Clubhouse Opening

I am delighted to invite you to the opening of our new Clubhouse this Saturday, the 31st October.

We are pleased to have John Trollope MBE as our guest of honour. It is particularly relevant that John opens our new facility as not only does he herald from Wiltshire but played all his professional football in the County, amassing a record 770 League appearances for Swindon Town FC during a 20 year playing career. This period for Swindon Town was arguably their most successful topped with a League Cup final win against Arsenal at Wembley in 1969. John played in that final and made the long journey up the old Wembley steps to receive his winners medal.

Following his playing career John went into Club Management and finally into youth coaching where he has had much success developing young professional players. John is now on the scouting staff of Bristol Rovers where his son, and former Welsh International, Paul, is the manager.

We will open the Clubhouse at 11am on Saturday 31st October, everyone is invited to come along and look around after the official opening. We do hope you'll be able to join us and take pride in the facility that has been built.

One word of caution, we expect the ground to be extremely busy, therefore can I ask that each of you consider walking, cycling, or car-sharing. If you bring your vehicle please park at Pine and Cane or the Soho Inn for the morning.

Girls Footie Fest and Club Trip to Swindon Town FC

Kit Order Deadline
Friday 23rd October
Remember to place your order for Club kit from Catherine Saville before 23rd October. This is the last opportunity to order kit and receive it in time for Christmas.

View our range of Derry Hill badged extras online. If you need kit or clothing for the winter please go to the website to find the relevant order form. Then follow the instructions on the order form to send it and the relevant payment to Catherine Saville our Kit Co-ordinator to reach her before Friday 23rd October.


Girls Half-Term Footie Fest
Friday 23rd October
Following discussions with local youth football clubs; Calne FC and Bromham, Derry Hill United FC is now the designated girls development Club within Calne and district. Our role is to encourage, support and develop girls football from the ages of 6 through to adult football at 16. We are delighted and excited to have reached this accord and want to use this opportunity to increase the number of girls who choose to play football as part of their leisure activity.

To celebrate our role, and encourage more girls into football, we are working with the Calne Town Sports Development Officer to provide an exciting and enjoyable, fun football event during the school holiday. This girls only event has been advertised to all of the schools across Calne and to other organizations in and around the area.

If you know of a girl who is not going away for the holiday week, and will be in the area on Friday 23rd October, then get them and their friends down to Calne's super new sports facility at Beversbrook. Not only is the event completely FREE but it will be a great day, and a brilliant opportunity to make new friends and develop football skills at the same time.


Watch Swindon Town FC Play
Saturday 5th December
For those of you who enjoyed the Club's recent trip to the Wildcats Ice Hockey I am pleased to say that we have been invited to take in another game in January. Let's hope it is as exciting as the last one. Keep an eye on your mail for more details of the date and how to book.

In the meantime I have been able to secure discount tickets to Swindon Town FC under the Football League's "Fans Of The Future" programme. Tickets, are heavily discounted at £11 for adults and £1.50 for children.

We are scheduled to see the Swindon versus Leyton Orient League One match on Saturday 5th December at the County Ground, Swindon, kick-off 3pm. Go to the on-line form to book your tickets. Deadline for booking your seats is Monday 9th November. All bookings will have to be paid for as we have to prepay the seats we have reserved, so please don't book unless you know you can come.


No Training this Weekend
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October
Remember, no training this weekend, Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October as it is the first week of a school holiday and in-line with our usual practice all our venues will be closed to Club activity. No matches, no training and a rest from football for everyone, players, parents and coaches alike.


Clubhouse Opening
Saturday 31st October
I am delighted to tell you that we've finally got there and on Saturday 31st October we shall be opening our new Clubhouse.

We will open the Clubhouse at 11am on Saturday 31st October, everyone is invited to come along and look around. We do hope you'll be able to join us and be proud of the facility that we have built. One word of caution, we expect the ground to be extremely busy, can I ask that each of you consider walking, riding, or car-sharing. If you bring your car please consider parking at Pine and Cane or the Soho Inn for the morning.


New Club Coach
I would like to congratulate Kevin Beresford of the Blaze who has recently completed his Level 1 Certificate in Coaching Football. Kevin becomes the third person this season to complete an FA coaching course, and I would like to thank him for his time and commitment to advancing his knowledge of football and how to coach and develop young players.

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, as well as 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.

Do You Need Kit For Christmas?

Last Kit Order Before Christmas

• As autumn approaches and thoughts turn to colder weather do you need Derry Hill sweatshirts, waterproofs or tracksuits?
• Perhaps you are already thinking of stocking fillers for Christmas, how about a Derry Hill United Wallet or cap?
• Or maybe your child has grown over the summer and now needs a new football shirt?

If the answer to any of these questions is YES then act now before it is too late!

Friday 23rd October is the deadline for final orders for playing kit or other extras before Christmas. Any orders received after this date will be held until the next order is submitted in February 2010.

View our range of Derry Hill badged extras online. If you need kit or clothing for the winter please go to the website to find the relevant order form. Then follow the instructions on the order form to send it and the relevant payment to Catherine Saville our Kit Co-ordinator to reach her before Friday 23rd October.

Happy Shopping!



The Clubhouse
We are still working to make our target of opening the Clubhouse at the end of this month. Much has been done but there is still much to do. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the Club committee for their time, support and diligence as we work to close on our responsibilities to open the building to our members and the public. I am sure you can understand and recognize that we have many legal responsibilities associated with providing a safe and risk free facility and need to ensure security, fire, and health and safety issues are completed before we open the building for use. We take this work very seriously in order to provide a safe and welcoming environment for you, our members. My personal thanks go to Andy Nott, Pete Weston, Julie Tipping, Adrian Gingell, Dave Oxenham and last but not least Wendy Crocker for their help, time and commitment to getting this done.

There are still a few items we would like to receive in order to open the building completely furnished. Thanks to all of you who have contributed and donated so far, your support is very welcome. Can I ask that you revisit our "wants" page, which has an updated list of our final needs. Please get in touch with me if you have anything to offer.



Coach Qualifications
It gives me great pleasure to inform you that Rich Lane has successfully completed his Level 1 Certificate in Coaching Football.

This nationally recognized qualification, comes with the title 'Club Coach'. To achieve this standard, Rich 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.

Rich supports his son's group and our newest and youngest squad, the Derry Hill Vulcans.

I would also like to congratulate Joe Foley who is the second coach within the Club to complete the FA's new coaching course, Age Appropriate Coaching: Creating The Environment. This four day course introduces the FA Skills Programme and how it addresses the needs of young performers and provides foundation values for coaching children during their early development.

Joe started coaching last season working with 2008's new group, the Pyros. This year he has moved back to lead and support this season's new squad, the Vulcans and works alongside Rich and the other members of the coaching team supporting this very enthusiastic squad of 7 year olds.

On behalf of the Committee, Coaches and Club Members, I would like to thank Rich, and Joe for their commitment and support. My congratulations go to them on the successful completion of these important foundation courses.



A Weekend Break
Next weekend, Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October is the first week of a school holiday and in-line with our usual practice all our venues will be closed to Club activity. No matches, no training and a rest from football for everyone, players, parents and coaches alike. I hope the weather continues to be pleasant and that you get an enjoyable football free weekend to enjoy with your family.

We will see you returned and ready to play on Saturday 31st October when we also hope to show off our new Clubhouse :o)



Key WebPages

• DHUFC Squads
• DHUFC Calendar
• DHUFC Blog

Qualified Referees - Congratulations

Club Referees
I have great pleasure informing you that the following Derry Hill United players have attended a course of instruction in Football Refereeing;-

• Luke (Flames)


• Jack (Fire)

Each has subsequently taken, and passed, both a written and oral exam and are now qualified as level 9 referees.

It is most likely you will shortly see these young people officiating at your matches in the coming months, please help them by offering your utmost respect, support and encouragement.

Football is suffering from a severe shortage of qualified referees and this is starting to have an impact on our game. Numbers are down in those attending training and many drop out due to abuse, both verbal and physical, from players, parents and officials.

Please don't let the heat and passion of the moment get the better of you and keep the activity in perspective - we are charged with creating a supportive, safe, learning environment in which our players can have fun and develop as athletes, players and young people.

Our new referees join a growing number of teenagers who have committed time, energy and enthusiasm to our volunteer support group of coaches and referees.

I would like to extend my congratulations to Luke and Jack each of who has given their time freely to support our Club, your children and our game.

The next referees course commences on 30th January 2010. Any one over the age of 14 can participate. email LikeToRef@dhufc.org if you want to become a referee.

DHUFC supports and sponsors referees through their course and offers a safe, friendly environment in which skills and confidence can be developed. Youth volunteers are also offered the opportunity to chart and gain recognition for their commitment through access and registration to the Youth Sport Trust's Step Into Sport programme.


Ice Hockey
You only have a few days before I have to confirm our numbers to attend the Swindon Wildcats EPL Ice Hockey game. If you intend joining us to watch an exciting game of ice hockey then please book on-line now. The match takes place on Saturday 17th October at the Link Centre in Swindon, face-off 5.45pm.