Last Updated on: 14th May 2021, 03:44 pm
“May 2017 was where it all started. My son, who was 8 then, had a friend who’s dad ran an U9’s football team. “Please can I go down and join” he pestered. We took him down to train but they were full so he couldn’t actually become part of the team itself. He went again the next week and we got talking with the manager and he mentioned there wasn’t an U9’s team for the coming season and if we fancied setting one up our son could then play! We had a long chat, neither of us are football fans or knew the first thing about training a team but decided what the heck!!
We managed to get a group of kids together, some had never even kicked a ball before, and we practiced hard every Saturday all through the summer until the season began.
We had a hard start to the season as we were placed in the A group against some long established teams and lost every match. On the up side though, the kids kept their heads up and with a lot of hard work and training the goal difference was getting smaller. The 2nd half of the season we dropped to B group and then the wins started coming. The kids spirits were lifted and they really started to believe in themselves and their ability. At the end of the season we finished 4th out of 7 which we were extremely pleased with in our first season. We couldn’t be more proud of the 11 boys and 1 girl in our team. The bond they now share and the distance they have come since this time last year is amazing and I get a lump in my throat every time I see them step out onto that pitch and I think – WOW, we did that and made them who they are. All the effort, getting soaked and doing courses, begging for sponsors to get our kits from Pendle, were definitely worth it.”
Nikki Lambourne – Welfare Officer