Hi all.

Ian here, sitting with a cup of coffee and a flapjack and I thought I would put pen to paper and provide a little view from the world of Greetland Football Club. Here goes.

Greetland in Partnership with Mark Duffy Football School

The club are delighted to have formally entered into an exciting partnership with Mark Duffy Football School.  Based next door to Newbank Garden Centre, I am sure you are either aware of Mark’s work, or perhaps driven past whilst they are, to quote, ‘putting smiles on faces’ of their young footballers.  I know there are many Greetland players that currently attend the coaching sessions and love every minute.

This partnership will be massively beneficial to all concerned. and we have lots of plans in place.  To start with, Mark and team will take responsibility for the introduction of the annual intake of Year 1 footballers.  This is an activity that has been undertaken magnificently well by Ian Bagley for many years and I will be paying tribute to Ian in one of my forthcoming notes.

A Pathway to Open Age Football

I love hearing about Greetland players who have gone through the full range of year groups, dedicating their junior football days to the club. From 6 years of age, through to young men status of 18.

And whether players have come through the full ranks, or perhaps joined the club a little later, we want to ensure there is a pathway to continuing their footballing career with Greetland.  Whether that be directly to ‘open age’ football, or Under 23 equivalent, Mark Leonard and Sam Duffy recently brought together a selection of coaches with the view of obtaining input around how this could and should work.  A great session was had and we now have a plan in place that will support the transition, therefore retaining those footballers who would like to continue with their career.  Great work Mark and Sam.

Equally exciting is our huge desire and aspiration to develop a pathway for Women’s Open Age Football.  This is a key area of focus for the club, ensuring there is a clear route for our existing footballers (and those aspiring to join us) to continue their careers.  This is really important to me and the club.

Around our Teams

Within each little note I prepare going forward, I would like to spotlight a selection of our teams, sharing progress, successes, development and everything in between.

Let’s start with one of our Under 9’s teams, coached by Ryan Long.  Ryan, like so many managers, dipped his toe into the coaching world at Under 6’s, learning the ropes and after 3 full seasons, now has his feet well and truly under the table.  Ryan, as do the other Under 9’s managers Chris and Mark (more about these guys in a future note), play their games at Greetland Academy.  The team development, in particular this season, has been magnificent and as I write, have won 5 from their last 6 matches and playing some wonderful, free flowing football which has been a joy to watch.  Well done Ryan, coaches and players.

Now a little glance to one of our older age groups.  Gareth Ewing runs one of our Under 17 team’s .  Gareth’s squad are currently flying high in Division 2 and I have noticed they have only conceded 7 goals in the 10 league games played.  Gareth has numerous players who have gone through the years with the team and that is testament to Gareth, the club, the boys and the parents.  Magnificent loyalty.

Oh and a little side note.  The Celts are well represented above, with Ryan hailing from Northern Ireland and Gareth from Scotland.

On to the girl’s game and I was delighted to hear about the success of the Under 12’s team,who clinched their league title last weekend. Coached by Ken Platt and Dan Earle, the girls remain unbeaten and are a couple of games from being crowned ‘The Invincibles’.  A wonderful achievement.

The Under 15’s girls are also top of their league with 4 games to go.  The team are coached by Luke Whitworth (who is also the club’s development lead for all girls football) and it is sure to be an exciting end to the season.

Quiz Night

If you managed to attend the club quiz last week, magnificently hosted by our very own Andy Commons, then I really hope you had lots of enjoyment.  Since getting this little initiative off the ground, it has been really well received by parents and supporters of the club and I would like to thank Andy for hosting and Paul Price for the selection of questions.  I would be lovely to see you attend these as the year progresses.

Club House

In partnership with our landlords GOLDS, plans have been submitted to the council regarding an extension to the changing room block that will enhance the facilities and double the space available.

Changing Rooms

I have just this week commissioned a joiner to help renovate the changing room facility. This will be upgraded to allow all teams to use for their pre match briefings and also for club meetings etc.

Pitches 

Following the success of the 11v11 roll out goals, the club have invested (circa £8k) in new smaller rollout goals for the 5v5, 7v7 and 9v9 pitches.  A new 9v9 pitch has been created and we have received a grant of circa £75k from the Football Foundation to improve pitch quality generally – which will be an ongoing project over the next 3 to 5 years.

Newly Qualified Referee – A Bit of History

Allow me to leave you with a little bit of history.  We now have our first female club referee in our 50 plus year history.  Savannah Chapman (yes, my daughter) recently received her referee badge and we as a club (and myself as a dad) are over the moon.  Oh, I have already been contacted by other girls interested in following in Savannah’s footsteps.

It really feels like our club, your club are on a crest of a wave currently.  Lots of great things happening, both on and off the pitch.  People working together to make the club the best it can be and it is really lovely to see.

Yours in football.

Ian.