The season awaits!

Balham FC U14s 2022/23

A big welcome to Matthieu, Joe, Patrick and Sammi as they join Balham for the season ahead. We are excited to start the season in the Surrey Youth League, facing some old foes and some new faces. First things first it is a friendly against the other Balham Squad at Richardson Evans (REMG) on Sunday.

Our Squad

The squad has an exciting balanced look about it for the new season:

Goalkeeper

Jacob Ashley

Defenders

Charlie Evans

Ethan Holmes

Ty Azugbene

Alex Taylor

Patrick Short

Luca McDonald

Midfielders

Wilbur Knight

Chris Arthur

George Kerr

Sammi Pass

Matthieu Ladure

Joe Madert

Attackers

Jude Hunt

James Hill

Max Pescheira

Dylan Gillies

The Surrey Youth League

The Surrey Youth League has a website where you can access key information: http://www.wsyl.org.uk

The teams we are playing vary in distance with Mitcham close by and Reigate an hour or so away:

Ashford Town Juniors Tangerines

Carshalton Athletic Whites

Epsom and Ewell Colts Blues

Farnham Town Youth Blues

Mitcham Park Stripes

Reigate Priory Youth FC Eagles

Sheen Lions

Staines Lammas Youth FC Whites

Sutton Common Rovers Colts Yellows

Walton & Horsham United Juniors

Worcester Park Colts Blues

We will commit to publishing fixtures as soon as they are confirmed by the League. For Sunday matches, we would expect the boys to have confirmed by Thursday evening whether they are available to play.

Training

Training will take place on Tuesdays (6.30-8) and Thursdays (6-7) at Chestnut Grove. Boys are expected to attend all sessions and to provide a reason for any absences on Spond, so that Tomasz can have the full squad to agree tactics. Presence and commitment at training will be an influential factor in team selection at the weekend.

Kit requirements

The club will continue to provide match day shirts. The boys can purchase training kit via the new kit manufacturer – Hope and Glory: https://club.hgsportswear.co.uk/balham-fc

All players are requested to wear plain black socks and shorts for training and matches, without piping or stripes. Nike shorts and socks are fine and are readily found at Sports Direct or online.

Balham kit should be worn at training.

What are attendance expectations?

Boys are expected to be available for all training and matches. We acknowledge that this will not be possible in all instances due to other commitments, and would kindly ask that you explain any non-attendance in advance with a simple explanation on Spond. If you feel there will be ongoing practical concerns about attendance, please openly discuss in confidence with Tomasz.

We would ask that commitment to training sessions is made a minimum 48 hours in advance via Spond so that Tomasz can plan the training sessions in full and for the most benefit of the players.

Ongoing non-attendance at training is likely to result in players not making the starting XI for fixtures.

Behaviour and Attitude

Hard-working, focused, always listening, encouraging and supportive of teammates, engaged.

If these behaviours are not followed, this may result in no game time.

Match Reports and MOTM

Match reports will be sent out every Sunday after the matches, and the blog will keep a track of all results and goalscorers. We will also issue a MOTM Poll on Spond which will be open until 9PM Mondays so please encourage the boys to vote and support their teammates.

Parental Help

Parents will be asked to act as the line officials during the games so we would really welcome your contribution here. From time to time we are sure some lifts will be requested too!

Here is to a successful season ahead. With hard work and application, the boys can look forward to a positive season ahead, taking the excellent form they showed from the Summer tournaments into the 11 a side game.