First Dev Team Joint Training Session 4th March ’23 – Manager’s Report

I’m sure I speak on behalf of everyone, when saying that all of the boys should be proud of our first training games. We were organised (and worked hard for each other when we lost a bit of structure), solid defensively and productive going forward. We could not pick a player of the day today, with so many stand out performances (player summaries below), but it is clear that the future is bright for this group of players – great job boys

Ryan’s debut included a clean sheet in goal, countless tackles disrupting opposition play and hitting the net to help us on our way to 6 goals in our first match as a team. He showed a very mature attitude throughout the match – we couldn’t ask for more!

Seb got stuck in all over the pitch, working hard to get himself involved in the game, including a confident display in goal. He grew in confidence and showed a great attitude throughout, making a number of important interceptions, to get the team moving forward

Louie confidently dragged his team up the pitch every time he got the ball, showing composure on the ball, neat dribbling skills and the ability to pick out a teammate on a number of occasions, creating chances and goals. I think he surprised himself, with his equally impressive defensive display – great job!

Rafi joined the group for the first time today, but there were no sign of nerves.. he put in a flawless performance, expertly reading the game and breaking up play at the back, while weaving in and out of the opposition, with some great skills to apply a finishing touch at the other end of the field.

Bradley took onboard the team talk and advice throughout the session, found space to receive the ball / dragging opposition players around the pitch to create space for others. He showed a great engine, tirelessly getting up and down the pitch with both pace and purpose. A great session all round.

Jenson gave as good as he got in the middle of the park, tirelessly breaking up play, regaining and retaining possession for his teammates. His hard work was rewarded with a debut goal, with a solid tackle, a touch to compose himself and well placed shot into the bottom corner.

Samuel wasn’t sure about his attacking credentials at the start of the session, focussing his effort on stopping the opposition and giving his team a solid defensive foundation to build on (making some very important tackles). As his confidence grew, he ventured further up the pitch, scoring a fantastic goal – great job Samuel.

Harry went about his business with a quiet confidence. He covered a lot of ground, got stuck into tackles and made some fantastic saves during a voluntary spell in goal. He wasn’t fazed by anything and injected calm into an often hectic game. Good work Harry!

Connors natural sense of positioning at the back is beyond his years, intercepting a number of dangerous opposition plays. While showing an equal aptitude to take the play forward with direct and decisive play.

Barney applied everything that we have been working on in previous training, finding space, showing advanced ball control, dribbling through walls of opposition players and calmly slotting away a goal, under pressure. He also had a solid display in goal, as a sweeper keeper – a calm and collected display all round.

Ted was positive in his attitude, influence and play, encouraging team mates and competing for the ball in what had become a congested period of play. He settled into the session very quickly and made a number of important attacking contributions to the session late on.

A special thanks to:

– All of the parents for respectfully supporting the team

– Phil & Omar for keeping the boys active in between match scenario play, with an engaging training session

– Dave – who ultimately ran the show, marking out the pitch, putting up goals, refereeing the session and holding off the men’s team when we were running over.. he did this after an hour training session with his team, while not feeling well – hats off to the Head Coach, leading by example!

– Simon for helping the boys understand their roles before / during the session and offering encouragement throughout