Club AGM

This year the Club AGM is on Wednesday 13th May.

Last year the meeting was poorly supported and there were insufficient in attendance to undertake the business required. We only reached the required quorum by phoning parents at the start of the meeting and asking them to attend straight away, until we had sufficient numbers to start the meeting.

The Club cannot operate without undertaking it's constitutional requirements so please make an effort to support the volunteers who provide football for your child by attending the AGM. We are only asking you to give up an hour of your time.

Wildfire April 09

Welcome back to football, I do hope you had a restful Easter break. Just eight weeks before our season ends, hopefully we shall be fortunate enough to experience some nice weather as we enter "Tournament" season.

A brief reminder, the construction work continues at Bowood Sports Ground, review the previous advice about alternative parking arrangements and please do take the opportunity to park your vehicle at the Soho Inn or Pine and Cane.

Youth Volunteers
Club AGM
Derry Hill Hotshots

Youth Volunteers
Congratulations go to Claire Whitehead and Tom Nott, two of our youth volunteers, who have been selected to attend the Regional Step Into Sport Leadership conference run by the Youth Sports Trust.

Claire, aged 16 and an ex-player for DHUFC, has been assisting with coaching the Phoenix girls squad for 2 seasons. Tom, a member of our U16s squad, is a qualified referee and has also been assisting with coaching the Blaze. Both Claire and Tom act as excellent role models for our younger players and provide our coaching teams with valuable support and assistance. Our thanks go to Claire and Tom for their support and commitment and congratulations for this much deserved award.

Volunteering through the Step Into Sport scheme offers young adults and teenagers a great opportunity to build unique skills and experience to differentiate themselves when applying for a job or college. Demonstrating an active role supporting their community through volunteer work provides a great non-academic highlight on their CV.

If you know of a teenager who would like to support our Club activity as a coach or referee, or other roles such as media or webmaster then please get in touch and we will arrange to support their activity through the Step Into Sport scheme.


Club AGM
Wednesday 13th May at 7.30pm, The Lansdowne Hall, Derry Hill. We had a poor turn-out last year and nearly had to postpone the meeting due to not having a quorum. Please try to attend.


Derry Hill Hotshots
We still have some spaces in our Year 1 sessions. Know a 5 year old who wants the opportunity to play football then ring Dave Oxenham on 01249 821795, email Hotshots@dhufc.org or register on-line here.

Beacons Provide Half-time Entertainment

The Derry Hill Beacons were offered the chance to be 'Guard Of Honour' for the Bluebirds during a recent match at Hardenhuish Park.

The young players had a wonderful time culminating in an exciting demonstration mini-soccer match during the half-time break.

Adrian Gingell, coach of the of The Beacons, commented "This type of event is a great way of encouraging young boys and girls to play football and participate in sport, which are often difficult objectives to meet. It's brilliant that Chippenham gave us the opportunity to be involved in their match day with so much going on. We were made to feel very welcome and our thanks go to the club, especially Chris Blake, for the experience. Good luck to the Bluebirds for the rest of the season, I think they have a few more fans now."


Derry Hill United is currently recruiting for boys and girls from 5 to 16.

Contact JoinIn@dhufc.org or ring Alan Crocker on 01249 814362 for more details.

Wildfire March 09

Qualified Coaches
Congratulations go to Kevin Powell, Patrick Scott and Joe Foley who have successfully completed the FA Level 1 programme. All three joined as new coaches this season to facilitate the new Under 7s group, the Pyros.

This nationally recognized qualification, comes with the title 'Club Coach'. To achieve this standard, Kevin, Patrick and Joe completed modules in Emergency Aid, Child Protection, Club Administration, Mini-Soccer Ethics (Soccer Parent) and Football Laws, as well as considerable practical instruction on how to organize and facilitate training sessions.

I am also delighted to congratulate Chris Bogg who has completed his FA Level 2 coaching award. Chris has continued to offer his support coaching the U15 girls, even though his daughter Emily has now left the Club to play in the Wiltshire Centre of Excellence. This qualification takes significant commitment, the course is 7 consecutive days and there are 6 further days to attend, plus extra coaching work and gathering evidence to produce a portfolio for assessment. Well done Chris.

Our thanks go to all of these coaches for putting in the time and effort to improve their understanding of the game as well as the commitment they make week in week out to facilitate football for your children.

If you fancy the opportunity of helping our players develop their football skills then join our coaching team. Derry Hill United offers free access to Level 1 courses, subsidized access to those who want to take their coach education beyond level 1, and mentorship and support. Coaching is a great way to widen and develop your own skills and is extremely rewarding. Contact coach@dhufc.org for more details.


Easter Break
Due to the poor weather conditions experienced at the start of this term and the considerable impact this had on League activity we have decided to close the Club for just one weekend over the Easter holiday rather than the usual two. The Club will be closed only for the weekend of 10/11 April. There may be some squads who choose to take the following w/end off also. Please ensure you listen to messages from your Team Secretary and Coaches to establish your child's schedule over the Easter break.


Parking
As you can see construction has begun on the Clubhouse at BSG. This activity has had a significant impact on the number of car-parking spaces available at the ground. Please ensure you consider how you use what space is available to us whilst the construction continues. Apart from car-sharing, cycling and walking (for those who live in the village), I encourage you to use the following alternatives:

• Car-Park to the rear of Pine and Cane
  - Available to Club members throughout the weekend

• The Soho Inn
  - Available to Club members between 9am and 12pm Saturday and Sunday
  + Please ensure you leave this car-park before midday

Dogs At Our Facilities
Over the past few weeks we have had a couple of incidents where people have brought dogs to the ground and considered it appropriate to let them off a lead whilst children were training. We want to continue to allow members to bring their dogs to the ground but such behaviour exposes our players to unacceptable risks. Please ensure you keep your dog on a lead if you decide to bring them to the ground.

A reminder for those who use Springfields School. Dogs are strictly forbidden at this facility regardless of whether they are on a lead or not. Please do not take dogs to this facility as doing so may jeopardize our use of this much needed ground.

Derry Hill Hotshots
Football Fun for Year 1

Hotshots consists of six one-hour sessions of fun football activity. These take place on Saturdays during the school spring term at Bowood Sports Ground between 1pm – 2pm.

This is a great chance to introduce your child to a healthy, fun, outdoor activity and to see if they wish to go on to play football regularly.

Just £18 for six sessions. Numbers are restricted so get in touch now to reserve your child’s place.

For details ring Dave Oxenham on 01249 821795, email Hotshots@dhufc.org or register on-line here.


Club AGM
This year's Club Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday 13th May at 7.30pm, Lansdowne Hall, Derry Hill. This meeting is important to the running of the Club and requires a quorum of members parents to attend in order. Please support those who run the Club by attending. Put it in your diary now.