WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT NEWTON TOWN?

Newton Town Football Club is a Junior Football Club based at Coach Road in Newton Abbot. The club currently offers fun, recreational football for boys and girls aged between 4 and 16 years old through regular training sessions and, for most age groups, matches against other teams.

We are very proud to hold the FA’s Charter Standard Community Club award. What does this actually mean? Well, put simply it means that the club meets a number of criteria specified by the Football Association to ensure all participants receive an excellent experience.

There are 3 levels of Charter Standard Club, and our award – the Community Club award – is only awarded to club such as Newton Town that have a high quality, multi-team set up with excellent social, training and playing opportunities for all. All FA Community Clubs are required to meet FA criteria, ensuring they provide opportunities for players irrespective of age, gender, religion and ability. Clubs must also provide qualified coaches, first aiders and child protection officers. All club officials are required to complete a CRB check, and all age groups have a Team Welfare Officer to help keep all children safe and happy while they are part of the club.

We offer several sessions for Mini Soccer players – that is all children aged 11 and under (school year 6 and below). All Mini Soccer training sessions run on a Saturday morning at Coach Road, and new players are always welcome throughout the year. Mini soccer is usually 7-a-side and is designed to give children the maximum involvement in playing and developing skills. All of our Mini Soccer groups have at least one FA qualified coach, and training sessions are designed to develop a range of technical, physical and mental skills at an appropriate level for the child’s age and ability.

We also currently run two “Youth” soccer groups at Under 12 (Year 7) and Under 16 (year 11) who train midweek evenings. These groups also play 11-a-side “full” football rules, and again train throughout the football season with at least one FA qualified coach.

Anyone attending a session for the first time will need a few simple things – a suitable pair of shoes (trainers or football boots) and very importantly a pair of shin pads to help protect bruised legs. A drink and a warm top are also very useful to have, and apart from that just enthusiasm to play football. Previous experience or ability are not important to us, as we have a “football for all” ethos throughout the club, and across all of our age groups we often have new players with little or no history of playing organised football before.

If you are interested in becoming part of Newton Town, you will find contact information for all of our teams and club officials through the website, or come along to any training session and introduce yourself!

Women's Senior Team

A winning send off

Wednesday, 22 July, 2009

A late Jody Handley goal gives England victory in final Euro warm-up game.

Hope Powell’s England side will head into next month’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2009 buoyed by a 1-0 victory over Denmark, their final friendly fixture before they fly out to Finland to take on Europe’s elite.

A Jody Handley header three minutes from time sealed the win at a blustery County Ground on a night which saw both ‘keepers being called into action on a number of occasions.

The Three Lions pinned Denmark in their own half from the off, restricting the visitors to just one shot on goal in the opening 13 minutes. Fara Williams looked bright early on and the midfielder had England’s clearest opportunity just before the 20 minute mark. Lianne Sanderson fed Karen Carney who, in turn, found Williams inside the area but the latter’s shot flashed narrowly wide of Heidi Elgaard Johansen’s goal.

This shot momentarily sparked Denmark into action with Nadia Nadim narrowly heading over the bar and Katrine Veje registering a couple of long distance efforts. England stopper, Rachel Brown, injured herself in the warm-up and was replaced by Karen Bardsley who performed admirably, twice denying Veje.

However, Johansen had plenty of opportunities to prove her worth as well, being forced into a fine save from Williams on 30 minutes after she was set up by Sue Smith. With half time approaching Johansen also had to race off her line to beat Karen Carney to a Sanderson through ball ensuring the scores remained level at the break.

With the second half just four minutes old Veje and Bardsley continued their personal battle, but the England ‘keeper again came out on top. Bardsley would have no doubt been pleased, however, to see Veje’s number go up in the 73rd minute when she was replaced by Tina Rasmussen.

England soon got back into their stride, but were up against a determined Danish rearguard. It increasingly looked as though the game would end goalless especially after they thought they had finally beaten Johansen’s resistance on 71 minutes.

Alex Scott breezed past Hansen allowing her to pull the ball back to the on-rushing Williams. Williams’ effort was held up by Johansen’s arm but as it dribbled toward the net Smith dived in, only to see the ball cannon off the post and go behind for a goal kick.

However, with just three minutes remaining second-half substitute, Handley, provided the goal that England hope will spark a successful European campaign. From her left flank, Carney drilled a delicious cross into the box for Handley to glance into the net from just six yards out.

UNDER 8’s PUNCH THEIR WEIGHT AT FESTIVAL

Town’s Under 8’s emerged from the end of season Pioneer League Festival with great credit after 5 tough games against a mixture of opposition.

First up on day one was Broadmeadow, our familiar rivals who have built a reputation as a strong side. A typically full-blooded affair saw Broadmeadow have the lions share of territory and possession, but some resolute defending from Town kept the chances to a minimum, and when needed Josh in goal was typically solid. Town had a couple of half chances but at the end of the game a 0-0 scoreline was probably fair.

Next up was Bovey Tracey, and Town looked to dominate the game from the start. However Bovey were defending well and working hard keeping the game scoreless at half time. Some changes before the second half paid dividends, as Town scored their first of the game through Cameron after good work in midfield. It was 2-0 soon after with Harry Haskell finishing a lovely move and Town had a win to go with their earlier draw.

The last game of Day One was against another strong team in Marldon, and their slick passing twice unlocked the Town defence in the first half. Town bounced back with a deserved goal from Jack Tomlinson, but despite their best efforts to find an equaliser the game ended in a 2-1 defeat.

Into Day Two, and Town opened with a match against a much-improved WBB side. Despite playing their best attacking football of the tournament, Town could not find a way past the outstanding WBB ‘keeper and with players piling forward in search of the elusive goal, Town had Jack Clarkson in goal to thank for a good save that kept the final score 0-0.

The fifth and final game of the tournament saw another strong team in Plymstock who had played some excellent football over the 2 days. Town again upped their game and battled hard, with a couple of very good chances going begging while Plymstock proved more clinical with their chances to win the game 2-0.

Town finished the tournament with a good record of 1 win, 2 draws and 2 defeats. Overall the tournament was full of positives, showing that Town can mix it with the best teams in the area, and to concede 4 goals over 5 games was great testament to the goalkeepers and defensive players. Town’s “player of the day” from Day One was Cameron, who worked tirelessly and showed how much his attacking play is developing with some great passing and dribbling. On Day Two it was unfair to single out one particular player, with all of the squad playing exceptionally well.

TEAM SPONSORS WANTED FOR 2009/10 SEASON

As we have now finished the 2008/09 season, all of the clubs existing team sponsorship deals are now coming to an end. This means that the majority of our teams are available for sponsorship for the 2009/10 season, and although we appreciate the tough economic climate affecting all businesses at present, team sponsorship still represents a great way to promote a local business through involvement with Newton Town FC.

Our sponsors package is currently under review to help ensure that any potential sponsor obtains the maximum possible benefit from their financial backing of one of our teams. The benefits of sponsorship in 2009/10 will include

* Business name/logo on front of every team shirt for the sponsored team

* Supply of photo/news item to the local media (Herald Express, Mid Devon Advertiser, etc) covering the presentation of new kit and sponsorship cheque

* Front page listing of sponsors name/logo on Newton Town FC website

* "Sponsors focus" article of approx. 100 words in one issue of Town Crier profiling your business

* Listing of sponsors name/logo on every monthly issue of the Town Crier for 12 months

* Complimentary invitations to all club social events including the club Presentation Day

And with the sponsors package still under review, there could well be other great benefits to add to that fairly comprehensive list.

With sponsorship options starting from just a couple of hundred pounds, and the majority of teams available for sponsorship for 09/10, then this is a great time to get involved. For more details please contact club Chairman Gary Thomas on gtmotors@blueyonder.co.uk or 07764 303 661

Sponsorship Packages for 2008/09 Season

Championship Package : £250.00 Annual Fixed fee

Sponsor is featured in the monthly Town Crier newsletter and on the Club website. Newsletter is currently sent to all parents via managers and distributed throughout Newton Abbot by the Cherry Group as part of their ‘Top Draw’ monthly prize draw.

Premiership Package : £500 Annual Fixed fee

Sponsor receives all the benefits of the Championship package plus an 8’ x 3’ fully printed Vinyl Banner displayed at all home matches, plus Tournaments and any away games as permitted.

One Off Kit deal :  Football Kit ,Tracksuits or Training tops. Cost Varies

Sponsor will receive benefits as per the Championship package, plus their name and/or Logo will be printed onto each garment. The colour and style of the kit will be determined by the Club.

 Newton Town FC is an FA Community Charter Standard Club, which needs support from the local community to carry on providing football for all children, regardless of Ability, Age, Ethnic origin or Sex.

If you are interested in supporting our Club through sponsorship, or wish to become involved in the Club in anyway, please contact me directly on 01626 361259 during work hours or 01626 334465 eves and weekends.

Kindest regards

Gary Thomas

Chairman.

With the football season now drawing to a close, attention at Newton Town is now focussing on the annual Presentation Day which this year takes place on Sunday, June 7 at the River Dart Country Park.
As ever, the day will acknowledge and reward both children and adults who have contributed to the season in the past 12 months, with a number of awards and trophies to be presented. This will continue a tradition that dates back many years within the club, and hopefully will continue long into the future as the club goes from strength to strength.
However, one problem is that we appear to have ‘mislaid’ a number of the annual trophies which we hope to present at the Presentation Day. In the last couple of years a number of teams and players and coaches have come and gone from the club, and among all the confusion no-one has been able to keep track of the whereabouts of all of the trophies.
In fact, the situation is so confused that no-one at the club is entirely sure which trophies are missing! So we are now looking for any help from current or former parents or players who may be able to help throw some light on the situation.
If anyone has, or knows of, any Newton Town FC trophies that could be returned (to be presented in June) then get in touch with Secretary Chris Partridge on chrispartridge@bulldoghome.com or 07887 513 800.

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of Newton Town Football Club will take place at The Highweek Village Inn, Highweek on Monday, May 11, starting at 7.30pm
All parents and other interested adults are invited to attend. On matters where a vote is required, one vote may be cast for each child that is a registered member of the club as of April 1, 2009, by a representative adult. Any person is eligible to stand for election for any position, but any candidate must be nominated and seconded by a representative adult. Any person being voted into a position must complete an enhanced CRB disclosure at the earliest opportunity if they have not already completed one through the club. Anyone wishing to stand for election who cannot attend the AGM should contact the club secretary as soon as possible.

Team Round ups

Under 6&7s
The Under 7s training group has now been split into Under 7s and Under 6s.
I am pleased to report that two new coaches have taken up positions to ensure we have a good ratio of players to coaches. It also helps that all the players get to train and play against players of similar age and ability ensuring that all get a decent amount of time on the ball with training suited to their group.
Mark Bond has joined Kevin Selley in the Under 7 setup and Anna Funnermore has started taking our newly formed under six age group who already have eight players attending training. However, there is always room for more, so if anybody wishes to get involved talk to one of the coaches or committee.
The Under 7s played and won a friendly against WBB at Coach Road showing great character and skill to come from behind. We will continue to organise friendlies on an ad hoc basis through the summer for this age group.
 
Under 8s
The Under 8s finished their season in great style with a couple of highly impressive results in the Pioneer Respect League. A highly entertaining 4-4 draw away at Chelston saw the team fight back from a 3-0 half-time deficit with some superb play and showed the character that is developing in the squad. A couple of weeks later in the last league match of the season, Town entertained Broadmeadow and ran-out deserved 2-1 winners. These are excellent results against two of the strongest Under 8s teams in South Devon, and mark the Town players down as another high-quality team in this age group.
Since the end of the season the squad has been growing in numbers, with Kieron, Rhys and Jack Clarkson joining Town and looking to play their part in the Under 9s campaign next season. Over the summer it is hoped to arrange a few friendlies to keep the players ticking over, while training will continue to work on focusing both physical and technical skills with fun games and activities.
Every player deserves enormous credit for their contributions this season, and not just for the results that have been generated on the pitch, but for the sportsmanship and sporting attitude to our opponents that the Town players have displayed throughout the year. Roll on the ’09/10 season.

Under 10s
Since the last time the Under 10s reported, we have played six games and unfortunately recorded no wins. We played Galmpton, who at the time were top of the table, and battled hard in the second half to overcome a 2-0 half time deficit, but could only manage to score once. 2-1 final score. Man of the match went to Jake. We lost away in the rain down in Chelston 2-0. Man of the match went to Alfie. A hard-fought and sometimes comical game away at Totnes and Dartington saw us lose 3-2, with us scoring two late goals. Man of the match went to Alfie.
This was followed by our poorest game of the season at home to Chelston. Playing with a bare seven, we were unusually fragile in defence, going down 8-0. Man of the match went to Callum. We then went away to Brixham, who were sat at the top of the league, and after a battling and brilliant defensive exhibition, came away with a 0-0. Man of the match went to Dan, Callum and Nathan. Last game of the season saw us going to table topping Bovey (six games, three times we played top of the table team!) and after 30 minutes of stoic defending, Bovey beat the defence and scored, and added another one after a mix up at a corner. Man of the match went to Nathan.
We finish the season, seventh place (from nine teams), Played 16, Won 5, Drawn 1, Lost 10, Goals Scored 20, Goals Conceded 33, Points 16. A good all round season, with only a couple of disappointing games considering we were promoted last season.

Club Jackets

A new batch of club jackets available in a variety of sizes has recently arrived. The cost for playing members is subsidised by the club and set at £10. Adults can purchase a jacket for £20. Please order from your coaches with the size and initials you want on the front. We hope to put the next batch into the printers in the very near future.

Joiners this period

In a busy period for new members the following players have joined with more in the pipeline. So welcome to all and we hope you enjoy the Town. There were also no departures in the same period, so the club is showing a very healthy growth rate.
Under Six (newly created training group): Nathan Locke; Daniel Smith; Toby Coniam. Under Seven: Jaden Bond; William Sweeny. Under Eight: Kieron Smith. Under Ten: Alex Blackburn; Kieron Jones (re-joined). Under Eleven: Aaron Sherwood.

Stay in touch

As ever, you can find up-to-the-minute news about club goings on, through the excellent club website www.newtontownfc.co.uk. As you may know, we are now also sending out a regular email newsletter for all parents that have supplied an email address, and if you are not currently receiving this but wish to, email chrispartidge@bulldoghome.com with your name and the name of the player you are ‘representing’.

SPONSORS
SHOWERTECH
(Under 15s)
GT MOTORS
(Under 10s)
OMEGA TRADE FRAMES (Under 8s)
RIVIERA POOLS
(Under 7s)

Chris “Checks In” for Treasurer’s Role

At a committee meeting held on 14^th October 2008, Newton Town were able to officially welcome Chris Collings as the club’s new Treasurer, replacing outgoing officer Kandi Shaw - who has been looking to step down from the role for some time for personal reasons.

Chris, who also coaches the under 10’s squad, will take up the role with immediate effect, and will be getting his teeth into processing the many membership fee cheques and standing order mandates from approximately 70 players who are now part of Newton Town Football Club.

And as something of a database ‘whizz’, Chris will also be combining his Treasurer’s duties with the task of creating the club’s central membership database, using all of the information collated from the recently completed membership forms.

Club Chairman Gary Thomas said “It is great to welcome Chris to the role of Treasurer. He has been a regular attendee at our committee meetings in recent months, and I am confident he will do a great job as the club’s treasurer.”

On behalf of the club, Gary Thomas also gave a formal vote of thanks to Chris’s predecessor Kandi Shaw, who has held the fort for many months despite suffering with health problems herself. Gary said “Kandi has reluctantly kept her role as treasurer through some difficult times recently, when a lot of other people may have been tempted to walk away. Everyone at the club should be grateful for Kandi’s efforts and we hope she is able to stay involved in Newton Town in the future.”

The club’s infrastructure has also been able to benefit from some other new faces coming on board. The under 8’s/under 9’s squad now have 2 coaching assistants in the shape of Richard Groves and Paul Coysh, who will be helping coach Chris Partridge in running an ever-expanding group of players, while the under 7’s also hope to be gaining some coaching assistants in the near future. And in the under 11’s squad, manager Graham Taylor now has an assistant in the shape of Ian Morgan.

Meanwhile we are also delighted to announce that three parents have stepped forward to act as team welfare officers for the under 7’s, under 8’s and under 9’s squads. So please welcome Lynne Selley, Matt Strickland and Laura Hingston to the club and give them your support in what is a valuable role helping to keep our young people safe during their football.

Despite this big influx of volunteers we would still love to hear from anyone else who may be interested in helping the club in any capacity. We are still looking for team welfare officers for the under 10’s, under 11’s and under 15’s plus we would also like to hear from anyone interested either in the role of Social Secretary, or who would just like to help arrange social events for children and/or parents.

MEET THE COMMITTEE – CHILD WELFARE OFFICER NICKY FOX

Hello there, I’m Nicky Fox, Club Welfare Officer at Newton Town. 

Originally I became involved as a parent helper when my son joined the club three years ago.  

For the last 2 ½ years I have been the Club Welfare Officer, a role concerned with child protection.   Enjoyment of the game and providing a safe environment for our young players is paramount to the club and my role is to ensure that FA policies and guidelines are put into practice.  I also arrange CRB checks through the Criminal Records Bureau to ensure that all our coaches and volunteers and suitable to work with children.

We are delighted this season to have two new Team Welfare Officers (TWO’s) in place, Matt Strickland and Lynn Selley, who are involved with the U8’s and U7’s teams respectively.  They will be available for any player or parent to talk to in confidence should they have any concerns or need advice.  Matt and Lynn will work closely with the team coaches and the club welfare officer.  This is a brand new post which will enhance the club’s child protection even further, so please give them your support.  We would like to have TWO’s in place throughout the club and would very much like to hear from any parents involved with the U10’s, U11’s and U15’s squads – it’s a great way to support your team coach.

Finally, just a reminder to visit us at www.newtontownfc.co.uk where you can find a link to the Football Association website.  There is lots of useful information on mini soccer and child protection and the free online ‘Soccer Parent’ course provides a good understanding on how to play a supportive role to our young players to maximise their enjoyment of the game!

Kind regards. 

Nicky Fox

EDITORS NOTE – As you may already know, Nicky is also looking to step down from her post in the New Year. Although the Team Welfare Officers are a great boost to the club, we would love to have someone to step into Nicky’s shoes to take the role across the club. Please get in touch if you are interested.

TEAMS ROUND UP

It has been a busy few weeks for all of our teams. Our under 7’s played their first ever game (supplemented by a couple of older age group players) and for many of the children it was their first ever taste of playing another team (WBB). All of the players performed brilliantly, and there are more under 7’s games in the pipeline.

The under 8’s are enjoying a great season, and with a large squad of players with a fantastic attitude, they continue to go from strength to strength. They will hope to continue their progress throughout the season.

The under 9’s are still hampered by a lack of players, and although they have been able to borrow players from the under 8’s for a few friendlies, more players in this age group (School Year 4) are urgently needed.

The under 10’s narrowly lost in the League cup after taking a strong Chelston side to a replay. The cup games have slightly affected the teams League fixtures, but after 5 games they sit mid-table in their league having won 2 and lost 3 matches.

The under 11’s are enjoying a similar roller-coaster season, also having won 2 and lost 3 of their 5 league matches so far. A recent 5 – 2 defeat against high-flying Waldon was a match where the result did not reflect the performance, with the Town players more than matching their opponents for much of the game and turning in a great battling performance.

In our oldest age group, Town under 15’s also find themselves in mid-table although with games in hand on some of the teams above them after a couple of recent postponements.

Don’t forget match reports, fixture news and much more can be found on the club’s website www.newtontownfc.co.uk

UNDER 15’s IN NEED OF HELP

Newton Town are looking for someone to help with coaching the under 15 squad over the winter due to increasing number of players wanting to take part in the training sessions.

Coach and Manager Simon Davison has been running the squad single handedly since the start of the season, but is now hampered by the number of players wanting to join in training sessions, and with having to move to the Osborne Park MUGA which physically cannot hold the number of players wanting to train.

If additional help cannot be found then we may have to start turning players away from training - a situation which we obviously wish to avoid - and anyone who may be interested in helping can receive support and guidance from Simon Davison and the Newton Town Committee.

In the short term, anyone interested is advised to assist Simon in running the current training sessions, although ultimately it may be possible to start a second training session at a venue and time to suit. There may even be the option of creating a second under 15 team to play friendly matches later in the season.

If you can help the club with this position then please contact secretary Chris Partridge on chrispartridge@bulldoghome.comor under 15’s manager Simon Davison on showertech@tiscali.co.uk

The Town Crier

COME AND JOIN US!

Well it’s hard to believe that we are already coming towards the end of September, and in the 5 months since the end of last season there have been many developments at Newton Town Football Club.

Since taking office in March 2008, the current committee have overseen a period of consolidation and development at the club, with lots of changes both on and off the field, and in recent months there has been a fantastic influx of players into the club with most of our age groups benefiting.

As a result of this growth, we are now looking for parents or interested adults to fill a range of vacant positions within the club to help us continue to develop and improve the service that we offer to all of our young parents and their players.

Firstly on the pitch we are looking for a coach and/or manager to take responsibility for our under 7’s players. This group of players number approximately 10, and while they are currently training alongside the under 8’s, we would like the under 7’s to have their own coach for training. We would also hope that any coach or manager would stay with the squad as and when they become next seasons under 8’s, so this is a great way to learn the ropes during the current season.

Secondly we are looking for a coach or manager to help run the under 9’s squad alongside current coach Chris Partridge. Although this is currently a small group of players, we are hoping to attract new players in the coming weeks and Chris would like someone to assist him in running this squad as he also helps run the under 8’s squad.

In both these cases, we would ideally like anyone interested to take the FA Level One coaching award course, which is funded by the club, and is comprised of 6 sessions split between Coach Road and Torquay Community College. The next Level One course starts on Monday 13^th October so you could be a qualified coach before Christmas!

If you are interested in any of these opportunities then please contact club secretary Chris Partridge on 07887 513 800 for a chat and more details.

Finally we are looking for people to take on committee positions due to a couple of impending resignations. Both our treasurer, Kandi Shaw, and our Child Welfare Officer Nicky Fox are looking to stand down from their positions before the end of the year. We are therefore looking for anyone interested in taking on either of these positions to come forward and ‘learn the ropes’ before Kandi and Nicky leave. In both cases full training can be given, and the time commitment needed is relatively small. Chairman Gary Thomas would be delighted to have an informal chat with anyone about these roles so please give him a call on 07764 303 661.

Please don’t forget that the club needs parental support at all levels in order to operate, and the more people who get involved the easier it is for everyone. The committee are determined to continue the clubs development in 2009, and to do that we need YOUR help, so please get in touch if you can help in any way.

SATURDAY MORNING’S ALRIGHT FOR TRAINING!

With the nights now drawing in, and the clocks set to go back  before the end of October, Newton Town is now finalising plans for winter training for all age groups.

In a change to previous years, the committee have decided to schedule all mini soccer training (up to and including the under 11 age group) for Saturday mornings from 10am at Coach Road. There are 2 main reasons for doing this

1. Moving to Saturday mornings allows the children to train outdoors on a grass surface, which is safer and more suitable than indoor venues or MUGA’s, and which continues to offer a central location for all parents.

2. It has been a great success over the summer having the mini-soccer teams all training together, allowing sharing of coaches and coaching resources, as well as giving the club and parents more of a community feeling. We hope to continue this over the winter with all of our younger children training together.

Although we acknowledge that Saturday morning training may cause problems for a small number of parents, we sincerely hope all of our parents will understand the reasons behind making this decision and that all of our players may remain involved in their respective squads.

The first Saturday morning training will take place on Saturday 25^th October from 10am at the Coach Road pitches, with separate training areas for each of the mini soccer age groups.

The only team that will not be involved in the Saturday morning training will be the under 15’s, as manager Simon Davison is unavailable on Saturdays, and the details of under 15 training are currently being finalised and will be communicated to parents by Simon as soon as possible.

ITS IN THE NET!!

Over the summer, the Newton Town website www.newtontownfc.co.uk has been redeveloped thanks to our new webmaster John Moulton. The website is now kept bang up to date with all of the latest information from the club including upcoming fixtures, past match results and match reports of most Town games across all age groups.

You can also find general information about the club such as contact details for team managers and club officials, club policies, information about upcoming social events and even copies of past ‘Town Crier’ newsletters.

We always welcome material from parents, spectators or other interested adults that might be relevant to the club, so if you have anything to contribute to the website, or to contact our webmaster about any aspect of the site, please e-mail John Moulton on jm@pentagraph.info

TEAM ROUND UP’s

Although the Under 7’s are not yet playing matches, the number of players within the club at this age group has recently increased dramatically giving us a fantastic base for next years Under 8’s squad. As you will see from elsewhere in this newsletter we are now looking for a coach and/or manager to take this team on, with the possibility of arranging some friendly matches later in the season.

This years Under 8’s have started the season in great style, and are becoming a very accomplished group of players. The majority of last years squad have remained together, with a few new faces having joined the existing players. The players have a fantastic attitude to training and the only problem with this squad is getting all of the players into the team!

The Under 9’s were sadly forced to pull out of the Pioneer League before the season due to a lack of players. However, we are hoping to recruit some new under 9 players in the near future with a view to re-entering the league at Christmas. In the meantime we are arranging some under 9’s friendly matches, with the team being supplemented by under 8 and under 10 players.

The Under 10’s is another large squad, who have started their league season in good form with one win and one loss so far. Coach Chris Collings is working hard with his group of players and after gaining success in the under 9 age group last season, they will be hoping to again challenge for honours by the end of the season.

The Under 11’s have also started their season in good form, with one win and one defeat from their two games. The squad have been through some changes in the past months, with new coach Graham Taylor getting to know the players, and they are showing some very encouraging signs in their performances.

The Under 15’s have played just one game so far, losing a competitive game 2 – 0 to a very good Ipplepen side. However it is early days for this squad, and coach Simon Davison knows the players very well from previous seasons under his management, so they will be continuing to develop as the season progresses.

Don’t forget that upcoming fixtures, match results and match reports for most club games can be found on our website www.newtontownfc.co.uk. You may also like to visit the Pioneer League website at www.pioneeryl.co.uk where you can view more information about fixtures, matches and, where appropriate, league tables.

MEET THE COMMITTEE

Hi, I am Ian Tomlinson Vice Chairman of Newton Town. As Vice Chairman I sit on the Executive Committee and I am also the manager of the U8s team.

Originally a Lancastrian from farming stock, I spent 20 years working in London in the IT industry mainly in the finance sector and City of London where I met my wife, Jo. Four years ago we took the decision to quit the rat race and move back to her roots in Devon.  We have two children, Jack (7) and Lily (4) both at Decoy school. Jack plays for the Under 8s and is the reason I first got involved. I used to play all sports with a ball (except that one where it’s a funny shape!).

As manager of the U8s I am responsible for organising the matches, collecting training fees and team administration. I am also an FA level 1 qualified coach and help out with training. I believe passionately in the role sport (especially team sport) has to play in shaping the lives and attitudes of our kids. Opportunity for all, and play to win, but play with respect and sportsmanship for team mates and opposition alike. Most of all it is about the kids enjoying sport and having fun in a safe and friendly environment.

With all the players returning from last year and a warm welcome to lots of new faces I think there is a real buzz about the club at the moment. Good luck to all our teams as we start the new season.