Football is back! I say that but I am not sure if it did stop over the summer given the festivals and training that took place. However, the league matches have now returned for all age groups so we can officially state that football is back!

There were loads of things that took place since our last update, so it is better to bullet point them as there were so many!

We were awarded Grassroots Club of the Year by Gloucestershire FA

We invested in improving the pitches at our Kingshill site and purchased new goals for Baunton Lane

We have three new teams starting this season and we are about to launch our first ever, all girls team, who should get going in the next few weeks

We have two teams in the top tiers of the published leagues (u12s+) for the first time in several years

We have a record number of players participating in JPL or elite teams

We had over 170 local youngsters come to our two 3-day festivals over the holidays

The club helped raise over £20,000 for the Stratton Superstars

We have our highest number of registered players

We all endured a much more administrative heavy registration process but managed to get everyone on the FA system in time for the season’s start date

Despite increasing the number of Stratton teams, we have had to create waiting lists for new enquiries in most of our age groups because of the volume of interest. We work hard to accommodate everyone but are always limited by both space and volunteers. I have put in a proposal at a local

school to rent out their facilities so, hopefully, we get a positive response from that.

The award of Grassroots Club of the Year from Gloucestershire FA was a brilliant way to recognise all the hard work that so many people put into the club. This includes players, parents / carers, spectators, coaches, support coaches and the committee. I always feel it is important we remain a community club and the judges picked up on our various community efforts such as litter picking and supporting the Superstars. The buzz at the festival and at training is led by the players who are involved in the club, and they make all the hard work worthwhile. It is also interesting to see how the club is being noticed more by external parties, with players being asked to join local elite teams. We will always support this process as we see it as our role to help players improve in whatever way they can. We don’t set out to turn every child into professional players, but we do aim for them to be the best they can be and, more importantly, make many friendships along the way.

I would also like to thank all those involved in registering players with the league. There is no doubt the FA had good intentions, but lessons have been learned and they have promised a more straightforward process next year. Apologies for the chasing up of pictures or ways to link parents / carers to their child but we had no choice. I only wanted to throw my computer out of the window a couple of times which wasn’t too bad considering!

Last season was such a success it is difficult to see how we can top it but I am sure we can! We will continue to focus on enjoyment and supporting youngsters with both their social and technical skills. At the end of the season, we hope they have made strides forward in all areas and want to continue with Stratton YFC.

All the best for the new season and I hope to see you soon.

Jon Cumminsjon.cummins76@gmail.com

Welcome to the first edition of the 21/22 season

STRATTONYOUTH FC

NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2021

CHAIR’S CORNER

Stratton Youth FC are Superstars!!

The Stratton Superstars final event of the summer was completed over the bank holiday and ensured the target of raising £20,000 for local organisations was met. After running in April, cycling in May, Zumba in June and a boot camp in July, the final event was either a 6.55 mile run or a shorter, 2-mile route. Over 150 people took part and then enjoyed a bbq and drinks at Stratton House Hotel. 

It was brilliant to see the community come together and get involved with the Superstars. The final event was so much fun and has inspired us to repeat the fundraiser next year - watch out for further news on this!!

will be split across Stratton Youth,

Stratton Playgroup, Stratton School, CHYP, local food banks and other

grassroots sporting clubs.

£20,000The

Our 2 x 3 day festival of footballs accommodated over 170 youngsters, which was a huge increase from our previous best of 100. A huge thanks to all the coaches involved who gave up their time to support the attendees, in particular, Bud and Lee Morse who did double sessions each day.

FESTIVALS

It is fair to say that Kingshill has been the ugly duckling of our pitches. Whilst the main pitch at Baunton Lane looks like Wembley and the paddock is easily the best mini’s pitch and setting in the league, Kingshill rarely received much attention as it was maintained by external parties. We changed that over the summer by taking on an exclusive lease for the area which also meant we are now responsible for the upkeep. Dandelions have been replaced by grass and the cracks are no more! It looks so much better, and we will aim to improve the drainage and the playing surface again at the end of the season.

KINGSHILL INVESTMENT

We have some new faces alongside the familiar ones! Joining us is Gary Probert, Tom Shepherd, Ian Graves, Dave Andrews, Mark James and Rory Marshall. Several of these coaches played for Stratton in their youth so it is great to have them back! If you would like to help with coaching please drop Jon Cummins a line – it will be the best thing you do!

MEET THE TEAM

GARYPROBERT

TOMSHEPHERD

IANGRAVES

DAVEANDREWS

MARKJAMES

RORYMARSHALL

U8s (yr 3)Lee Morse

U7s (yr 2)Gary Probert & Tom Shepherd

U8s Blues (yr 3)Ian Graves

U9s (yr 4)Andrew Pritchett

Dave Andrews

U10s (yr 5)

U13s Blues (yr 8) Adrian Seakins & Rory Marshall

U14s (yr 9) Pav Szczerkowski

U15s (yr 10) Dan Risby & David Williams

U16s (yr 11)

Leigh Potter help@strattonyfc.co.uk

Minis (yr 1 and below)Scott Burry

U12s Blues (yr 7) Barney Pearcey

U13s (yr 8) Jon Cummins & Rob Kingsbury

Steve Saunders & Martin Garvey Adie Meredith

U10s Blues (yr 5) Child Welfare Officer

U11s (yr 6) TreasurerSimon McGlone & Mark James David Exton

U12s (yr 7) Club SecretaryGraham Miller & Si Whitehead Gordon Varley

Our updated 21/22 club handbook is available at

https://www.strattonyfc.co.uk/news/club-handbook--202122-2640010.html.

It gives key information on the club and is certainly worth a flick through.

We are delighted to partner with local Cirencester-based business, EvieLife as the club headline sponsor. They supplied all the new coaching kit, the tops for the festival and have sponsored

several teams and the club handbook. EvieLife install charging units for electric powered vehicles, further info can be found on their website – www.evie-life.com

CLUB SPONSOR

CLUB HANDBOOK