AFC Leyton Newsletter – June 2023 (Ed. 6)

So.. that’s a wrap! The 22/23 season is over and what a great season its been.

This season, there has been a number of changes at AFC Leyton, especially within the clubs structure. We have welcomed lots of new people in key roles, Nic as Club Secretary; Chloe and Sofia as Welfare Officers; Connie as Events Co-Ordinator; Simon as First Team Coach; Sam as Reserves Team Coach; Karl as U8 Team Coach as well as Julia, Molly and Selinay as Development Coaches. We have also welcomed back, Jake who is leading and overseeing our new Squad Girls and Wildcats programme as well as Estelle who is taking over as U14 Dragons manager – welcome back both!

But one thing that hasn’t changed at the club is our purpose, our rationale or our reasons for doing what we do. To provide a safe, fun, inclusive, positive, rich learning environment for all our players to play football in. That’s something that will never change and always be at the forefront of everything we do.

I’d like to thank all our amazing club volunteers and officials for their support, contribution and efforts this season. Some of the work these people do – alongside their day jobs – is behind the scenes and perhaps without the recognition they deserve. But the work they do for me and all our players is of the upmost importance, to ensure the club runs smoothly, efficiently and effectively all year round. You do it so effortlessly and without complaint – for that I am grateful.

A thank you to you, our wonderful parents. I have spoken to many, almost all of you at some point this season and know from these conversations that you can trust me, trust the coaches and trust the club with your daughters football and development. Things like putting up the goal nets, running the line, confirming or declining on Spond may seem small but something we are grateful for. Thank you for supporting the club.

A huge thank you to our brilliant coaches, who always give their best for all our players. They have bought into new ideas and continue to strive within their coaching journeys and improve in everything they do. The late nights, early mornings and cold evenings are always worth it when you see a player smile after a session or a match. You guys are fantastic.

Lastly, a massive thank you and well done to our players who have worked extremely hard throughout the season. I have managed to watch every single team this season and I really have been impressed with their efforts, hard work and passion for football. They are continuing to improve and continue to impress me – well done, all.

I’d like to give a special mention to Coach Reece, who after 4 seasons and 5 years at AFC Leyton is sadly leaving us after presentation. For those of you who know Reece, will know that he is a buoyant, kind-hearted and positive character with his warm personality, willingness to help and love for AFC Leyton being unmatched. He is a highly valued member of the coaching team and I know I speak on behalf of all the coaches when I say we will miss his awful banter and terrible jokes. We wish him all the very best in his future endeavors and thank him greatly for his contribution over the years.

As always, we will continue to run sessions throughout the summer with weekly training tournaments, friendlies and football festivals all happening. Continuing to provide an outlet and sessions is massively important to lots of our players.

AFC Leyton is under new leadership, with a new drive and a new vision to take the club forward. We have new goals and targets to achieve and will do everything we can to reach these. Over the next few months and throughout next season we are looking to increase our off-the-pitch provision with a further focus and guidance on mental health, nutrition, hydration, sleep, strength and conditioning and much more – please look out for documents and info shared on these!

I hope to see you all at Presentation Evening on the 21st which will be a superb evening of celebration.

Thank you all, once again.

Best Wishes

Harry

Well done to all our players this season for putting their best foot forward at all times, it’s been lovely to watch your confidence shine throughout.

I would like to take this time to personally say thank you to all the parents and especially the coaches.  Without you, we wouldn’t be able to run this club as successfully as we do.

It’s been fantastic to join the management team alongside Harry and to do all I can to help provide a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone.  I’m looking forward to what the new season will bring.

Have an excellent summer and can’t wait to see you all back in action next season.

Nic

The club will remain open throughout the summer months, meaning training will be running every single week. There are so many physical, mental and social benefits of not closing down for summer –  we know the importance of this providing an outlet and keeping our players active and healthy. We appreciate that families will go away and may not be with us at times. However, similarly to a gym membership payment is still required whether you use it – as a club, we still have to pay for pitch and coaching fees. For any issues with this, please email: accounts@afcleyton.co.uk

We have noticed an increase in a number of players across the age groups not in AFC Leyton training kit and clothing. From a safeguarding point of view, it is vital players are in correct kit and we know who is who. Please ensure that players are in all Navy AFC Leyton training kit and not in a different clubs clothing.

It’s the match you have been waiting for all season… Parents vs Coaches!!!

Please arrive at our home ground at 6pm, for a 6.30pm kick off – teams will be allocated on the night.  Please wear black or dark blue/navy tops.

An area has been booked (under Nic’s name) at The Dog & Duck, Chingford Road from 8pm for those that would like to debrief on the nights events, have a pizza and give those tired legs a rest.  Please note: children are welcome until 9.30pm but will have to stay in the booked area.

There’s still time to join in the fun, so please accept your Spond event.  Entry is £5.

We would like to introduce Gary as our new Referee Mentor. Gary has years of experience as a referee and officiated countless games as well as high profile ones too. Gary will be offering support, advice and will be providing feedback to our existing, young referees. So, if he’s not reffing himself, you’ll know why he is there if you see him around the Home Ground.

Gary said: “My own experience of refereeing AFC Leyton games has been nothing but positive, I’ve always found the Coaches and parents to be supportive and the players are great to work with.  Clubs have an amazing opportunity and obligation to support new referees, often these are young people developing key skills, earning a bit of money and enjoying having a role in football, unfortunately club representatives don’t always have the time to offer advice and support.”

He added, “As a Mentor, I will be at games observing and supporting referees. I will be there to provide feedback and an opportunity for the Referees to ask questions. I will also be available for advice, support and in the future deliver some training. If necessary, I will challenge behaviour of Coaches/Parents too.”

For those interested in becoming a qualified referee, please email your interest to Nic: secretary@afcleyton.co.uk