I’m absolutely appalled by the response from some of the parents who openly said in front of other parents and players, “Your out of order, to keep things fair you should have chosen anyone but your son”

What!!!!

To keep things fair I should not even have considered one of the players!!! My own son, I wonder how anyone else would feel if I had said the same about their child.

If I had given this award to any other player, not an eyebrow would have been raised, I can’t believe how much animosity it has caused to award my son with something.

It was a difficult decision, I considered many factors:

• Attitude
• Going above and beyond
• Sacrificing for the team
• Willing to play in goal and Defence
• Virtually every game starting on the bench
• Helping me set up and put away whatever the weather
• Attending club and league meetings
• Patting me on the back when I was down

My son deserved the award, It wasn’t “Because it was my son” thats why it took me so long to make the decision.

I can stand with my head held high and say I made the right decision for the right reasons, Why does my son, also a team member not deserve to be eligible for managers player. I would love to know the general opinion on this if possible.

The coach was very fair in the first season giving most kids a good run out, recently this has begun to get less and less for 2 players, my son included.

This weekend we attended a large tournament in our area and all the kids were really excited to spend the day together and play new teams.

It was clear from the first game that my son was going to have a minimal part in the tournament as he played for the last 90 seconds of the first game. I didn’t say anything and thought he will balance it out over the remaining games. Subs went on and off and each time my son looked at the coach hoping it would be him.

My heart wrenched every time my son looked at the coach, in total my son played just over 6 minutes at a full day tournament. To put this into perspective, we pay our subs like everyone else, we cancelled other plans to attend because my son wanted to play, Im sure I’m not the only one who thinks this is wrong.

My son put a brave face on until we got in the car, he instantly began crying which broke my heart, I said I would find a new team for him which made him more upset. For the first time as a mother I really didn’t know what to say or do to make things better.

The irony in all this is the coach and my son have a really close relationship and my son looks up to him like he’s a super hero. He always said that he wanted to develop his team and would be devastated if he upset any of the players. I won’t bad mouth the coach because 99% of the time he is a genuine bloke who loves the kids, anyone who met him would agree, but I think he may be so engrossed in winning the game that he’s forgetting his roots and his players.

Right where do I start?

For over a decade I have been involved in the local football league. During this period I have spent time as a coach, mentor, referee, physio, kit man, refreshments stall worker etc. For the past two years I’ve been spending my Sundays as a League Rep at local youth games.

Recently I came across a team I briefly coached a couple of years ago. Lads of 9 years age now but I noticed a couple of the lads I remembered were missing. I asked some of the parents where these lads were. I assumed they had been lured away by the modern life of computer games and had lost interest in football. A parent rather sheepishly told me that they had been ‘released’ as they weren’t of the standard of the others. I asked them if they thought that was fair to them. The parent agreed it was slightly underhand but understood the coach’s views.

My response was “the team has a coach”? The parent was taken aback and I carried on by telling him that if he was any kind of coach then dropping kids and replacing them with better ability kids isn’t coaching. A coach can bring out ability. I’m not saying a Pele can be created from nothing but given good coaching a kid can be taught to play the game well. These kids who were cast aside were good kids with equally good parents and it makes me genuinely sad to think these kids have been removed from a team with their mates due to the fact that their coach lacks the skills to develop them. I left the parents with a warning that a coach with such a big ego will always be looking for better players and to watch their backs because if their kids fail to perform their coach won’t have any hesitation in replacing them too.

This sadly happens all too often and these coaches should hang their heads in shame. They bandy words like ‘development’ and ‘respect’ around……………..rubbish, talk is cheap and their actions speak far louder than their hypocritical rhetoric. Hats off to the genuine coaches out there developing kids with skills and attributes that will enhance their lives rather than the ‘poach not coach’ types so desperate to win games to massage their egos. I’m afraid the youth football at grassroots level is in a dire situation in this country.

Yours in Sport

Phil

It was back in October 2016 that devoted mothers of football obsessed boys, Emma Burke and Paula Henley, watched another exasperated parent struggle with an elastic band or a bit of gaffa tape to stop their kid’s laces coming undone. Whilst this solution did work, temporarily, they thought there must be a better long term solution for this that wouldn’t only do the trick of keeping the laces in place but something that kids would think looks cool too.

After months of hard work and rigorous product development that followed, the original Laceeze bands were born. Emma and Paula began selling online in 2017 and then in July 2020 they received their product patent – their feet (and their kids’ laces!) haven’t touched the ground since.

Their innovative product, designed in the UK and made from the highest quality silicon with ribbed technology (to improve grip around the shoe), is suitable for all kids’ footwear from Child 13 to and including UK size 6. They also stock larger sizes too. At time of writing the original Laceeze bands in black are the top selling product on Amazon UK and, whilst there are now imitation products on the market, Laceeze are well known in the grassroots’ football community for their superior quality and unwavering grip.

Emma Burke, Co-Founder of Laceeze, comments about their unexpected success; “It’s amazing to see how much more confident children are when they wear our bands and it’s always such a pleasure to hear positive feedback from the parents and coaches. Bands being seen on feet is our best marketing tool and this would explain why a Sunday afternoon/evening is our best day for sales after grassroots’ matches have been played. We also encourage children to still learn how to tie their laces – a vital life skill – because the bands are designed to secure across a single tie.”

The business was dramatically affected with the cessation of all grassroots sports’ during the peak of the pandemic. Sales of the Laceeze bands stopped almost completely during the lockdown periods and organic traffic to their e-commerce website dropped off significantly. However since restrictions have eased and grassroots’ football (and other sports) have returned, the pair of entrepreneurial football mums are seeing their product back in high demand.

Emma and Paula’s passion for grassroots’ sport and children being active, were the true reasons behind Laceeze, and it was during lockdown three that they decided to launch their Laceece Foundation.

The Laceeze Foundation is a charitable initiative created to help encourage children from underprivileged backgrounds into sport, by donating funds to those who would be unable to participate in their chosen activity without financial assistance. This was always something which they wanted to do with the business but they wanted to wait until the brand was established. Seeing so many grassroots’ clubs in financial trouble made them realise that, although it won’t be the biggest initiative initially, every little helps and this will grow with the company. An incredible 25p from every purchase of the Laceeze bands bought directly from www.laceeze.co.uk is donated to the foundation.

Emma and Paula approached Grassroots Football UK about establishing a partnership due to the obvious synergy between their products and our audience. We are delighted to help support a growing UK based business, with a genuine passion for supporting grassroots sport at its heart.

]]> https://www.teamgrassroots.co.uk/2-fantastic-footy-mums-solve-this-age-old-grassroots-problem/feed/ 0 https://www.teamgrassroots.co.uk/severs-disease-symptoms-signs-and-treatments/ https://www.teamgrassroots.co.uk/severs-disease-symptoms-signs-and-treatments/#respond Thu, 22 Jul 2021 05:25:07 +0000 https://www.teamgrassroots.co.uk/?p=14149

What causes it?

Always keep a spare bottle of water in the car. You will forget one day; you think you won’t but it happens to the best of us.

Your child will almost certainly be “starving” after training or matches, keep a supply of healthy snacks.

Mud, there will be mud, lots of it. You can protect the car seats quite easily with a cover, but the floor and back of seats is a nightmare. The best we’ve come up with is putting their feet into a carrier bag. I have been tempted to go full on bin liner but the risk to the kids or to me being reported for abuse is too high for the sake of a clean car.

Children cleaning their boots is very much like “I will clean the hamster cage every week”, they start off strong but very soon it will end up on your “to do” list.

Once they start playing matches, you will usually be on the opposite side of the pitch to the team. Having a kit bag is really useful. I pack in mine; extra drink, small half time snack, a tracksuit top for when on the bench, a towel, and sun block (the towel will be used more than the sun block).

Warm base layer is a must for kids. It may be best to get similar colour to their kit so they can wear them in matches too without complaint.

You will get cold. While it’s true that your passion and excitement at matches may stave off the cold, it will not be enough!! I recommend a heated jacket, thermals and foot warmers.

Get your own chairs, flask etc as not all venues have seating and a refreshment van. Thankfully all the venues have had toilets so far……

Always Google Earth away venues. There is nothing more stressful than the panic felt when you cannot find the well-hidden unmarked road you’re looking for while kick off time gets closer and closer.

Shush!! … you would be amazed at what iPhones and cameras pick up. Whilst we may have our views on the ref/coach/pitch etc, best mumble them and save venting for later.

Lastly and maybe a little controversial; whilst it might seem a good idea to reward a goal scored, in my experience rewarding for “man of the match” better promotes the team spirit that makes kids football so wonderful.

Good luck to you all the new footy parents next season, enjoy the ride, it’s a beautiful game, proud footy mum Trudy Sinclair!!

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