Bohemians are Norfolk County FA Charter Standard Development Club of the Year 2009


 Club Awards

BYFC have won the Norfolk County FA Charter Standard Development Club of the Year award for 2009.  This is in recognition of our recent achievements and the standards that your committee have worked tirelessly to attain.  Well done everyone.

We must also congratulate last years Girls U13's and U14's teams. 

Fiona's girls have been declared Norfolk County FA 2009 Fair Play team of the year as our U13's from last season.  To receive the league award is quite an achievement, but to win the County award as well is really something.  Well done to you all.

David's U14's from last season went to Spain earlier this summer to participate in a major girl's international tournament.  Progressing from their group into the knock-out stages they eventually lost to a team representing the Belgian national side and won the Unicef Fair Play award for the tournament.  Well done girls.

New Road

For those members who live in Belton, you will have already seen the progress that the builders have made with the new facilities at New Road.  We are expecting to be able to use the new building by the end of October.

We have already relocated one of our 3/4 size goals to the Moorlands School in Belton and moved the other to the car park end of the New Road field.  A new set of full sized adult goals have been ordered and we anticipate delivery at the end of October/early November and the pitch will be sited at the far end of the field.  In between these two pitches will be two mini-soccer pitches, one at 50x30 for the U8's and the other 60x40 for the girls teams that will be playing at New Road.

Managers will be advised when we can resume our 'home matches' and training at New Road and we would like to thank the Moorlands school for letting us use their facilities for our soccer school and training sessions through the summer months.    

School - Club links

In addition to our existing arrangement with Cliff Park Junior & High schools, the committee would like to thank Aidy, our club chairman, in signing off on two school-club links with Moorlands in Belton and Woodlands in Bradwell.  Club coaches are participating in after school training sessions as part of these links and we hope to attract future playing members from these schools.

Bohemians meet Sir Trevor Brooking.

Bohemians meet Sir Trevor Brooking.
 

Potential football stars of the future were inspired by visit from former West Ham and England legend Sir Trevor Brooking last week.

One of the most elegant midfielders of his era, Sir Trevor watched the current crop of youngsters being put through their paces during a coaching session at Bohemians Youth Football Club in Belton.  The visit was organised by the club - one of the biggest in the Norfolk and Suffolk Youth League - that has gone from strength to strength in the three years it has been running.

Currently director of football development at the Football Association, Sir Trevor said it was important to forge links between junior clubs and schools. “Clubs like Bohemians are running a number of sides, but schools may not be, even if there are a number of youngsters keen on the sport. We hope to get coaches going in to do sessions in schools and channel them towards the better junior clubs to give an opportunity to play in games. I used to come home from school and meet up with a group of other boys to play football, and we picked up skills through that. Bohemians have not been going that long, but have got a lot of teams and are basing their success on quality coaches. These days mums and dads are not happy leaving their children unattended, so we have to structure it now so they have opportunities like this to practice between matches.”

More than two decades after hanging up his boots Sir Trevor said he was confident that players from his time would be able to cope with the demands of top flight football today. “Any decent player from my era would comfortably make the transition into the modern game.  They have got to be fit and the game is quicker, but if you have got a good skill base you will survive. The skill level required at the top level is a high one and a lot of Premiership sides at the moment are getting 60pc of their starting 11 from overseas. In my role at the FA we have got to try to make sure they select more English youngsters into their academies. But they are in the game of getting the best and we have got to accept that we are not producing enough good English players.

Sir Trevor recalled highlights from his playing career during a speech at a dinner also organised by Bohemians Youth FC at the Ocean Room in Gorleston. He described scoring the only goal in the Hammers' 1-0 FA Cup final victory against Arsenal in 1980, signing for the Upton Park club as a teenager and making his England debut. All-time Norwich City great Bryan Gunn joined Sir Trevor for the night which raised money for his cancer appeal and Bohemians Football Club.

Club chairman Garry Cooper said: “Although Sir Trevor is from a previous generation of players, the youngsters were as excited to see him as David Beckham. It took a lot of hard work organising the visit, but it went very well and we are really pleased with the outcome.