching Badges
New pitch at Higher Walton
Professional Training
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Sponsored Walk
The Football Club has gained permission from South Ribble Borough Council to hold a Sponsored walk on the morning of Saturday 1st May. We want families from all our teams to support this major fund raising event. The circular route starting from Gregson Lane Park is about 3 miles long and is mainly on proper paths, with some cross-country. It will be a pleasant ramble around the Coupe Green-Higher Walton area. Sponsorship forms will be available from managers soon. There will be a great prize for the player who gains the most sponsorship, and a quiz, with prizes, on the way round. Stout walking shoes are recommended and no prams!
Cancelled Training
Parents are probably aware that there is no indoor training in the school sports halls during school holidays, for example at half term. However, some parents of the younger players have been dropping their children off without checking that (a) the manager is there and (b) the sports hall is open. There are times when managers are late in arriving, and on one occasion our under 11s were locked out of the sports hall! Similarly, a recent under 9s game had to be cancelled at kick-off time and some parents had already left without checking the game was on. The Club expects all parents to be responsible for their children until the manager arrives. So please stay with your child until the training or match starts.
Successful Teams
Gregson Lane Junior football club runs a total of nine teams. Although many of our teams are 'mid-table' we should highlight some that have been doing particularly well this year. Our under 9s, under the management of Craig Davies, were only formed this year but have performed beyond our expectations. With only one more league game to play they only need a draw to finish top of their league.
Under 9 Team
The under 15s, the under 11s and the under 10s are also challenging in the top three. We should also praise our under 13s, who after two seasons of being bottom of their league, are now in a healthy mid-table position. Well done to them all!
Referees Rule OK!
All the games of football that we play are governed by the rules of the Football Association and referees can book or send off players, or report managers or spectators, for incidents during or after the game. This may result in a fine of £8 or more and a suspension of between 7 days and 112 days! The Club expects the player (or spectator) to pay their fine as soon as possible. All players and adults should treat the referee with respect to avoid these problems. Bad language and aggressive behaviour on the part of players or spectators can only result in trouble, and expensive trouble at that! In addition, the league can also deduct points for bad behaviour. Gregson Lane JFC has a code of conduct for all players and spectators, and it should be followed at all times.
Presentation Evenings
This year's end-of-season Presentation evenings will be held at the Bamber Bridge Catholic Club on Friday 14th May for the under 7s, 8s, 9s and 10s. The Presentation Evening for the older teams (U11s to U15s) will be held at the London Road Club on Friday 4th June. As usual all our players will receive an award and there will be other special awards for all the teams.
Summer 7-a-side
Gregson Lane JFC is organizing its first ever summer competition, on the fields of Bamber Bridge Leisure Centre on Saturday 3rd July. It will be open to all under 9s and under 8s from other Clubs.
Parents Challenge Cup 2004
At the end of last season we organised a very successful Parents 7-a-side competition with teams of parents from several of our teams (U7s, U9s, U10s, U11s, U13s) playing each other. The sun shone, and everyone had a great time! The trophy was won by the under 7s (well, their parents are younger!) The competition will take place again this year, sometime in May, at Brindle St Joseph's Primary School. Speak to your manager if you are interested in playing. Or just come along and watch the old dads reliving their youth! The 2003 Parents Challenge Cup
Design a Club Badge Competition
Recently a parent suggested that we adopt a new Club badge. We are sure that there are some good ideas out there amongst the players, so we are asking the youngsters to design a Club badge or shield. It might include the black and white Club colours, the red rose of Lancashire, a football, a tree (rural area?), a mill etc. plus the name 'Gregson Lane JFC'. Its up to you! Give your entries, before Easter, to your manager or send them by post (with name & address on the back) to P.Holme, 136, Hoghton Lane, Higher Walton. Preston PR5 4EH. There will be prizes for the best three designs!
Christmas Party
The pre-Christmas Party for the younger teams (under 7s to under 11s) was a tremendous success with around 180 people attending at the Bamber Bridge Catholic Club. There were some great raffle prizes (thanks to all the donors), hot pots and hot dogs, and some dubious dancing on the part of the parents. A special thanks are due to Shaun Davies, the under 10s manager, who organised the event, with help from the other managers.
Gregson Lane JFC is a CASC
In June 2003 the football club successfully applied to the Inland Revenue to become a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC). This has several benefits. We can claim back tax and rates and are eligible for gift aid. Many parents have already signed gift aid forms, which means we can claim back an extra 28% of all subs that they pay during the year. This could be an extra source of income for the club at no further expense to parents!! We may even be able to reduce our signing-on fees next year, so it is good news for everyone.
FA Coaching Badges
In the past few years we have sent most of our managers on FA Level 1 coaching courses, and this will continue to be our policy. We want our managers to be fully up to date with all aspects of junior football coaching, including child protection & first aid. Our managers have a tough time running their team and although parents may have different views about how the team should be picked, they should accept the manager's decisions. The Football Club will always support our managers because they are the ones who give up so much of their own time to help the boys.
New pitch at Higher Walton
The Club recently applied to the Governors of the new Higher Walton Primary School for permission to use their school field for 7-a-side games. The Headmistress, Mrs Robertson, and the Governors were happy to make the facility available to us because they support local community groups. We already use Brindle St Joseph's Primary school for our under 9s & 10s, so this should give us more flexibility for games next season.
Professional Training
Two players from our under 7s and one player from our under 8s have been asked to go to training sessions organised by Liverpool FC and Blackburn Rovers FC. This is not only a great opportunity for them but we hope they will come back to us better footballers.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
This season we have been lucky to get kit sponsorship from local businessman Steve Tiffin of Higher Walton Glass, who has sponsored the under 9s team, and Co-op Late Shop who have given a Community Award to our under 12s team. Thank you to them. If you know of any business that would like to sponsor a kit then ask them to contact the Treasurer (Peter Holme). The Club has also been successful in gaining grants from Lancashire County Council Youth Service, South Ribble Borough Council & the Wakeham Trust. Thank you to them too.
Website
If you have any contributions for the web site, please send them to webmaster@gregsonlanejfc.co.uk