FA Soccer Stars @ DHUFC

This is our fifth consecutive year of running the FA Soccer Stars Challenge and each year we have been rewarded by improved performances from our players. I feel this is a very positive experience for all those involved with playing, coaching and supporting here at the Club.

Most squads will participate in the activity on the morning of Saturday 5th May. Simply turn up at Bowood Sports Ground as usual and the coaching team will do the rest.

All players who attend the challenge will be presented with a certificate of attainment at our 'End Of Season Presentation' on Saturday 9th June. Players who achieve the top award of 5 Stars will also receive a small prize to acknowledge their level of attainment.

Can I Help My Child Achieve Top Marks?

Yes, all the challenges measure basic football skills and can be viewed at the FA Soccer Stars Website. The skills themselves are quite straight-forward and parents can easily help their children understand and polish the techniques required by watching the animated skills and drills offered under the menu marked 'The Tests'. Each test section provides not only the drill to be performed but under the tab marked 'How to Master' some instructions on how to perform the drill to gain a maximum score.

Why not show your child the site and let them perform the drills and practices over the next few evenings?

The Challenges

The Soccer Star Challenge is a soccer coaching, learning and assessment programme, for boys and girls aged 6-16 years. Since its launch in 1988 this unique soccer coaching programme has been used by over 20,000 coaches and teachers, with over 500,000 children in over 20 countries worldwide. The programme consists of practices and games to enable children to learn essential soccer techniques, together with six simple reliable tests.

The benefits of the Soccer Star Challenge to players, parents and coaches;-

• It's fun to do and captures kids imagination
• Adds value to soccer programmes for boys and girls
• Offers Soccer Star certificate
• Profiles and records children's strengths, weaknesses and progress
• Rewards achievement
• Provides simple goal setting opportunities for kids
• Allow kids to practice and improve on their previous scores
• Provides tangible feedback to parents
• Increases loyalty to the coaches' learning programme
  

Don't let let your child become worried about the tests, they are enjoyable and based on much of the activity which takes place at the Club each week. FA Soccer Stars is simply a football session with a slightly different focus during which your child and his/her teammates will have fun.

Girls Training with an Irish International

The Club is pleased to announce that we are in the process of building a relationship with a top-flight women's football club; Bristol Academy WFC. Our intent is to create a partnership which allows those girls who want to pursue their football through to the highest level an opportunity to access Academy standard facilities, coaches and players.

To start this initiative we have two events lined up. The first is a Club visit to watch Bristol Academy WFC play against Chelsea Ladies in a Nationwide Premier League match. This takes place on Sunday 29th April at The Hand Stadium in Clevedon. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend. Players will have access to free tickets, parents and non-members will have to pay a small fee (£3 adults, £1 children).

Ticket are available until Saturday 21st April. Ensure you book yours by visiting our event site.

The second event is scheduled to take place on the morning of Saturday 19th May when Bristol Academy's Central Midfielder and First Team coach, Claire Scanlon, will lead a training session for our girls. Claire is a vastly experienced Irish International player, who has played Premier League football for Leeds and Bristol as well as having played professionally in Japan and the US. Claire also hopes to bring along some of Filton College's female football development centre players to help with the session. We are very excited to have someone with so much experience and knowledge to pass on to the girls and suggest all of our girl players make a date in their diaries to attend.

I have provided a few links of interest for those who want some more detail about Claire, Bristol Academy WFC and the Women's Premier League.

Derry Hill United is delighted with this opportunity to create a link with Bristol Academy WFC and hope that you support this initiative in it's fledgling stages by attending both the match and the training session.

Useful Links

• Bristol Academy WFC
• Bristol Academy of Sport
• Nationwide Women's Premier League