CLUB NEWS

       £9k Drainage report reveals expensive but possible solutions

                    to improve drainage at Cutteslowe Park

The club's success in wining the £9k funds from the Council required for the drainage report has reveled some very interetsing facts about the drainage situation at Cutteslowe Park.  Click here for Full report

Highlights:-

• French drains across the entire top section running either side of the pavilion (£11k)

• Drainage system not considered possible for the 7 a side pitches whose water table would require pumping into the brook at the bottom. Recommend plough, reseed, sand, fertliser (£24k). Big cost here is the tonnage of sand required (2 applications)

• Three 11 a side pitches and One ¾ pitch viable for drainage using a sand grooving system (£217k). Big cost here is the 4 x 8mm applications of sand.

• The furthermost pitch space at the end of the lower pavilion section is the most well drained area and would require no drainage works. Just fertliser and weed control applications. We should consider having the council mark out this space.  The one downside is the walking distance from the Pavilion. Costs yet to be quoted.

• The upper section just above the junior ¾ sized pitch is well drained and will be marked out for 2 seven a side pitches. No cost.

• Work now being undertaken to present scheme to the Football Foundation.

                       Leckford Place School sponsor U14s

Sami Cohen, stands proudly below with Summertown’s U14s, as the sponsor who has contributed generously to their brand new kit.  The shirts sport the logo for Leckford Place School which already has several pupils coming from the Summertown Stars stables.

"Central to our concept for Leckford Place is the desire to create a school where the individual child is at the centre of everything the school does. Watching the Summertown Stars play recently, I was proud to be associated with a team that shares the same values as we do” remarked Cohen. “Just like Summertown Stars, Leckford Place puts great importance on developing self-confidence and making learning fun.  Our common emphasis on developing a healthy sense of community and ethical values completes the harmony!”

Summertown Stars hope that this is the beginning of a long and successful association! 

Sami Cohen is the Principal of d'Overbroeck's College, which comprises the d'Overbroeck's Sixth Form and Leckford Place School. For information please visit www.leckfordplace.com.

May 2008

Report of the Season
Summertown Stars United, Under 9 Green League

Our fourteen player squad of Under 9s have finished their first season in organised football. Playing one 7-a-side game to decide the fixture plus one friendly, they played twenty four league matches plus two in the cup, a match almost every Saturday from September to April.
Playing in the Under 9 Green League of the excellently organised Oxford Mail Boys League, our opponents - coaches, parents, players - have been unfailingly friendly and sporting, and our boys have enjoyed their football enormously.
Passing the ball well and performing with great spirit, our boys were fortunate enough to end the season as champions, shading chief rivals Abingdon Town by virtue of head to head results against them.
Whether or not children at this age should be playing competitive league matches - and so many of them - is a question we have frequently pondered. The constant excitement becomes addictive for players and their parents alike. Might it not be true, though, that both the more and the less talented children would find it easier to develop their technique in less pressurised circumstances?
While hoping for more time to focus on the children’s development than on winning matches, we will look forward to whatever next season may offer.

May 2008

Stars welcome VIP’s

On 13 January 2008, coaches from Summertown Stars AFC welcomed several visually impaired people from around Oxfordshire to a futsal training session. Futsal has been played since the 1920’s and originates from Uruguay. It is the commonest form of football played in the world today. Futsal is played indoors and is ideal for players with limited sight because of the consistent light. John Ball, the England team manager and coach for B1 category visually impaired players took time out from preparing the England squad for the Chinese paralympics to take the session and also put the Summertown coaches through their paces. The day was a great success, with all of the visually impaired players showing tremendous enthusiasm.

Jo Kalies, the disabilities officer for Summertown Stars, hopes to be able to organize sessions every fortnight. If anyone, who is partially sighted would like to come along then they would be most welcome. For further details please contact Jo Kalies – mobile telephone number 07867 646503 or e-mail jokalies@hotmail.co.uk

April 2008

Summertown Stars Fancy Dress Charity Football Match

On 22nd December 2007, Summertown Stars held a fancy dress football match in aid of various charitable projects run by the club. More than £600 was raised from sponsorship at the event. There were many Santa’s, but also butterflies, elves and even a skeleton. However, a new football, kindly donated by sports shop, Elmer Cotton, was won by “Spongebob Squarepants!” Medals, kindly donated by Allsports Trophies were given to all of the players aged 8 and under who took part. It was a fun start to the Christmas break.

SUMMERTOWN STARS AFC WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE DRAGON SCHOOL WHO HAS KINDLY DONATED KIT AND NEW FOOTBALLS FOR THE CLUB’S “SOCCER FOR AFRICA” PROJECT.

www.dragonschool.org

Star Girls Play for the first Oxfordshire Representative Team

Georgina Tayman, Romey Oulton and Lizzie Robbins were among the first U10 players chosen to represent Oxfordshire in the first ever girls Oxford county football team on Sunday, 21 October 2007. The away match against a Gloucestershire rep team was the first of three matches against other counties that is scheduled to be played by Oxfordshire this season. The match was won by the more experienced Gloucestershire U10 team, but all of the Star girls acquitted themselves well. Indeed, it was Romey’s fierce right foot shot from the edge of the penalty area that nearly gave the Oxfordshire team a deserved goal. Somehow, the excellent Gloucestershire goalkeeper managed to claw the ball away from her line, but the shot was the closest that the Oxfordshire came to scoring. All three Star players play for the Summertown U11 team, and this match gave the players a chance to play against a team that consisted entirely of their own age group.

In the U14 Oxfordshire team, new U13 Summertown Stars recruit, Chelsea Childs, was selected to play. This is a fine achievement for a player who looks very talented indeed. Jo Kalies, the U13 Stars manager, is the Oxfordshire coach for the U10 team, and can be seen in the picture of the team below (back row, top right). You can tell just how new the Oxfordshire rep team is, because they had to borrow kit from Hill View!

Oxford United Host the Star Girls

On 30th September 2007, Oxford United kindly hosted 20 girls from Summertown Stars AFC and many of their parents to a Soccer Special day. The players were treated to an academy coaching session in the morning followed by mini-matches and a tour of the Kassam Stadium. They then met some of the Oxford United players, who answered questions and signed autographs. A sausage and chip lunch followed and then the Star girls watched Oxford United play York City. The U’s were 1-0 up at half-time, and the Stars were introduced to the crowd of more than five thousand fans. Four of the Star players took penalties against the Oxford United reserve goalkeeper, and then the whole group ran around the pitch being clapped and cheered by the fans. Unfortunately, Oxford let in an equalizer late in the second half, so the match ended in a 1-1 draw, but the Star Girls had a great day that will be remembered for a very long time. The only slight hiccup to the day was trying to extract the mum’s from the Oxford United player’s dressing room during the stadium tour – for some reason they seemed very reluctant to leave! The Summertown Stars girls teams would like to thank all of the staff and players at Oxford United, especially Peter Rhoades-Brown and Naomi Loveless, for making the day so special.

4th October 2007

Another successful day out with the U's

Nearly 30 young U9 and U13 football players had a Saturday match experience at the Oxford United stadium last Saturday ( 15th Sept)  All the Summertown Stars kids thought it was wonderful that they had centre of excellence coaching in the morning, lunch and a stadium tour which included meeting the players and having a chat with the U's rising star Yemi Odubade.   At half time the North Oxford youngsters were cheered on by the 5000 fans and Palden , Alexandre, Alfie and Max  took penalties against the U's goalkeeper Chris Tardif. The highlight was the corner flag celebration that made many U fans laugh- they needed too as the U's were 0-2 down.   Max said "It was really cool and the club were terrific -  shame about the result though!"   Peter Rhoades-Brown, Community Officer added " All the children have been fantastic and if any other teams want a similar experience please call 01865 337525"

September 15th 2007

Congratulations Julian our 2007 Grassroots Coach of the Year in the South East

So often the unsung heroes of grassroots football, anyone with a great coach at their club knows just what a difference they can make.

The kind of differences that go much further than just improving players’ skills, but also include creating an inclusive team atmosphere, allowing players to express their individuality and skills on the pitch and even getting the players to want to train and not just turn up for matches!

FA Learning, McDonald's and Oxfordshire County FA recognise the important role of the coach and for the third year are running the ‘FA Learning Grassroots Coach of the Year’ in partnership with The FA’s Community Partner - McDonald's.

Julian Dark manager of U7’s and coach of U13 United has won this year’s Grassroots Coach of the Year for his excellent work. He has played a major role in reforming the team.

This award adds to the club’s Charter Standard Development status to the next level. Charter Standard is the FA’s bench mark for quality. It is a best practice guide that sets standards for coaching, administration and protection for clubs working with children. Julian is a pro-active member of the club , he is a keen and dedicated coach who is committed to encouraging and developing young players in football.

The rewards for the McDonald’s Grassroots Coach of the Year are:

two 2 tickets for the FA Community Shield at new Wembley for the Man U vs Chelsea Match

A £200 bursary towards next coaching qualification

A McDonald’s Grassroots Coach of the Year plaque and some equipment

Summertown would like to congratulate Julian's phenominal achievement

Summertown Stars 5 a side Tournament 16th/17th June, 2007

Oxford is awash with traditions: May morning, Eights Week, Japanese tourists failing to negotiate the Cherwell aboard a punt. But just off the ring road every year is one of the town’s more endearing annual events: the Summertown Stars Five-a-side football tournament. For more than 25 years, for one mid-summer weekend the Five Mile Drive pitches have rung to the excited sound of junior sport. Plus the yelp of at least one adult helper cursing because they have burned their fingers on the barbecue.

This year saw the biggest and best Summertown tournament in a generation. More than 115 teams from across Oxfordshire headed along Five Mile Drive over the weekend of 16/17 June. For the first time, this year these included girls teams, taking part in a u-10 and u-12 competition on the Sunday.

Things began, as always, with the under eights competition on Saturday morning. FA rules now insist that smaller children cannot take part in knock-out competition. So the 20 teams involved, some of whom had come from as far away as Cheltenham, played a round robin tournament, in four groups of five. Some of the football on display belied the youth of the children and was full of skill and endeavour. And though the FA insist that there can be no winners at this level, at this tournament there definitely were winners, 20 of them.

The under-10s followed, in four groups of four teams, with the winners of each group progressing to a semi-final then a final. In a localised tussle, Cumnor A won it in the end, beating Cumnor B on penalties.

In between showers, which were getting heavier by the minute, spectators enjoyed some excellent refreshments including a spectacular barbecue, much of the produce for which was supplied by Marks and Spencer.

The afternoon belonged to the under-12s. Again, 20 teams competed in a high-spirited contest, won by Kidlington A who beat Garden City, on penalties, in the final.

After a damp and soggy night, Sunday dawned much brighter. The under-9s competition, however, was delayed while we awaited the arrival of the teams from the Greenhouse Bethwin club. They could be forgiven their tardiness, however, as they had come all the way from Peckham in South London. While waiting for the competition to start, players, spectators and visitors alike were taking the opportunity to view the Barclays Premiership trophy which, thanks to the generosity of Barclays, was on display all day, raising money for the Oxford Childrens’ Hospital. More than £1000 was collected for what is a wonderful cause.

When the under 9s eventually kicked off, Banbury United Youth beat Summertown in the final. And a home victory was not forthcoming in the u-11s either, where two Summertown teams were beaten in the semi finals. In a really hard-fought, skilful final, Northway beat St Edmunds yet again on penalties.

The afternoon was given over to the girls. It was the largest girls tournament (in their respective age groups) in Oxfordshire this summer, with eight under-10 teams playing each other in a round robin and 11 under-12 teams competing in a league then knock-out format. In the younger age group St Edmunds came out on top with Summertown second, while in the u-12s Carterton beat Bloxham on penalties in the final.

It was a great weekend of football, played in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere more akin to a village fete. Thanks are due to George Levvy and the organising committee for producing a tournament that was as efficient as it was fun. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year.

Barclays brings joy to CHOX

Barclays Plc generously brought the Barclays Premiership trophy to Summertown Stars AFC annual 5 a-side football tournament on 17th June. The Stars raised £701.30 for the Oxford Children’s Hospital (CHOX) from viewing and photography donations. A further £294 was raised by CHOX representatives selling raffle tickets. Mya Harris, who suffers from spina bifida, came along to the event with her family to represent the children at the hospital, and judging by the smile on her face, she thoroughly enjoyed the day!

Mya Harris (3rd from the left), with her family