Northumberland Schools Football Association

Secretary's Report 2017-18

Northumberland Schools’ FA - Secretary’s Report 2017-18

ESFA Competitions

Congratulations to:
- Newcastle School for Boys - winners, ESFA U15 Trophy for Small Schools
- Ponteland Academy - winners, ESFA Danone 7s for Girls’ Teams
- Cramlington LV - runners up, ESFA Trophy for U16 Girls
- Chantry MS - runners up, ESFA U12 Trophy for Small Schools
- East Northumberland SFA - semi-finalists, ESFA U13 Inter-association Trophy
- Newcastle SFA - semi-finalists, ESFA U11 Sevens for Association Teams

County teams

Both U16 teams were led by new management. Although Michael Third is new to management in schools’ football he has a wealth of experience in the local girls’ game. He led a talented group of girls to the ESFA semi-finals and the Northern Counties final. Having won the East League comfortably, the U16 girls qualified for the ESFA National Trophy. In the quarter finals they travelled to Derbyshire and defeated the reigning champions. The semi-final was a home tie against Lancashire which was narrowly lost - to the strongest team in the country. Lancashire also were the girls’ nemesis in the Northern Counties final - another narrow defeat.

Kevin Hodgson found his introduction to County football a bit tougher and the team started with defeats. But they grew into the season and recorded wins against Cumbria and, more pleasing, against Durham.

Steve Swinyard again led the U18s and once again took the team to a final - this time a victory! A solid campaign in the East League saw the team finish second to Durham.  They then travelled to Lancashire for their semi-final. A good win saw them host Merseyside in the Northern Counties final at Ashington FC. A closely fought game saw a 2-1 victory for Northumberland. Earlier in the season Merseyside had beaten us 3-2 (away) in the ESFA national trophy. Steve has decided that work commitments mean he can no longer lead this team. We thank him for the commitment he has shown in the last 3 years and are pleased that he will continue in his role as the Association’s Welfare Officer.

Our thanks are expressed to all those who have been involved with the management and coaching of our County teams. Young players still regard it as a great honour and privilege to play for their county and this is due, in no small way, to the way in which our teams are led and the high expectations that we have.

County competitions (results below)

Congratulations to all those who progressed to the finals of our competitions and thanks to the teachers who led those teams. Thanks also to those who managed these competitions to a successful conclusion. But - the season goes on too long and, once again, there were unnecessary delays in playing some matches. This message has been continuing for several years. Hopefully next season will be the one when ALL competitions finish on time!

Northumberland FA

Our strong relationship with the Northumberland FA continues - we now have a seat on the NFA Council and our Administrator, Andrew Smith, works for both organisations. We are grateful for the support of Lindsey Robinson in appointing match officials and wish her well as she moves on in her career in New Zealand.

ESFA

Owen Aiston has just about reached the end of a successful year as Chairman of ESFA, where he he has had to steer the Association through some difficult decisions. Congratulations to Owen for the work he has done. There are still some challenging times ahead - mostly because of financial constraints. These constraints will impact on our County association as we move forward and some thoughtful decision-making will have to be made.

Development

1. We were successful in bidding for funds to develop Futsal. Some small steps have been made but greater energy will needed to be put into this work if it is to have any impact.

2. We attempted to bring together consultation group of all organisations involved in youth football in our area. One meeting was held but this development has stalled. We are mapping the provision of football in schools throughout the County and hope that this document will help us to identify gaps so that we can work with other providers to ensure that all pupils in our association can access the same opportunities.

3. Inter-association football for girls has grown.

4. We will be running an U14 Girls County team next season for the first time. Paul Corney has been appointed as manager.

Executive Committee

There have not been many new faces seen at Executive Committee meetings - it would be wonderful if local associations were able to nominate some new representatives; even better if some would volunteer for administrative roles. I hope teachers (and even pupils) are aware of the work that is done by a few (and has been for many years) on their behalf. Chris Newman especially, over the past few years, has done more than count the money! As our Administrator is bedded into his role we can relieve Chris of some of the extra work he does.

John Farnie has done sterling work standing in for the often absent Chairman (!) and Andy Littleton’s minutes are still accurate as well as entertaining. Peter Tracey is always ready to support despite being over-worked trying to keep Northern Counties SAFA on track! Thanks too to other Executive Committee members who are ready to ‘muck in’, especially at the time of County Finals.

Northumberland CSFA competition results 2017-18