Derry Hill United News

Developing The Game

2011-11-05T18:11:00.000Z

Over the past term the committee have been considering how we can provide a more supportive, participative, developmental environment for our players. This issue has vexed both the FA and Leagues, you may have seen or heard some press articles and interviews on TV and Radio addressing the same concern.

At the end of last season the Mid Wilts Youth And Minor League also looked at the problem and the member clubs agreed to improve the balance and developmental nature of League matches through the introduction of a new rule. The rule, to ignore goal difference, was meant to limit the desire, need or motivation of a team to defeat opposition by a heavy score.

As a responsible Charter Standard Community Club, Derry Hill Utd is determined to lead this League initiative and has asked all of our coaches to adhere to a best practice that keeps all scores within 7 goals. When involved in a match where your child's team is leading by 7 goals I have asked the coaches to challenge the talents, strengths and weaknesses of their players by making changes to the way the team plays.

Our goal is not to let any team or player have an easy ride but to challenge them to experience a balanced game and above all respect the motivation and effort of their opposition.

This initiative is being implemented to ensure players are not demotivated by heavy defeats and remain in a sport which meets their emotional, social and technical aspirations.

If you have any questions about this policy please do get in touch with me.

Coach Qualifications - Congratulations and Thank You

2011-10-28T18:20:00.000+01:00

We return to activity this weekend. Just two notes for you to kick Term 2 of season 2011-12

Qualified Coaches
Congratulations go to Russ Cole, John Snow, Chris Lower, Josh and Luke Weston who have successfully completed the FA Level 1 programme.

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

I would also like to congratulate Josh Weston and Mark Knevett for their attendance of The FA Youth Award Module 1 course. The four day course entitled "Developing the Environment" recognises the important role the coach can have upon levels of motivation and self-esteem and gives practical advice to help the coaching sessions become an “effective environment for learning”. This is an excellent course providing knowledge about the age appropriate approach to coaching and will enhance the skills, knowledge and experience of both coaches. Well done Josh and Mark, your commitment to gain knowledge to assist player development at Derry Hill is much appreciated.

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

Derry Hill Utd is run by volunteers. We are looking for more Mums and Dads to assist with our coaching teams, especially the Fusion, our Under 11s girls squad. You don't need to be knowledgable about football, we'll help you that aspect of your activity.

Full support is offered including free access to an FA foundation course in football coaching as well as guidance and mentorship throughout your coaching journey. This is a great way to support your child and gain a whole raft of skills and experience at the same time. Over the 12 years we have been at Derry Hill Utd we have launched the coaching careers of over 100 coaches, very few give up, most expressing how much they enjoy the activity and many coaching through to their children leave the Club at 17.

Coaching is a great way to widen and develop your own skills and is extremely rewarding. Contact coach@dhufc.org for more details.

Ice Hockey
Just two weeks remain before the deadline for booking Ice Hockey tickets.

This is a brilliant opportunity to see the Swindon Wildcats in an English Premier League match at a heavily discounted price. Tickets are £6 per adult, £3 for children (which is less than half the normal price). Members, families and friends all invited. It would be great to see you there.

The match takes place at the Link Centre, Swindon on Saturday 12th November where the Wildcats take on the Milton Keynes Lightning. Face-off is at 5.45pm.

You can reserve your tickets on-line here. Once ordered you are committed to pay for the tickets. The Wildcats will take your payment on the night of the event.

Ticket applications close 7th November.

Club Visit and Kit Orders

2011-10-09T11:54:00.000+01:00

Swindon Wildcats
I have arranged to visit the Swindon Wildcats to watch a game of Ice-Hockey. A brilliant opportunity to see the fastest game on earth. An exciting battle of brute force and speed. And at a heavily discounted price. Tickets are £6 per adult, £3 for children (which is less than half the normal price). Members, families and friends all invited. It would be great to see you there.

This English Premier League match takes place at the Link Centre, Swindon on Saturday 12th November where the Wildcats take on the Milton Keynes Lightning. Face-off is at 5.45pm.

You can reserve your tickets on-line here. Once ordered you are committed to pay for the tickets. The Wildcats will take your payment on the night of the event.

Ticket applications close 7th November.

Club Kit Orders
We will be despatching the club's autumn kit order shortly.

Anyone wishing to order kit should ensure their completed order form, with payment, is sent to Catherine, our Kit Co-ordinator to arrive before Monday 17th October.

The next kit order will be after Christmas.

Derry Hill Dug-Out
Support your Club, use the Dug-Out to purchase your training and match day refreshments. A warming hot drink to counter the effects on a cold winter's day. And that big favourite; a bacon roll served warm. Other refreshments are available too. Open most Saturday mornings. All profits go toward Club funds.

We are looking for more parents to help out with the Dug-Out to ensure we are able to open it each week. Please consider helping out by contacting dugout@dhufc.org.

What The Club Means to You

2011-09-25T11:44:00.002+01:00

A personal note of thanks from Wendy and myself for your kind comments about Derry Hill United FC and what it means to you and your child.

We have received many wonderful statements that provide excellent examples of what your Club means to you.

Many of the comments are centred around the themes of community, development and participation. What heartens me is the number of you who believe in, support and recognise the value of our participation and development above results philosophy. I believe your feedback provides brilliant testimony to the Football Foundation and Football Association that their confidence in us was founded, their grant funding was well spent, and that many people within this community value their investment.

This is not a solo effort, but one of communication and collaboration involving many people. One thing that shines through in the feedback is that the efforts and commitment of our volunteers is greatly recognised and appreciated. My sincere thanks and those of our membership go out to you, our volunteers.

Not wanting to be complacent I feel it important that I say that our door is always open to hear of your experiences and views of what goes on at the club. We may not be able to address each and every issue but your feedback will be taken seriously and considered for implementation.

Thank you once again for each person who contributed to our feedback request. Your time and comments are truly valued and frankly leave me more than a little humbled and full of pride for what we mean to you.

Regards,
Alan and Wendy Crocker

Assist Your Coach Support Your Child

2011-09-09T19:22:00.002+01:00

As we commence League activity this weekend I find it an appropriate time to ask for your help and support.

Our coaches are a dedicated and energetic group. They turn out week-in, week-out to offer your child the opportunity to train, develop and play football. Each of our coaches has to provide references, undergo football, emergency aid and safeguarding workshops as well as submit themselves to an enhanced CRB check to participate as a Club coach. Their dedication and commitment to support our Club and your child are the foundation of Derry Hill Utd's inclusive, friendly, philosophy to community football.

Now an appeal to you. Match preparation is an important part of football, it is essential that our coaches get time to do what they are trained to do; facilitate and support their squad of players. Much work and effort goes into their planning for each match. You can help them by ensuring they get the time to prepare the players prior to the kick-off. There are many coaches who are hampered in this activity because they have minimal parental support in preparing the pitch for match readiness.

Can I ask that you consider what you can do to help free our coaches before each match.

There are a number of tasks which you can help with:

Put up goals (or attach the goal-nets)
Erect the RESPECT barriers (we have to have these now to meet League rules)
Put in the corner and half-way flags
Grab the wheel-barrow to repair rabbit holes and pitch divots in the field of play Of course they would also appreciate your help returning this equipment after the match has been completed (the work does not end for coaches post game as they have debriefings and paperwork to complete).

Please do help out, there are many parents and few coaches.

Help your coaches support your child. Thank you for your help.

Welcome to Season 2011-12

2011-09-01T23:08:00.000+01:00

Hello and welcome to the start of season 2011-12.

Bowood Sports Ground opens it's gates to the season this Saturday, the 3rd September. Most squads commence their training this weekend.

I'd like to thank all of those volunteers who once again have stepped forward to give their time, energy and enthusiasm to supporting your child participate in community sport. In particular I would like to offer a big thank you to Kevin Powell, coach of the Pyros, who has agreed to give more of his precious free time to football by joining the committee in the role of the Young Players Representative. Thank you Kevin your support is much appreciated.

Please ensure that you abide by our Club Code of Conduct and philosophy of player participation and support. We have a great reputation for playing fair and supporting our children in the true spirit of sport development. Let's continue to build this reputation through the new season. Some short tips to help you support your child get the best out of their football:

Always stay on the sideline, never enter the field play
Supporters must stay behind the barriers and stand on the side of the pitch away from the coaches
Please support your child, never instruct, criticise or coach them
Treat the opposition as you would your own team. Keep your views to yourself, they are here to play, learn and enjoy too
Support the referee. If you don't agree with his decision keep it to yourself, do not shout out, it is not your role to do this
Help your coaches by asking to erect goals, nets, corner flags and don't run off at the end leaving the coach to clear these items away

Remember - we are a learning centre focused on teaching team, social and football skills to your child. Please respect the supportive environment we are trying to create for all our members. I thank you for reading and I appreciate your support in driving our standards and philosophy.

I hope your child has a wonderful season, increasing their skills and experience as well as having lots of fun.

Alan Chair,DHUFC

Keep up to date with everything that is going on at Derry Hill Utd:

  DHUFC Calendar, DHUFC News, Like us on Facebook, Latest status updates by following us on Twitter

  Pitch Hotline (updated every Friday evening - in season only) 0845 5272 886

Young Leaders

2011-07-05T14:53:00.004+01:00

Tom Nott and Alan Crocker discuss the value of the Club's Young Leaders programme with BBC Wiltshire Radio's Graham Rogers.

Click to hear the interview.

Chair's Report Season 2010-2011

2011-06-05T14:17:00.000+01:00

The end of our tenth season. My how things have changed! Each year we have grown, in terms of teams, players and volunteers. We have nearly accumulated a full set of teams, from age 6 to 18, with additional opportunities having been created for girls only squads between 9 and 16. As we end the season the tally looks like this; 14 squads, 211 players, 28 coaches and 18 volunteers. I would like to say thank you to everyone who contributes their time, energy and expertise to keeping our Club so vibrant, friendly and successful.

This has been a season of highs and lows, of stops and starts. The poor weather over the winter decimated our schedule, with teams being prevented from playing for weeks on end. This has happened before but never so early and never for so long. This caused chaos and I would like to thank each Team Secretary and Coaching Team for successfully managing the rescheduling of activity without once double-booking our resources.

The committee has once again worked tirelessly for the development of the Club and credit must be given to them, especially Wendy Crocker, Wendy Oxenham and Andy Nott for helping put together the evidence needed to maintain the Club's "Charter Standard Community Club" status. I would also like to mention Chris Saville and his great commitment in helping manage the girls section. His efforts are tireless and a much needed relief for Wendy and myself as the girls’ League has entirely different structures and challenges to the boys. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Colette Som and her ever present refreshment team. Their contribution to morale on cold winter mornings cannot be over-estimated, and the additional revenue you bring to the Club is much appreciated.

On another note of commitment I would like to thank all those coaches who undertook mandatory Emergency Aid and Safeguarding Children workshops this year. We always respect the time you give to your squad through the year and thank you for investing even more of it to ensure your qualifications and knowledge are up to date.

As we end the season I have, with regret, to say goodbye to friends and colleagues who have decided to hang up their coaching boots or hand in their volunteer badges. On the coaching side; Adrian Gingell, David Thrower, Phil Clifton and Dave Jones are retiring. Our volunteer and committee retirees are; Adrian Gingell, Julie Tipping and Wendy Oxenham. My heartfelt thanks go to each of you, your contribution to our Club development has been immense and we shall miss your commitment and enthusiasm. Enjoy your new found hours at the weekend!

Next season’s annual subscription is due at the last training session of the season, Saturday 11th June, when ‘Sign-On’ day takes place at Bowood Sports Ground. You will need to renew your membership on this day to maintain your place at the Club. I am delighted to inform you we will be holding all membership and League fees at the same level as last season. Please see the schedule of charges for more detail. We do hope that like us you consider your fees great value for money offering access to over 30 training sessions, plus League and Cup matches, as well as the opportunity to attend and be involved with many other Club events.

Finally, I hope that you have all enjoyed taking part in Club activities this season, whether it be playing, coaching or watching. Our End Of Season Presentation and BBQ taking place on Saturday 18th June. I’d like to wish you a restful and enjoyable summer, and look forward to seeing you at Bowood Sports Ground on Saturday 3rd September for the start of the 2011-12 season.

Recruiting Year 1 and 2 Players

2011-05-15T19:17:00.002+01:00

The first of our Year 1 taster sessions will take place on Saturday 28th May at Bowood Sports Ground. The session will commence at 11.30am and run for one hour. Arrive by 11.15am to help your child get into their football boots and shin-pads in readiness for the session.

Please remember to send them along with a bottle of water to help them hydrate through the session.

If you want further details or information contact Alan Crocker by email or on 01249 814362.

You can find out more about Derry Hill United FC at our website.

Respect your children, our players, and those who facilitate them to play - respect the game

2011-03-29T10:49:00.000+01:00

Respect Campaign
Please ensure you adhere to the best behaviours promoted by the FA. Derry Hill Utd has an exemplary disciplinary record with just 2 Red and 1 Yellow cards in over 10 seasons of football (that's in excess of 900 matches). The FA hold the Club responsible for the behaviour of it's parents, players and officials, imposing fines and bans to anyone who behaves inappropriately in front of children regardless of provocation. As a Club we are obligated to react and address any poor conduct reported to us by the FA.

I am fully supportive of the FA Respect campaign and their objective to stamp out all inappropriate behaviour by players, officials and parents. Visit the Respect FC website to view the latest videos and information highlighting the Respect campaign.

I ask each parent to model and demonstrate best practice by fully respecting and supporting officials decisions and turning the other cheek when challenged or provoked by opposition officials or parents. In turn I have asked each coaching team to challenge themselves and each of their players to demonstrate the same sporting behaviour.

An important and effective way of avoiding some of the excesses of poor behaviour is to ensure that as a spectator you watch the game from the other side of the pitch from the coaching team and you never, for any reason, walk onto the pitch.

I do commend this message and behaviour to you, it is so important to everything I believe in and at the core of each player's sporting and social development as well as the reputation of Derry Hill Utd. In short, if you remember just one thing from this message it is

"NEVER PUBLICLY SHOW DISSENT OR REMONSTRATE WITH THE OFFICIALS, COACHES OR PLAYERS"

Your role as a parent watching children's football is to encourage and support our players, never coach or direct them. Don't get caught in the moment and never publicly abuse or show dissent to any player or official - no excuse, no exception.

If you have comments, concerns or questions about this guidance then please don't hesitate to get in touch with me and I'll be only too pleased to discuss the objectives of the FA Respect campaign and Derry Hill Utd's adherence to it.

Easter Break
Due to the term 5/6 school holiday this year we will be changing our usual cadence of Club break. The Easter break is recorded in the Club Calendar but for your records is:

   April
   w/e 9/10 (School Holiday):   open
   w/e 16/17 (School Holiday):   closed
   w/e 23/24 (Easter):           closed
   w/e 30/1 (BH/Royal Wedding): open

Each squad will be making their own decision about activity over the w/end of the Royal Wedding. Your team secretary or coaches will inform you of your squad's activity over this weekend.

Club News March 2011

2011-02-27T21:25:00.000Z

DHUFC @ England International Schoolboy Match
Order your tickets now. Deadline for orders Sunday 6th March

The U18 teams of the past have featured many future stars, such as Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs, and only last year Manchester United's Chris Smalling was in the England squad. We will be hiring a coach to attend this match. Pickup in Derry Hill at 5pm, return about 11pm.

Adults - £13

Children - £10

Reserve your tickets by using the on-line booking form. Ticket numbers are restricted and will be allocated on a first come basis.

'Casual' Players
I am aware of a number of instances where players have brought friends to training after sleepovers. Whilst I understand the convenience it offers to those who are charged with looking after the child this situation puts our coaches in the difficult situation of not wanting to disappoint someone who has 'appeared' at training but for which we have no medical details or parental permission to take part in the activity. This is not a comfortable position for either the coaching team or the committee.

I ask that you do not bring non-members to train on a casual basis at the Club. Anyone wishing to introduce a prospective new member to the Club should go through the usual pocesses of contacting the team coach to make arrangements to attend a training session - this should happen prior to the session happening. An invitation to attend will usually be accompanied by the requirement of the child's parent to complete the relevant paperwork.

The coaches and committee appreciate your support with this.

Back To Action
I hope you had a great break and got the opportunity to ease yourself back into football this weekend. This is a long session and hopefully one which allows you to catch up with your fixture backlog free of weather breaks. We shall endeavour to keep Bowood Sports Ground open as often as we can.

Our next break from football is 15/16 April and 22/23 April returning to activity on Saturday 30 April.

Remember you can find all details of the Club programme at the DHUFC Calendar.

Kit Orders
We will shortly be placing our next kit order with our supplier. Ensure you have any kit orders back with Catherine Saville before Sunday 13th March. You can find an order form on our website.

New Portable 11 a-side Goals
I am delighted to inform you that we have been successful in our bid to receive a grant towards the purchase of a new set of junior 11 a-side goals. Wiltshire County Council's Calne Area Board (CAB) has awarded us a grant of £1,250 towards the purchase of these goals. The Club has raised funds to make up the shortfall. I would like to thank the Calne Area Board for the support of our Club, it's members and their activity.

I hope to have news on developments for finding some mini-soccer goals to replace our current batch which have seen plentiful use over many seasons. If anyone is interested in sponsoring a set of goals then I would be delighted to hear from you.

Half Term Break

2011-02-14T22:15:00.000Z

England Tickets
Just £13 for tickets to see England vs Wales. This price includes match ticket and return coach trip to Derry Hill. Reserve your tickets on-line here. Booking deadline Friday 25th February.

Activity Break
In line with Club policy this weekend is the first of a school holiday, all Club venues are closed, no activity is scheduled. There are no training or matches either day. You are reminded Bowood Sports Ground is a private facility and members are not allowed to use the facility unless accompanied by a Club coach as part of an official session.

Club Officials
A big thank you to all those volunteers who support the Club. To Coaches, Secretaries, Committee and Club Officials as well as those who support the Dug-Out, our much welcome weekend refreshment place. Without you we wouldn't be as strong and successful as we are. If you want to recognise your favourite coach, secretary or Club official then you have your chance to do so here. Recognition for the fantastic amount of time and commitment offered by those who support your child is a wonderful way for you to thank our selfless and brilliant volunteers. Go on nominate them to day and show them you appreciate their excellent work.

Under 7s Session
This group has now reached a healthy ten players and we are hoping to confirm that it will run as a permanent Club squad very shortly. We still have places for new players in this squad. Please continue to spread the word about this football opportunity for School Year 2 children. Pass this message to friends, families, colleagues, schools, supermarkets and libraries etc.

Tickets to England Game and Xmas Photo Shoot

2011-02-06T22:38:00.000Z

Pre-Xmas Photo Shoot
Many thanks to everyone that purchased photographs. This has raised £345 for the club.

All remaining Photographs have now arrived from our supplier. These will be available to collect next Saturday (12th Feb) from the "Derry Hill Dugout" between 10.00 and 12.00. If you are unable to collect on this day please send an email to woxenham@hotmail.com to make alternative arrangements.

DHUFC @ England International Schoolboy Match
England v Wales
Friday 25th March
Huish Park, Yeovil

Kick Off 7.30pm

The stars of the future will be involved in this match.

The U18 teams of the past have featured many future stars, such as Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs, and only last year Manchester United's Chris Smalling was in the England squad.

We will be hiring a coach to attend this match. Pickup in Derry Hill at 5pm, return about 11pm.

Adults - £13

Children - £10

Reserve your tickets by using the on-line Booking form. Ticket numbers are restricted and will be allocated on a first come basis.

Please ensure you make your ticket request by Friday 25st February

Litter, protect our environment and be good neighbours

2011-01-21T17:59:00.000Z

Wildcats Ice-Hockey
Swindon Wildcats v Slough Jets on Saturday 19th February. Adults £6, Child £3. Bookings close 1st February. Reserve your tickets on-line now.

Litter - Please help
I have been notified by our groundsman that some locals have highlighted our activity is polluting the local environment. As a consequence last week he spent some time in the adjacent fields collecting spent drink bottles, coke cans and other litter attributable to our activity. He filled two buckets!

As well as protecting our environment we need to be good neighbours. The local farmer whose fields surround us offers the Club significant support as well as use of his tractor to get the pitch mown. His crops and livestock may be impacted by our activity. We really cannot, and should not, cause him and the residents of Norley Lane inconvenience or cause for concern.

Can I ask that you promote good practice for dealing with litter. Talk to your children, help them understand that litter is their responsibility. It is not acceptable for bottles to be left for the coach to collect and take home. Please take all litter home or put it in the bin. Litter is not only unsightly but broken, sharp plastic can cause injuries if left on the ground.

Ensure players take their bottles, cans, tape and wrappers home with them. Please offer your understanding and support for this activity.

Pitch Status
Remember the status of the pitch; whether closed or opened, is maintained on Twitter, Facebook, the DHUFC Website and the Pitch Hotline (0845 5272 886). If you like or follow our facebook or twitter feeds you will receive immediate notification of pitch status changes direct to your phone.

Cold Weather Clothing
Please ensure you send your child to training wearing appropriate clothing for the conditions. Coaches have been told to contact parents to collect children who are inappropriately dressed.

Thank you for your support.

See Swindon Wildcats

2011-01-15T17:47:00.000Z

I hope everyone had enjoyable Christmas break.

So we're back to football and hopefully the weather will allow us to get an uninterrupted run of activity through to our half-term break in mid-February. Please do keep in touch with your coaches and team secretaries over this period because I know the postponed matches have caused lots of disruption and changes to your League and Cup activity.

I would also like to take this opportunity to once again promote the fact that we are currently establishing a new Under 7s squad. We now have nine enthusiastic young players participating in our Saturday morning session and are keen to continue to build their numbers. Please spread the word to friends, family and colleagues - football for School Year 2 children at Derry Hill.

Derry Hill Dug-OutSupport your Club, use the Dug-Out to purchase your training and match day refreshments. A warming hot drink to counter the effects on a cold winter's day. And that big favourite; a bacon roll served warm. Other refreshments are available too. Open most Saturday mornings. All profits go toward Club funds.

We are looking for more parents to help out with the Dug-Out to ensure we are able to open it each week. Please consider helping out by contacting dugout@dhufc.org.

Tribute to Lost Friends

2011-01-07T14:51:00.001Z

I usually shun requests for charity appeals as there are so many good causes that need a helping hand and we are unable to support them all. However on this occasion I thought it important to acknowledge and support the activity of a number of older players within the Club who were deeply effected by a tragic road accident that took the lives of three of their friends on New Year's Eve.

Many of the Flames players knew and were friends with the lads who were involved in the crash at Rowde, indeed one of the passengers, Jack Williamson, took part in our tour of Holland last season. I am pleased to report that thankfully Jack, although seriously hurt, is now conscious and out of intensive care. I know him well and am sure his strength and bright and positive personality will aid his journey on the long road to a full recovery.

There is little doubt that Jack would not have been given his chance of survival without the attendance of the superb team from the Wiltshire Air Ambulance who landed close to the vicinity of the crash and were able to swiftly transport him to a specialist head injury unit in Bristol within ten minutes.

There are many activities taking place to celebrate, respect and remember the friendship shared by these young people. One I would like to promote to you is their appeal to support the Wiltshire Air Ambulance by donating through Just Giving (just click the link, it will take you directly to the donation page). This important emergency service offers hope to those who need essential and immediate life saving care within our County. I know a donation of any kind, no matter how small, will go a long way to support the service, our players and all those remembering Jamie, Frankie and George.

A lot of bright, bubbly, young people had the stark reality of their own mortality brought to the forefront of their thoughts over what should have been a happy period of hope for the new year. Our hearts go out to the youngsters who lost their life's and those close to them who have lost special friends and family members.

I hope you are able to support our players' tribute to their lost friends.

Have A Happy Christmas

2010-12-19T06:47:00.000Z

Derry Hill Utd is now closed for the Christmas break. The Club re-opens for training and matches on Saturday 8th January 2011. The following two events are scheduled to run on the morning of our return:

Young Leaders Programme Introduction
An introduction to the Club's Young Leaders Programme for members aged 15 and older. This takes place in the Clubhouse between 10.40am and 11.10am. Please contact YoungLeaders@dhufc.org if you wish to know more about this excellent, nationally recognised, experience and confidence building programme.
Under 7s Taster Session
Yes we'll try again. After 3 cancellations due to poor weather conditions I am hoping to run the second of our Under 7s free taster sessions. I have included an invitation to this event below. Please forward to and encourage parents with children in School Year 2 to bring them along to this fun, friendly, enjoyable session.

I also have two updates of activities that some of you have an interest in:

Christmas Party (for members aged 12 and younger)
Despite the poor weather conditions we have decided that the main roads remain passable and safe enough to hold the Christmas Party. Entry is by ticket only and takes place per the schedule written on it. My grateful thanks go to Karen McCormack and her small group of helpers for arranging, promoting and running this favourite annual event.
Squad Pictures
For those of you who had their pictures taken by A&M Photography collection of outstanding orders will take place on Monday and Wednesday between 6pm and 7pm from the Oxenham's house in Derry Hill. Ensure you make time during these collection periods to fetch your pictures. The Oxenham's house address is 31 Lansdowne Crescent, Derry Hill, Calne, SN11 9NT. Please arrive within the designated time to collect your pictures. I have heard many good reports of the pictures provided and am pleased to see that many of you purchased the packs. Please email me with your feedback so we can judge whether we arrange further visits from A&M.

I do hope we will have some better weather when the Club reopens. Remember if you have any doubts regarding whether the ground is open or closed, then you can resolve this by looking at Twitter, Facebook, and the DHUFC Website or ringing the Pitch Hotline (0845 5272 886). If you like or follow our facebook or twitter feeds you will receive immediate notification of pitch status changes direct to your phone.

Finally I would like to recognise each of our enthusiastic and dedicated team of volunteers who devote so much time and energy to providing a valuable and much needed sporting experience to the young people within our community. None of the coaches, secretaries, helpers and officials receive expenses or pay for their time and commitment. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of them on your behalf and send my personal thanks for what they do.

Wendy and myself wish you all a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Regards,
Alan

Under 7s @ Derry Hill United
Saturday 8th January
The session runs from 11.30am - 12.30pm at Bowood Sports Ground, Studley (next to the Soho Pub on the A4). In order for the session to start on time ensure you arrive by 11am. On arrival look for the registration desk by the Clubhouse where you will need to register and receive information about the Club.

Your child will need suitable clothing to run around and take part, shin pads, covered by long socks, football boots if they have them, or if not trainers. We do operate a second hand football boot scheme for any one interested.

Please also ensure your child brings a drink to the session and suitable clothes to keep them warm and dry.

We need your support to help your child settle in to this new environment and ask that you remain at the ground for this session

Christmas Break 2010

2010-12-04T17:03:00.001Z

DHUFC @ Swindon Wildcats
In order to give the opportunity for most of our members to attend this ever popular event I am canvassing for which dates work for most people. Visit our on-line Ice-Hockey poll to register your interest in this exciting sporting event.

Christmas Party Ticket Sales
This party is aimed at the younger children in the Club and applies to all teams at Under 12 or younger. Admission will be by ticket only, £4 per player, and will be on sale in the clubhouse at Bowood Sports Ground ONLY on Saturday 11th December between 10.15 and 11.30am. There will be NO other opportunities to buy tickets they cannot be reserved by email, or on-line, so please make sure you get to BSG at the advertised time to buy yours. If you cannot attend to buy your ticket in person then ask a friend to do so on your behalf.

Christmas Break
The Club closes for all activity between Saturday 25th December and Friday 7th January inclusive. Remember you can always find the latest schedule on-line via the Club Calendar. The first session back after the Christmas break will be Saturday 8th January. Let's hope the weather is kind enough to allow this to happen. If the weather does look too unpleasant for football remember to check the various facilities the Club has to advertise whether it is open or not; Club Website, Facebook, Twitter or Hotline 0845 5272 886.

Members are reminded that Bowood Sports Ground is a private facility and members are not allowed to use the facility unless accompanied by a Club Coach on an official Club activity.

Under 7s Session
Unfortunately we had to cancel the last taster session because of the cold weather but we have rearranged it to take place this coming Saturday, the 11th December at BSG 11.15am - 12.15am. Can I please ask that you keep talking and posting about the opportunity for School Year 2 children. Pass this message to all those places you posted before; friends, families, colleagues, schools, supermarkets and libraries.

Winter Training And Pitch Status

2010-11-25T23:55:00.000Z

Winter Training Clothing
With the appearance of the colder weather this is a timely opportunity to remind all parents that it is your responsibility to send your child to football in appropriate clothing. Please ensure you send your child to football clothed appropriately for the conditions. Coaches have been asked to contact parents to collect children who they feel are inappropriately dressed.

Pitch Hotline
(0845 5272 886)
This message is updated each Friday evening providing the latest information on the status of the ground. In times of surprise, extreme conditions, we will update the message more frequently. The same message can be found on our Club Facebook account or Twitter. Think about following or liking us today and get the latest Club messages and pitch status delivered directly to your smart-phone or desktop.

The hotline provides a status for the ground not the status for your squad. There may be times when the ground is open but your team coach considers the conditions inappropriate for the age of the children within their squad. You will be contacted by your team secretary and coaches if your session has been cancelled but the ground is open.

Under 7s Session
Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word about our Under 7s session this past weekend. The message got out there and we had six enthusiastic youngsters turn-up to participate in a very enjoyable session. We have since had a further two enquiries so the message about our activity is getting out. It would be great to increase the numbers even further.

Can I ask that you keep talking and posting about the opportunity for School Year 2 children as we have a further taster session planned for Saturday week, the 4th December. Pass this message to all those places you posted before; friends, families, colleagues, schools, supermarkets and libraries. If you would like some posters or leaflets please get in touch with me and I will supply them.

Under 7s @ Derry Hill United
Saturday 4th December
The session runs from 11am - 12pm at Bowood Sports Ground, Studley (next to the Soho Pub on the A4). In order for the session to start on time ensure you arrive by 10.50am. On arrival look for the registration desk by the Clubhouse where you will need to register and receive information about the Club.

Your child will need suitable clothing to run around and take part, shin pads, covered by long socks, football boots if they have them, or if not trainers. We do operate a second hand football boot scheme for any one interested.

Please also ensure your child brings a drink to the session and suitable clothes to keep them warm and dry.

We need your support to help your child settle in to this new environment and ask that you remain at the ground for this session.

Recruiting Young Players

2010-11-13T12:52:00.002Z

Derry Hill United is recruiting players to create a brand new Under 7 squad (School Year 2). This is a great opportunity for youngsters who have an interest in team-sport, and football in particular, to come along and experience what football training is all about. This squad will be a mixed ability, mixed gender group, accepting any girl or boy who wishes to participate in football development here at Derry Hill United.

Derry Hill United FC is the ONLY FA Charter Standard Community Club in the area. Our accreditation is the highest level of award the FA offers. Our practices and processes ensure players get excellent opportunity and support through Level 1, 2 and Age Appropriate Qualified Coaches. If you are looking for a Club for your child that promotes fun participation and development before results then Derry Hill United will meet your needs and expectations.

In existence for 10 seasons, Derry Hill United has an excellent track record of player participation and development and currently supports over 200 players across 15 squads, including 4 girls only teams.

Autumn News

2010-09-18T20:20:00.004+01:00

Swindon Wildcats
I have arranged to visit the Swindon Wildcats to watch a game of Ice-Hockey. This represents a excellent opportunity to see the fastest game on earth. An exciting battle of brute force and speed. And at a heavily discounted price. Tickets are £6 per adult, £2 for children (which is less than half the normal price). Members, families and friends all invited. It would be great to see you there.

This English Premier League match takes place at the Link Centre, Swindon on Saturday 9th October where the Wildcats take on top side Sheffield Schimitars. Face-off is at 5.45pm.

Book your tickets on-line here. Ticket applications close 1st October.

Get Fit For Winter - Adult Sessions
Arranged by Chris McCormack, Derry Hill United is looking to extend the range of programmes available for members. From Tuesday 21st September the Club will have exclusive use of Calne Leisure Centre's hall. We will be running a circuit training session led by a professional fitness instructor. This session is open to anyone aged 16 or older. We are encouraging all parents/guardian of members over the age of 16 to participate and to bring a friend, family member or colleague along. All welcome, come and get fit. Just £2.50 per session.

Mineral Extraction in Derry Hill/Studley
Bowood Sports Ground is located adjacent to an area which has recently been identified by Wiltshire County Council as a possible mineral extraction site. You can find further details and comment on the proposals by visiting Wiltshire Council's Spatial Planning site. The consultation period ends in October so be sure to visit the site to find out what this activity means to you.

Derry Hill Dug-Out
Support your Club, use the Dug-Out to purchase your training and match day refreshments. A warming hot drink to counter the effects on a cold winter's day. And that big favourite; a bacon roll served warm. Other refreshments are available too. Open most Saturday mornings. All profits go toward Club funds.

We are looking for more parents to help out with the Dug-Out to ensure we are able to open it each week. Please considering helping out by contacting dugout@dhufc.org.

Keep Up To Date With Club Activity
Make these two websites essential visits each time you use the net:

And don't forget to get the latest pitch status by ringing our hotline on 0845 5272886 or via twitter.

Welcome To Season 2010-11

2010-09-02T12:20:00.003+01:00

Welcome to Season 2010-11
This weekend sees the start of football at DHUFC, our tenth season since Pete Weston, Andy Nott, Wendy and I formed the Club. Much has happened since then, far too numerous to mention here however if you want a flavour of what we have achieved then take a look at our Club News Blog. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my heartfelt thanks to Pete, Andy and Wendy for their superb support, commitment, energy and vision to bringing football to a small Wiltshire village and providing a fantastic sports development opportunity to the youngsters in this community.

Congratulations
Over the summer Club members have continued to be recognised by external bodies. I would like to say well done and pass my congratulations to the following individuals:

Luke Weston: Nominated and attended Regional FA Young Leaders Workshop
Sam Crocker: Nominated and attended National FA Young Leaders workshop
Tom Nott: Short-listed for Wiltshire Young Volunteer of The Year
(best of luck Tom for the awards presentation on the 14th September)

Club Uniform
Over the last 18 months we have had ongoing problems with the supply of football kit from the manufacturers. This escalated over the summer with much of the order not being available and no clear view of when it might be.
As a result the committee decided we had no choice but to find another manufacturer.

Unfortunately there are no other major, reputable manufacturers who supply orange and blue shirts and for this reason we have had to migrate to a shirt which is orange with a black trim. Those players who have ordered shirts this summer will receive the new shirt and this will be shirt supplied in future orders. Those who ordered kit before the summer break should be able to collect it from the Clubhouse on Saturday 11th September between 10 and 11.15am.

That's It For Now
This is a busy period as everyone returns to school so no more football news for now. However please ensure you keep in touch with your team secretary and coach. You can also find out about Club activities through our Club calendar, news, facebook and twitter. Choose your favourite Social Media Channel and like or follow us today - keep up to date with your football club's activity.

Derry Hill United FC Annual Report Season 2009-10

2010-05-16T09:28:00.001+01:00

Download now or preview on posterous

DHUFCChairsReport0910.pdf (362 KB)

... also do not forget that Saturday 22nd May is sign-on day. Remember to print off and complete the membership renewal documentation sent to you earlier and don't forget to bring a current, colour, passport sized photograph.

Posted via email from Derry Hill United FC

Buy your tickets for the End of Season BBQ and Presentation

2010-05-06T15:56:00.002+01:00

I am pleased to announce details of our Club End of Season Presentation.

Please read this email to ensure you don't miss out on a memorable night.

The presentation and BBQ will take place on:
Saturday 19th June
6pm - 9.30pm at Bowood Sports Ground
BBQ served from 6pm - 6.45pm

Admission Is Strictly By Ticket Only
(purchased in advance - no tickets available on the day)

Tickets cost £4 per person and will only be available to purchase on Saturday 15th and Saturday 22nd May, between 10am and 11.30am at BSG.

The ticket price includes BBQ food for all. No drinks will be provided so please bring your own, for you and your children.

There will be no opportunity to order tickets by email or post - they are only available at BSG on 15th and 22nd May at the times advertised. Ticket sales close on the 22nd May, there will be no late-comers accommodated after this date. If you cannot make it in person to buy your tickets on either of these days I would encourage you to make arrangements for a friend to purchase tickets on your behalf. When purchasing tickets you will need to declare which team the player belongs to so please ensure you know the players full name and team name!

This is a huge event with 100s of people attending and it takes a great deal of preparation. It is for this reason there will be no tickets available after the 22^nd May.

Tickets are available to players, parents and siblings only. Due to the size of the Club we can no longer accommodate extended family members, or friends, so please only purchase tickets for immediate family.

Please keep your tickets safe as they will need to be presented, on the night, at the BBQ.

We will need help on the day; during the day with preparations, and during the evening, so please offer your help and show your appreciation to the volunteers, who work all season to provide football for your child, by letting them enjoy a night off. Offers of help should be made to your Team Secretary before 15^th May.

This is our last Club event of the season and a big celebration of each players' participation at Derry Hill for 2009-10. It's an informal event and lots of fun. The event will go ahead regardless of weather so dress accordingly!

Please help us, to help you, have a fun, enjoyable and well organised event and purchase your tickets before the deadline. Hope to see you there.

Posted via email from Derry Hill United FC

Members Update - May 2010

2010-05-03T21:42:00.002+01:00

Topics
1. Hotshots - Football For Year 1 Children
2. End Of Season Presentation and BBQ
3. Volunteers - More Qualified Officials
4. Ground Use - Promote Healthy Lifestyles and Keep Safe
5. Young Leaders - Regional Representatives
6. FA Charter Standard Community Club
7. Club Dates For Your Diary

Hotshots - Football For Year 1 Children
We are now recruiting for next season's Under 7s squad. Please put out the word to anyone who has a child in Year 1 who would like to join us. Taster sessions start this Saturday for any boy or girl in Year 1 who wants to see what we have to offer. To find out more and reserve your place contact Hotshots@dhufc.org or ring Alan on 01249 814362.

End Of Season Presentation and BBQ
This is the premier event of the DHUFC calendar and this year takes place at BSG on the evening of Saturday 19th June. Tickets will only be on sale at the ground on Saturdays 15th and 22nd May. Don't forget to purchase your tickets.

Volunteers - More Qualified Officials
Congratulations go to the following for completing their L1 Certificate In Coaching Football; Mark Knevett, Mark Barter and Jon Lawrence of the Vulcans, and Andy Cameron of the Fusion. Also my congratulations go to Vulcans coach Joe Foley for completing his Age Appropriate Coaching course.

We have also had one young member, Jolyon Sheate of the Sparks, complete his Referee course. Jolyon joins 10 members and former members who now referee for the Club. Please support them and their peers when you are stood on the sidelines watching your child play. Our referees have an essential role in providing a good match experience for your child. Please make their experience a positive one and provide a good role model to our players.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of our newly qualified volunteers for the additional energy and commitment they have put into supporting our Club. Well done to each of you, your effort is much appreciated.

If you are interested in coaching, refereeing or helping with refreshments please contact me at Volunteers@dhufc.org. DHUFC encourages parents and teenagers to get involved with supporting activities at the Club. Course fees are paid and support offered to all who want to help us.

Ground Use - Promote Healthy Lifestyles and Keep Safe
A quick note to remind people that BSG is a non-smoking facility. For the sake of our young members can I ask that all adults refrain from smoking whilst at the ground.

I also request that members use the main entrance when entering or leaving the ground. A number of people enter and leave via the dry-stone wall. I know it is easier to do this but I am concerned about the safety of people stepping over a wall onto a slopping surface especially when leaving. The A4 is very close to the path and extremely fast, I fear for anyone losing their footing. Please take care and preferably use the main entrance and don't go over the wall.

Young Leaders - County Representatives
Two of our older members; Sam Crocker and Luke Weston, were selected by the County FA to attend the Regional Young Leaders Conference held at Taunton in April. Their nomination was a recognition of the excellent support and work they do in helping coach and referee at the Club. Congratulations go to both of you.

If you are aged between 14 and 18 then join our Young Volunteer scheme. The activity is both interesting and rewarding. DHUFC offers access to training and mentorship. Volunteering to support young people helps enhance your CV and work portfolio helping you to stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs or college places. Want to join in - then email YoungLeaders@dhufc.org

FA Charter Standard Community Club
I am delighted to announce that Derry Hill United has received the FA's highest quality mark, The FA Charter Standard Community Award. We are one of just a handful of Clubs within Wiltshire that have received this prestigious and much sought after award.

I would like to thank all of our volunteers and coaches who helped us achieve this magnificent accolade and to Wendy Oxenham for collating all the relevant documentation. Much credit must be given to each member of the committee for their work in supporting the Club's vision and goals and finally to Wendy Crocker, our Club Secretary, for creating and presenting the work we do at the Club to the County FA.

Congratulations to all of you, it is now official, you are a member of a very unique and special Football Club.

Club Dates for your Diary

DHUFC AGM: Friday 14th May
Sign-On Day: Saturday 22nd May
Last Training Day: Saturday 22nd May

Informal activities may continue past this day on a per squad basis

End Of Season BBQ: Saturday 19 June
End Of Informal Use: Monday 12 July
Pre-Season Opens: Saturday 21 August
Start Of 2010-11: Saturday 4th September

Each of these events can be found on the Club Calendar.

Posted via email from Derry Hill United FC

Kit Orders and Club Visit To Swindon Town FC

2010-02-05T21:20:00.002Z

Kit Orders
If you need to order kit for the remainder of this season please print off and complete an order form and send it to Catherine Saville, our kit co-ordinator, to reach her BEFORE Friday 19th February. Catherine's address can be found on the bottom of the order form.

We are currently experiencing long delays from the manufacturer and whilst we are doing what we can to review and improve the situation, much is beyond our control. This does mean that it can currently take several months to receive the kit so plan ahead. Please be assured we are not happy with this situation and are actively looking for ways to improve our lead-times.

This will be the last Club kit order for this season. If you miss this deadline the next opportunity to order will be at sign on day, at the end of the season, for delivery at the start of next season.

Join DHUFC at Swindon Town FC as their Saturday Team Club on Saturday 6th March
This is your last chance to order tickets for this exciting day out at your local Football League Club. Ground Tour, training and match ticket all included in a fabulous price of £22 per person. The Robins are currently riding high in Division 1 and this vital match against local rivals Bristol Rovers is anticipated to be a highly competitive fixture. This visit is available to all; boys, girls, Mums and Dads. Book your tickets today.

Last chance to register is Sunday 7th February.

Saturday Team Club @ Swindon Town FC

2010-01-26T19:54:00.002Z

Saturday Team Club
DHUFC is planning a visit to Swindon Town FC as their "Saturday Team Club". This exciting, action packed day offers;-

A comprehensive tour of the County Ground

75 minutes coaching with the Swindon Town Community Coaching Team

A "Footie Grub" Lunch

Match Ticket

Ticket prices are £22 per person (adults and children), £2 of which goes to DHUFC funds.

The visit is planned to coincide with the local derby:

Coca-Cola League 1 Fixture, Swindon v Bristol Rovers FC
The County Ground, Swindon
Saturday 6th March 2010, Kick-off 3.00pm

Visit this link to book your tickets to this event. Deadline for ticket orders is February 3rd.

Club Opens For Activity This Weekend (23/24 January)

2010-01-22T17:47:00.002Z

A Welcome Return To Weekend Football
Fingers crossed it looks like the weather will remain favourable and football will commence for the first time this decade! Chip the caked pre-Christmas mud from your boots and prepare to come along and enjoy a lung full of fresh air as the Club opens all of it's venues to all of our squads this weekend.

Refreshment helpers needed
As you are probably aware Colette and the refreshments team have now got the kitchen up and running. This is a welcome stop for parents, players and coaches on a Saturday morning.

The current refreshment team take a turn running the kitchen once every 2 or 3 weeks. We are keen to extend the length of time between turns and are looking to recruit more helpers to join the team. Even if you can only help once a month your assistance and support would be most welcome.

The kitchen is fast becoming the hub of operations, helping in there is fun, rewarding and guaranteed to be nice and warm even on the coldest days!!

In addition if you would like to run refreshments to support your team at a time other than Saturday morning e.g. Sunday afternoon matches, then please let us know. Normally only drinks and pre-packed snacks would be served at these sessions so no great culinary skills are required!! Colette co-ordinates the activity in the kitchen and maintains the stock/float etc so she can arrange for everything to be available for you.

The kitchen can only be used by those volunteers who are authorised by the Club to do so. This means all refreshment helpers need to undertake a brief induction before you will be able to use the kitchen.

If you would like to help on Saturdays, or at any other time, please contact Colette.

I hope you can find a couple of hours to help out your Club.

DHUFC Closed - Jan 16/17

2010-01-15T11:43:00.003Z

Bowood Sports Ground, John Bentley School & Springfield School are all closed this coming weekend as there is still too much snow on the ground. There will be no matches or training at DHUFC venues Saturday or Sunday. Be aware that those teams who have away games may still be playing.

Activity this weekend - January 16/17

2010-01-13T21:05:00.002Z

The Club hopes to open the ground this coming weekend however this is dependent both on the weather and the amount of snow and water at our venues. We will make a decision on whether we open by mid-day this coming Friday. Please monitor the usual channels after this time to see if your training or match is to go ahead over the weekend.

Pitch Status: Get the latest pitch status by ringing our hotline on 0845 5272886 or get status texts sent directly to your phone via the Club twitter page.

Swindon Wildcats
This is your last chance to reserve tickets for the Swindon Wildcats English Premier League Ice Hockey match.

An excellent opportunity to see the fastest game on earth at a heavily discounted price. Half the usual admittance price at £5 per adult, £2 per child. Bring a crowd; your friends and family members are welcome to join you and take advantage of this great offer.

The match takes place at the Link Centre, Swindon on Saturday 30th January where the Wildcats take on top of the table Milton Keynes Lightning. Face-off is at 5.45pm.

Book your tickets on-line here. Ticket applications must close on the 20th January.

Ground Closed. No Activity This Weekend

2010-01-07T20:09:00.007Z

Pitch Status
Due to the amount of snow on our pitches and a prolonged forecast of temperatures remaining below freezing I see no prospect of the conditions allowing use our facilities over the coming weekend. In the spirit of keeping you informed early so you can make plans for your weekend I am making closing all our grounds to all activities for Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th January.

I hope to be able to open the ground on Saturday 16th January.

Swindon Wildcats
Discounted tickets are available to see the Wildcats play the Milton Keynes Lightning. Tickets are less than half price at £5 per adult and £2 per child.

This English Premier League match takes place at the Link Centre, Swindon on Saturday 30th January. Face-off is at 5.45pm.

Ticket applications close 20th January.

Keep safe and warm, enjoy the snow and your football free weekend.

Welcome to 2010

2010-01-04T21:14:00.002Z

I hope you and your family had an enjoyable Christmas break. Just a few notes for you as we commence our Club activity for 2010.

DHUFC Open
The Club commences its activity this coming weekend, Saturday 9th January. Most squads have training and matches scheduled over the course of the weekend and with the weather forecast to continue bitterly cold and snowy I ask that you keep a close eye on the pitch status to see whether our facilities are open or not.

Swindon Wildcats
I have arranged to visit the Swindon Wildcats to watch another game of Ice-Hockey. This represents a excellent opportunity to see the fastest game on earth. An exciting battle of brute force and speed. And at a heavily discounted price. Tickets are £5 per adult, £2 for children (which is less than half the normal price). Members, families and friends all invited. It would be great to see you there.

This English Premier League match takes place at the Link Centre, Swindon on Saturday 30th January where the Wildcats take on top of the table Milton Keynes Lightning. Face-off is at 5.45pm.

Book your tickets on-line here. Ticket applications close 20th January.

Keep Up To Date With Club Activity
Make these two websites essential visits each time you use the net:

And don't forget to get the latest pitch status by ringing our hotline on 0845 5272886 or via twitter.

Christmas Break

2009-12-16T20:15:00.000Z

The Club will be closed for Christmas from Monday 21st December until Friday 8th January. I hope your child has found much enjoyment and pleasure from the term's activity, despite the poor weather conditions.

Bowood Sports Ground will be closed to all members until activity recommences on Saturday 9th January 2009. You can find all this information and more by visiting the Club's on-line Calendar.

Please remember that BSG is a private facility and members should only use the ground for official Club activities.
Make the most of your three weeks break from football and come back refreshed and raring to go for a long and exciting run-in to the end of the 2009-10 season.

I would also like to thank each of our hard-working and dedicated volunteers who support your children each week. From coaches to team secretaries, refreshment helpers to committee members, each volunteer devotes much free time and energy to ensuring your child gets the opportunity to participate in football here at Derry Hill United. Thank you all for your time, energy and dedication.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a most successful 2010.
Wendy and Alan

[ Pitch Hotline 0845 5272886 or via twitter ]

Wrap Up Warm for Winter

2009-12-10T08:47:00.001Z

Wrap Up Warm
With the forecast of cold weather this weekend it provides a timely opportunity to remind all parents that it is your responsibiliy to send your child to football in appropriate clothing.

Coaches have been asked to contact parents to collect children who they feel are inappropriately dressed.

Refreshments
Keep warm while at the ground this weekend with a refreshing hot drink from the Dug-Out. Drinks and snacks available throughout the morning.

Christmas Party
This annual event for our Primary School children takes place on the afternoon of Saturday 19th December at the Lansdowne Hall, Derry Hill. Admission is by ticket only, £4 per player, your final chance to purchase these will be this Saturday, the 12th December, at Bowood Sports Ground between 10.15 and 11.30am.

There will be no other opportunities to buy tickets. Tickets cannot be reserved by email, or on-line, so please make sure you get to BSG at the advertised time to buy yours. If you cannot attend to buy your ticket in person then ask a friend to do so on your behalf.

Club Visits
Our next visit to the Swindon Wildcats is scheduled for Saturday 30th January. I will be putting out a request for tickets soon. Make a date in your diary.

I have also arranged for Derry Hill United to be Swindon Town FC's "Saturday Team Club". The trip will include a tour of the ground, training on St Joe's astro-pitch, lunch and a match ticket to the local derby versus Bristol Rovers. This all happens on Saturday 6th March.

Look out for a mail on how to purchase your tickets early in the New Year.

Keep Up To Date With Club Activity
Why not make these two websites essential visits each time you use the net?

DHUFC Calendar
DHUFC News

And don't forget to get the latest pitch status by ringing our hotline on 0845 5272886 or via twitter.

2009-12-03T21:01:00.001Z

Qualified Coaches
Congratulations go to Tony Fisk, Brian Gorman and Tom Nott who have successfully completed the FA Level 1 programme. All three are long serving coaches with the Club and have undertaken this training to consolidate their experience and ensure they are using current best practice.

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

Our thanks go to each of these coaches for putting in the time and effort to improve their understanding of coaching young players 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. We currently have space for more coaches in the Fusion, Thunder and Lightning squads. 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.

Refreshments at the Derry Hill Dug-out
I would like to say a big thank you to Colette Som for her magnificent effort at creating the processes and infrastructure to provide refreshments from the Dug-Out. Due to Colete's efforts we are now able to proudly boast a 4 star, "Very Good" rating under Wiltshire Council's "Scores on the Doors" scheme.

Over the past few weeks Colette and her team of dedicated helpers have been trialling the facilities in preparation for fully opening. From this weekend the Dug-Out will be open on Saturday mornings for teas, coffees and soups, healthy snacks and the much requested "bacon rolls". Make sure you order yours this Saturday morning. Come along support our great team of refreshment volunteers and buy some refreshments. All funds go directly to your Club.

If you want access to the Dug-Out to provide refreshments for your squad and their Sunday opposition then get in touch and we'll arrange a short induction, to enable you to do so.

DHUFC Christmas Party Tickets
For parents of members younger than 12
Remember to purchase your tickets for the Club Christmas Party scheduled for the afternoon Saturday 19th December. Tickets only available at BSG on Saturday 5th and 12th December, price £4.

Derry Hill - A Venue For Your Child's Party
The Clubhouse recently hosted the first Football Birthday Party at the ground. All those present had a really exciting and enjoyable afternoon. Along with access to the playing field and the optional inflatable football pitch the Clubhouse makes an excellent venue for your child's birthday party. For further details of cost and how to book contact Birthdays@dhufc.org.

Club Closed
20th December - 8th January 2010
The Club will be closed from Monday 20th December until Friday 8th January 2010. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all members that all of our venues are private facilities not open to the general public and should not be used without the attendance and supervision of a Club coach. Please respect this position and keep away from Bowood Sports Ground, Springfields School and John Bentley School whilst the Club remains closed.

We return to training and match activities on Saturday 9th January 2010.

Have a great Christmas break and a rest away from football. We look forward to seeing you refreshed and ready to play when we return in 2010.

Club Programme
Subject to confirmation

January: Club visit to to Wildcats Ice Hockey
February: U10s Girls football festival
March: Saturday Team Club - Swindon Town FC versus Bristol Rovers
April: Squad Photos
May: Club Sign-On
June: End of Season BBQ

Remember to keep up to date with Club activity by visiting the Club Notice Board, Calendar and Twitter service regularly:

All these facilities are available from the front page of our website - so you only have to remember and bookmark www.dhufc.org

Player and Squad Photographs

2009-11-11T10:25:00.000Z

This Saturday, the 14th November, we have a sports photography company visiting Bowood Sports Ground to take individual photos of every member and a team shot of each squad.

The photos will be sent to the Club with preview packs for each member and the opportunity to order photos in time for Christmas. You are under no obligation to purchase but if you choose to do so, not only will you be getting quality shots of your child playing football, but you will also help to raise funds for the Club. To see examples of the photographers work click here.

Here are a few tips to ensure your child is ready and equipped for the photo shoot.

With over 200 players and 14 squads to photograph, some of whom have away games that morning, we have had to allocate a time slot for each group to ensure the event runs as smoothly as possible. Lead coaches and team secretaries are aware of the schedule and will advise you what time you need to be at Bowood Sports Ground. The schedule is tight so there will be no opportunity for latecomers, teams or individuals, who miss their slot.

Players will only be photographed if they are wearing their Club kit. It needs to be clean and therefore if you have training before your scheduled photo time your child should wear alternative kit to train, and then change into their Club kit before the photo session. Goalkeepers should wear their keepers kit and goalie gloves. Players who forget their kit will not be able to take part in the team photo.

If you are a new member awaiting kit please let me know as soon as possible so I can try to find a spare shirt for you to wear for the photo. You will need to provide your own shorts and socks, if you can please wear blue ones.

Let's hope the weather is good for Saturday,

Fans Of The Future @ Swindon Town FC

2009-11-01T18:13:00.000Z

Cheap Tickets to Swindon Town FC
Saturday 5th December
Take your child to see a League One match for just £1.50 under the "Fans Of The Future" programme. Watch the Swindon Town FC versus Leyton Orient game with your family, a cheap way to see your local professional team play.

I need to submit my ticket requests to Swindon by Tuesday 10th November please submit your requirements to me via the on-line form before this date.

Clubhouse Opening
Thank you to all turned up, I believe our sponsors were very happy with the result of their funding support and I am now looking forward to offering all our members access to the facilities at the new improved Bowood Sports Ground.

Unfortunately I have no photographic record of the event so can I ask that those of you who took photos of the day please pass them onto me. Appreciate your support with this.

Derry Hill United FC open New Clubhouse

2009-11-01T12:05:00.002Z

The official opening of Derry Hill United FC’ s new Clubhouse took place at the end of October and local people in the Calne area were there to celebrate. The Club were delighted to welcome Wiltshire man and Swindon Town legend, John Trollope, to formally open the building, and unveil a plaque celebrating the occasion. Members were also treated to a display of best wishes and inspirational sporting advice sent to the Club by many of the Premiership and Football League’s top managers.

Eight years ago Derry Hill Boys FC was formed by a group of enthusiastic parents to provide local football opportunities for children. The growth of the Club has been phenomenal with current membership exceeding 200 players, both girls and boys between the ages of 6 and 17. The Club has generated a huge interest in girls’ football that led to a name change in 2004 to Derry Hill United FC. Now each weekend the Club is buzzing with the activity of its 15 teams.

Alan Crocker, Chair of the Club said, “When we first started we had limited facilities, no shelter or toilets. It was essentially just a field. However with only 18 members who all lived close, we managed to get by. We knew as we grew we would have to do something to provide the facilities required to support our players and volunteers.”

To meet the growth the Club needed to improve facilities at its home, Bowood Sports Ground. With the green light from Lord Lansdowne and the Bowood Estate they were able to start planning to develop facilities. The Wiltshire County Football Association also worked closely with the Club to support the project, which went from inception to completion in a staggeringly short 18 months.

Alan explains “Any new building costs a great deal of money and raising the funds required was made possible through the generous support of the Football Foundation, North Wilts District Council and and a Landfill Community Fund grant from Viridor Credits through Community First, the Communities Council for Wiltshire. The support and funding from these organizations gave us the motivation and confidence to get the job done, and done quickly, and now we’re here with a wonderful new facility for our members to use.”

Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation said: “We are thrilled that the Club and the local community will have access to these fantastic new facilities and commend the Club and the local FA for their hard work in making this happen.”

“Sport is playing a central role in helping people to stay fit, strengthen communities and promote responsibility amongst young people. This is the latest example of thousands of projects across the country that the Football Foundation is supporting with money provided by our funding partners the Premier League, The FA and Government.”

Derry Hill United plan to use the new Clubhouse to enhance what it offers to members. In addition to toilets and changing facilities the Clubhouse has a meeting room that will be used for training and education for the players and parents, coaches and officials.

After much hard work and with a smile on his face, Alan concluded, “I would like to say a huge thank you to all those involved in making this happen. I hope our young members and adult volunteers make full use of the Clubhouse and enjoy and take pride in this new facility for many years to come.”

Clubhouse Opening

2009-10-28T22:55:00.001Z

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

2009-10-26T08:24:00.001Z

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?

2009-10-16T11:43:00.002+01:00

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

Qualified Referees - Congratulations

2009-10-05T23:27:00.001+01:00

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.

Ice Hockey Trip

2009-09-27T22:18:00.001+01:00

Ice Hockey Trip
If you have never joined us on a ice hockey trip before why not do so now? It's a great opportunity to see the fastest game on earth. An exciting battle of brute force and speed.

Derry Hill United has arranged a visit to the Link Centre, Swindon on Saturday 17th October to watch the Swindon Wildcats play in an English Premier League match against the Romford Raiders. Face-off is at 5.45pm.

Tickets are £5 per adult, £2 for children (which is less than half the normal price). Members, families and friends all invited. It would be great to see you there.

Book your tickets on-line here. Bookings close 10th October.

Items Needed for the Clubhouse
I have had just two people respond to my request for items for the Clubhouse. I have a deadline of 2nd October to get these items so please take look at the list to see if you have any of the items which we are looking for. Your support is much welcome and appreciated.

DHUFC Pitch Hotline
Updated every Friday to reflect the status of the venues used by DHUFC - Ring 0845 5272 886

Keep Up To Date With Club Activity
Make these websites essential visits each time you use the net.

DHUFC Squads

DHUFC Calendar

DHUFC Twitter

DHUFC Blog

Clubhouse: Your Help Please (Respond by 2nd October)

2009-09-24T22:41:00.001+01:00

I am delighted to inform you that the Clubhouse has been completed on time and within budget. We are currently targeting the first weekend of next term as an opening date but still have much work to do before we are able to confirm this.

As you are aware our funding activity, whilst highly successful, only went as far as providing the money for the construction and it is now down to the Club to furnish the building before we move in. Due to our increased operating costs we need to be as thrifty as possible and therefore before spending on items we need I wanted to see if you could help us.

To this end I have compiled a list of the items needed and posted it here on our website. If you have any items which match, or are similar to those shown, please get in touch by email or phone 01249 814362 before Friday 2nd October.

The items don't have to be identical to those shown or indeed new, just in good working order.

I thank you for your attention and support and look forward to inviting you to our grand opening shortly.

New Clubhouse, Your Help Please

2009-09-13T21:18:00.001+01:00

Activity: Voluteers wanted to help move equipment
Location: Bowood Sports Ground
Date: Saturday 19th September
Meet: 1.30pm

I am delighted to inform you that the Clubhouse is due to be handed over to us, on schedule, this coming Friday. We have a few jobs to complete before opening the facility and it is the completion of one of these that I now ask for your help.

On Saturday 19th September we need a group of adults, to assist moving the Club equipment from the old sheds to the new Clubhouse. We will do this between 1.30pm - 5.30pm.

Please wear old clothes and strong shoes or boots.

Respond if you are able to help us on Saturday so that we can plan and make best use of the manpower available to us.

This is an exciting time for the Club and I for one am looking forward to providing our young members with the brand new Clubhouse.

Thank you for your support

Creating The Best Environment To Play and Learn

2009-09-09T17:50:00.017+01:00

Car Parking At Bowood Sports Ground

Due to the number of groups using BSG and the reduced area available for car-parking it would greatly appreciated if you can avoid entering BSG car-park on Saturday mornings. Please consider using the Soho Inn for drop-off/pick-up. If you want to stay at the ground to watch the activity consider parking to the rear of Pine & Cane (available all day) or the Soho Inn (you must leave by midday).

This Saturday our League programme commences and many teams have matches booked at the ground. Last weekend saw the car-park at full capacity and this was without vehicles from visiting teams being present. Space will be at even more of a premium this coming weekend.

Following this request will help make visiting the ground a safer, more pleasant and hassle free experience.

Creating The Best Environment To Play and Learn

Please help us build and retain the best environment we can for our children to learn how to enjoy and develop their football experience. It is really important that all Club spectators; mums and dads, brothers and sisters, do not instruct our players. Research proves that children learn best when they are allowed to explore and make mistakes without fear of criticism or retribution. To do this they need a supportive and blame free environment in which to explore what works and what doesn't. Shouting instructions does not foster this environment.

Also, consider how your instructions to a child might conflict with;-

how they view the situation
what the coach has told them to do (perhaps he doesn't want them to "Get Rid Of It")
what others might be shouting

Football is about many personal attributes, one of the major ones being decision making. The players on the field are always best placed, both in space and time, to make those decisions, and I encourage you to empower your child to make these without fear of failure. Take time-out after the game, in a calm, non-pressured environment to talk over the decisions made by your child and ask what they have learnt. The dialogue is well worth the effort and is far more likely to improve your child's game in the long run.

Think of the game as a classroom and consider your actions as if you were a visitor in a lesson. Watch and encourage but don't instruct. Please let our coaches coach and make it your job to encourage your child and their team. Don't let your child become a sad football statistic:

Why Children Drop Out Of Football

Forced to take part
It stopped being fun
Pressure from coaches or parents
Shouted at

If you want to learn more about how to make our environment one that supports your child to develop please review the FA's RESPECT Guide for parents and carers.

I hope that you and your child have an enjoyable, rewarding, and happy season with us. If you have any questions or concerns then please contact on 01249 814362 or email alan@dhufc.org

Key Web Pages

Welcome to Season 2009-10

2009-09-06T09:19:00.001+01:00

Welcome To The New Football Season
Derry Hill United FC re-opens this Saturday, the 5th September, with many squads commencing training this weekend. If your squad is not scheduled to train this week you should have been notified accordingly by your Team Secretary. However if you are unsure then please contact them to check.

Both the Women's & Girls League and the Mid Wilts Youth & Minor League fixtures start on the 12th September. For those of you who previously used the Wiltshire Times website to track fixtures and results note this facility is not going to be used this year. Currently the League has yet to decide how and where to publish this material so please ensure you keep a close watch on your email where you will be notified of matches and training. Please help your squad officials by replying promptly to their requests of player availability.

The Clubhouse
Many of you have asked how the Clubhouse is progressing and I am delighted to tell you that we are currently on plan and anticipate the building being handed over to the Club in mid-September. We have a few tasks to do to make it ours and then aim to open it to members in early October. In the meantime please keep an eye on your email for requests of help to finish our work to make the building ready. When asked, please consider helping out. While on the topic of help, we are currently looking for a working fridge for the Clubhouse kitchen. Are you due to replace yours soon, or have a spare one in the garage? If you do own one which we can have we could make good use of it.

As with last season, can I ask that you alleviate pressure on the BSG car-park by parking at one of the alternative options. For those dropping off or leaving by midday the Soho Inn is available to you (but you must not use it after 12pm). For those staying past midday then Pine & Cane have kindly made their rear car-park available for our use. Remember, whichever venue you use, park tidily to make the best of the space we have available, also never park on the A4 bus-stop as it restricts the view of those leaving the ground.

Squad Training and Match Times
Due to logistical and league requirements some squads will train or play at a different time this season. If you are unsure when your squad trains/plays then visit the "Our Squads" section of the DHUFC Website and select your team name to find out when your group trains. Please note that due to the increasing number of squads at the Club, fourteen this season, we are unable to accommodate each at BSG. As a result squads will take it in turns to 'train away' on a termly basis at one of our alternative venues; John Bentley and Springfields Schools. Once again watch the mail from your squad officials who will inform you of your squad's training venue.

Help Provide A Safe, Supportive And Friendly Place For Our Players
Give your child the time and opportunity to make their own decisions
- they need to learn the consequences of getting things right or wrong

Do not shout, correct or criticise your child from the sidelines. Give them the chance to relax and perform
- the players need to make mistakes to help them learn

Try not to keep offering advice going to or from games.
- let your child unwind and reflect, again this helps them learn

Remember, your child, our players, are not mini adults or professional players
- let them participate, build confidence, have fun and enjoy the activity on offer, whether it be training, a friendly or League football. It truly isn't about winning but about developing the skills to be a winner.

... and finally, please actively support all our referees and officials, don't bring conflict and aggression to the game - be a good role model for your child.

Finally, help us provide the very best environment for children to play football. Take a look at The FA RESPECT campaign for further details of how you can support your child and our goal.

I hope you have an enjoyable and rewarding season,

Help for Heroes
- Swindon Town Football Club will host three military days during the 2009/10 season to raise money for three charities.

Last Chance Saturday

2009-06-09T09:14:00.000+01:00

Just a reminder that this Saturday is Sign On day. If you wish to renew your child's membership at Derry Hill for next season then attend your team's Sign On session on Saturday morning. Please remember to print off all the relevant forms and bring them with you as we do not have printing facilities at the ground.

Also:
This Saturday is the LAST chance to order kit for September. Miss this deadline and you are unlikely to get kit until after Christmas. Order forms available on-line

And:
This Saturday is the LAST chance to buy tickets for the End of Season BBQ and Presentation on the 27th. Tickets are only available this Saturday,at BSG, between 10am and 11.30am.

Wildfire - Club Newsletter for May '09

2009-05-19T21:00:00.003+01:00

Chair's Report
I am both proud and delighted to provide you with this season's Chair's Report, which was presented at last week's AGM. You can download your copy here. The 2008-09 season has been exceptionally busy with many, many great successes, achievements and challenges. The report highlights just a few of these.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to all those dedicated volunteers and officials who have given their time freely to support the development of this Club, and in so doing offer healthy, energetic and essential social sporting activity to the youngsters within our community.

Bill Reed, Club Coach
Congratulations go to Bill Reed who has successfully completed the FA Level 1 course. Bill's daughters, Katie and Emma, play in the Phoenix squad and he now takes his place alongside the existing coaching team who support this growing and enthusiastic group.

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

Our thanks go to Bill for putting in the time and effort to improve his knowledge of the game as well as for the commitment he makes each week 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 and 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.

Clubhouse Update
Construction is moving on apace and as you can see we are now close to putting the roof on the Clubhouse. There is still much to do, with services and fitting out to complete, but we are still hopeful that the Clubhouse will be complete and ready for use in September.

BSG Closed This Weekend
Next weekend, Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th May is the first week of a school holiday and in-line with our usual practice Bowood Sports Ground will be closed to all Club activity. No matches or training. The Club resumes it's activity on Saturday 30th May. Have a good break

Derry Hill United on Twitter
Now you have three ways to keep in touch with activity at the Club.

1. Club Hotline
- Pitch and Club Event Status messages available on 0845 5272 886
2. Pitch Status Banner
- Pitch Status information available at www.dhufc.org
3. DHUFC on Twitter
- Follow DHUFC_Tweeter to receive Pitch and Club Event Status messages on your mobile phone

These facilities let you know what is going on at Club level, for squad information be sure to read your team's mails. Remember all of the Club's newsletters are archived and available for reading at your leisure at DHUFC News.

------
Don't forget to visit our on-line Calendar and News pages next time you're on the web:

Club AGM

2009-04-27T18:17:00.001+01:00

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

2009-04-17T10:51:00.003+01:00

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

2009-04-05T20:16:00.009+01:00

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

2009-04-01T09:19:00.004+01:00

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.

Footballers Hit The Clubhouse Target

2009-03-27T08:44:00.004Z

from the Gazette and Herald

By Alana Lewis »

DELIGHTED footballers and coaches in Derry Hill will soon have the new club house they have longed for following a £180,000 grant from the Football Foundation.

After years of fundraising, Derry Hill Football Club has finally reached its target of £300,000 for a purpose built club house on the Bowood Sports Ground.

Chairman Alan Crocker said: “It feels like we have won the lottery. We are all celebrating this generous grant from the Football Foundation.

“It is wonderful to see that they share our vision and are able to assist us to support youth football within our community.”

The 180 club members will no longer have to use a mobile building with no power or toilets, and will have a purpose built clubhouse with two changing rooms, showers, a kitchen and meeting room.

The new building will reunite the club by bringing the girls team back to the Bowood Sports Ground where they have been unable to play due to lack of toilet facilities. At the moment the girls have to play at Springfields School.

North Wiltshire MP James Gray handed the cheque over on Saturday. He said: “The new facilities for Derry Hill Football Club are good news for local people, especially the youngsters and girl footballers.

“It is good news for the health and fitness of our people at a time when too many are slumped in front of the TV or computer games rather than outdoors taking exercise, and it is good news for this rural community at a time when too many local community facilities are disappearing.

“It is brilliant news all round, and I am delighted to be able to make this presentation on behalf of the Football Foundation.”

The Football Foundation is the UK’s largest sports charity dedicated to revitalising the grass roots of the game.

Chief executive Paul Thorogood said: “It is good to think that in such gloomy economic times we will be able to provide a new clubhouse to put a big smile on our young members’ faces.”

Car Parking at BSG

2009-03-23T20:36:00.006Z

Important: We Need Your Help

You will notice that construction activity has commenced at Bowood Sports Ground. The building work is scheduled to continue for 6 months. During this period an area of car-park will be lost to the construction site. To make the ground both safe and usable we must take care with where and how we park at the ground.

I ask that everyone, parents, players and officials remember the following:

Parking Advice
1. Pine and Cane have kindly agreed to allow the Club to use the car-park sited to the rear of their shop on the A4. If you are using the ground, please consider using this facility. Access to the rear car-park is located to the West (Chippenham) side of the building, do not park at the front of the shop.

2. Whether using BSG or Pine and Cane, park your vehicle close to adjacent ones, do not leave large gaps as space is now at a premium.

3. Do NOT use the east bound bus stop, at the entrance to BSG to park in. We have had near misses caused by the restricted viewing access such parking affords.

Site Access Restrictions
Under no circumstances must anyone, child or adult, enter the fenced compound. If you need an item retrieving then contact a member of the committee.

Finally, I would once again like to pass on my thanks and congratulations to the working party and committee whose commitment and energy have made this happen, and also to the funding bodies; The Football Foundation, North Wilts DC and Viridor Landfill Communities Fund, without whom we would not have the money to get this done.

Photographs of Club and squads activities at our Club Photographer's website

Tickets to UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final Game

2009-03-17T21:32:00.001Z

Early notification of a ticket opportunity.

I have access to a limited number of tickets to the Arsenal UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final match at The Emirates.

The tickets are £58 each (same price for child or adult). This is cost price and carries no loading for Derry Hill United FC.

I am unable to tell you when the game takes place because the draw is not scheduled until Friday 20th March. However all UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final Matches are scheduled to take place on the following dates:

Tues 7 April - Wed 8 April
Tues 14 April - Wed 15 April

One of these dates will be when Arsenal have their home fixture and will be confirmed in Friday's draw along with their opposition.

If you want tickets to the match, listen to the draw on Friday and then email me on tickets@dhufc.org before Monday with the number of tickets you require. Tickets are only available to Club members and their immediate family and I need to have your money before Sunday 29th March to secure the tickets.

Note, ticket price does not include transportation, this you must organize and pay for yourself. Tickets are limited so your best chance of getting your request fulfilled will be to get your email in early.

Youth Football at Derry Hill

2009-03-15T20:29:00.002Z

Following a number of conversations over the past few months it has become apparent to me that I need to make public the Club's plans for youth football at Derry Hill United FC.

As part of our football development plan we have made the following plans:

1. League football to U18 providing:
a. The League continues to offer a U17/18 competition
b. We have enough players in the squad to fulfil a League programme
c. We have continued adult commitment to support the team's activity, namely:
i Team Coach and Assistant Coach
ii Team Secretary
iii Match day helpers (Linesman, pitch prep etc.)

2. Post U18 the Club will facilitate and support the creation of a young adults side called "Derry Hill Old Boys". The purpose of this Club will be to facilitate the development of young adult players into full adult football through a Club which has the philosophy and approach of the Club from which the majority played during their junior careers.
a. Run by the players for the players
b. Train at BSG, play at other venue
c. League entry (League to be determined)
d. Coached by experienced adult coaching team

I am aware that a number of Club's in the area do not offer such opportunities for their older players and have been informed that this year is the last chance for those at U16 to play Club football. I would like to state that this is not the case at Derry Hill and would encourage those who want to extend their activity in youth football to embrace the opportunity that is open to them.

The committee and coaches are keen to keep your son at the Club for as long as we are able to facilitate League football and we want you to know this is what we are committed to.

We appreciate your support to the Club and hope this statement helps you understand what opportunities the Club is planning to offer your son.

Pitch Hotline Number Change

2009-03-04T08:43:00.001Z

New Pitch Hotline Number
In order to provide a more readily available service I have now untied my business line from being used at the weekends as the Club Hotline. From the 4th March Derry Hill United has a new pitch hotline number, it is 0845 5272 886. If you forget this number or delete this mail then you will find the new number advertised within the pitch status box on the front page of our website.

Club Calendar
We have now confirmed the remaining Club events for the rest of the season. All these can be found by pointing your browser at the Club Calendar. You'll find all our events there from the AGM to training breaks, Club Trips to the End Of Season BBQ. Make sure you visit regularly to get the latest information. Whilst you are there you can always pick-up old copies of the Club Newsletter, "The Wildfire" on our News Blog.

Swindon Town v Hereford United
The deadline is approaching for our Club visit to a Coco-Cola League 1 match at the County Ground, Swindon. This game now looks to be a real battle with both sides desperate for points in a dog-fight at the foot of the League. This may not be a cultured game of top-flight football but is sure to be full of passion and commitment with both sides seeking to secure their League 1 status.

I have to submit our numbers to Swindon by Monday 9th March so please have your ticket requests in by then. Remember you are welcome to bring friends and family to this event.

Swindon Town FC v Hereford United
Coca-Cola League 1
At The County Ground, Swindon
Saturday 21st March 2009, Kick-off 3.00pm

Adults £11, Children £1.50
(normally priced at £20.00 and £9 respectively)
Ticket Deadline Monday 9th March
*** Order Your Swindon Town Tickets Here ***

New Clubhouse for Derry Hill United Football Club

2009-03-02T18:18:00.002Z

From NWDC News

Players and supporters of Derry Hill United Football Club are celebrating after reaching another major milestone in their target to raise funds for a new clubhouse.

North Wiltshire District Council has awarded £75,000 towards this exciting project. The Club now eagerly await the outcome of their bids to other funding bodies.

The new £300,000 clubhouse will provide much needed changing rooms with showers and toilets for players and officials and toilets for visitors. It will also be a focal point for visitors with a kitchen and meeting room.

Derry Hill United Football Club supports some 185 children aged between 6 and 16 years of age, representing 13 squads, including 4 girl only groups, coached by 32 qualified volunteers.

Alan Crocker Chairman of Derry Hill United Football Club, says, “We are delighted that we have reached this pivotal moment. The financial support offered by North Wiltshire District Council is a key element in our fund raising activity. The project is a wonderful opportunity for us to provide much needed facilities for our young players and we are grateful to have the Council’s support.”

“I would like to offer my thanks to Lord Lansdowne for allowing the Club to develop at the Bowood Sports Ground and to North Wiltshire District Council who have supported our vision, to provide excellent football development opportunities for our members.”

Councillor Viv Vines, Lead Member for Leisure & Economy at North Wiltshire District Council, says, “This is really good news for everyone involved with Derry Hill United FC. They do a great job coaching youngsters of all ages and abilities and a new clubhouse will provide much needed facilities to help them. It is especially encouraging that Derry Hill United FC has such a large membership of youngsters and a pool of volunteers to coach them.”

Wildfire - Club Newsletter for February '09

2009-02-08T23:11:00.003Z

A short update of our activity for the next couple of months. I would like to thank everyone for keeping up to date with weekend activity through the past few weeks of inclement weather and poor conditions. The Pitch Hotline (01249 811952) has been well used and hopefully has kept you in touch with Club activity thus saving unnecessary journeys to the ground. I thought you might be interested to know that we have now cancelled more games at BSG this season than we have done through the last seven years combined!

A Weekend Break
Next weekend, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th February is the first week of a school holiday and in-line with our usual practice Bowood Sports Ground and Springfields School will be closed to all Club activity. No matches, no training. I hope the weather improves and that you get to enjoy a snow free weekend of doing something other than football. The Club resumes it's activity on Saturday 21st February.

New Referees
I am pleased to inform you that we have three new referees at the Club. Chris and Olly from the Flames and Catherine from the Lightning have attended a course of instruction and sat both written and oral exams to qualify as Class 9 referees. It is most likely you will 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 our activity in perspective - we are charged with creating a supportive, safe, learning environment in which our players can have fun and develop as both players and young people.

Our new referees join an increasing number of committed and able volunteers who have attained their Referee's qualification.

I would like to extend my congratulations to Chris, Olly and Catherine, all of whom have given their time freely to support our Club, your children and our game. Thanks to each of you.

The next referees course commences in September and takes place in Melksham, but I can find other dates and venues if you are prepared to travel further. Any one over the age of 14 can attend and qualify. DHUFC supports and sponsors referees through their course.

Clubhouse Update
I am delighted and excited to inform you that our latest bid for funding towards our Clubhouse project has been successful. We were informed last week that our £25,000 bid to Viridor under the Landfill Communities Fund scheme was granted in full. This leaves us holding funds of £100,000 which are all subject to the success of our bid to the Football Foundation. If our final bid is successful then we will have enough funds to commence building. We hope to hear soon about our Foundation application. Be sure I will keep you informed of situation. Fingers crossed we may have changing rooms, toilets and shelter by next winter.

Club Visits
To trips for members, their families and friends to consider over the next 2 months. Both events over great value for money and are highly recommended for a family outing. Please request your tickets through the links below.

1 Swindon Wildcats v Milton Keynes
English Premier Ice Hockey League
At The Link Centre, Swindon
Saturday 7th March 2009, Face-off 5.45pm

Adults £5, Children £2
(normally priced at £11.00 and £5.50 respectively)
Ticket Deadline Saturday 1st March
*** Order Your Swindon Wildcat Tickets Here ***

2 Swindon Town FC v Hereford United
Coca-Cola League 1
At The County Ground, Swindon
Saturday 21st March 2009, Kick-off 3.00pm

Adults £11, Children £1.50
(normally priced at £20.00 and £9 respectively)
Ticket Deadline Saturday 7th March
*** Order Your Swindon Town Tickets Here ***

Free Tickets to see England v Spain

2009-01-20T22:36:00.001Z

Firstly I would like to thank all of you who attended this Saturday's photoshoot. I really appreciate your help with this activity and can assure you that such public demonstrations of support are a really important and visable sign of commitment to our funders.

There are two important items to highlight this week. I have summarised them below. If you have any questions or concerns please get in touch and I'll see what I can do to answer them.

Kit Orders
This term's kit order will be submitted to our supplier on Monday 9th
February. Please ensure you have all your orders to our kit coordinator, Catherine Saville, by Saturday 7th February. This will be your last chance to get hold of Club kit before Easter so please ensure you get your order in by the deadline. Orders received after the deadline will not be submitted until the next kit order at the end of the season.

You can find an online catalogue and kit order form on our website.

England International
I am arranging a trip to see England U19s versus Spain at Bournemouth. Tickets are free to Club members. Please complete the on-line form if you are interested in attending. Deadline for ticket requests Sunday 1st February 2009.

England v Spain
U19 International Friendly
7pm, Tuesday 10 February 2009
Dean Court, AFC Bournemouth

A Warm Welcome to the Winter Season @ Derry Hill!

2009-01-07T22:32:00.001Z

I hope you and your family had an enjoyable break this Christmas and that you return to football fit, healthy and ready to go.

Although most squads commenced football last Saturday in preparation for League games scheduled for the following day; which were subsequently cancelled due to the frozen pitch conditions, I wanted to take this opportunity to offer some Club messages before we get going in 2009.

If you have any queries or concerns please get in touch with me on admin@dhufc.org

Regards,
Alan

1. Refreshments
2. Christmas Party
3. Winter Training Clothing
4. Pitch Hotline
5. Kit Orders
6. Clubhouse Project

1. Refreshments
I would like to thank the following people for their help and support with providing refreshments on Saturday mornings:

Colette Som
Margaret Bell
Sarah Lowe
Fiona and Paul Stanford
Jen Jackson
Jill Brooks
Sarah Grimshaw
Claire Hanks

This activity is an important addition to the services offered at the Club offering players, coaches and parents a most welcome opportunity to have a hot drink and snack. The service also provides an important cash stream to the Club helping us to keep fees low.

We are always keen to take on more volunteers in this role as this spreads the load across more people. If you are able to offer 2 hours of your time to help out on an occasional Saturday morning please contact Colette Som.

2. Christmas Party
Once again our part for the younger members of the Club was highly successful with most of those eligible to attend doing so. My thanks go to Karen McCormack and her team of very able helpers who made the event such a success.

3. Winter Training Clothing
With the appearance of the colder weather this is a timely opportunity to remind all parents that it is your responsibility to send your child to football in appropriate clothing.

Please ensure you send your child to football clothed appropriately for the conditions. Coaches have been asked to contact parents to collect children who they feel are inappropriately dressed.

4. Pitch Hotline
Thank you to everybody who has used the DHUFC Pitch Hotline over the past few weekends. In general the message will be updated each Friday evening providing the latest information on the status of the ground. In times of surprise, extreme conditions as occurred on our final training day of December we will endeavour to update the message more frequently.

The surprise conditions prior to Christmas caused us some problems with our procedures for updating the hotline, but following analysis we have amended our procedures to make them more reliable for such conditions. The message here is that the hotline is the most up to date and reliable way of determining whether the ground is open or not and should be contacted before traveling if you consider the conditions may prevent your child's session from taking place.

Remember however that the hotline provides a status for the ground not the status for your squad. There ay be times when the ground is open but your coaches consider the conditions inappropriate for the age of the children within their squad. You will be contacted by your team secretary and coaches if your session has been cancelled but the ground is open.
Pitch Hotline: 01249 811952
Pitch Status Banner: www.dhufc.org (banner at top-left of page provides current pitch status)

5. Kit Orders
This term's kit order will be submitted to our supplier on Monday 9th February. Please ensure you have all your orders to our kit coordinator, Catherine Saville, by Saturday 7th February. This will be your last chance to get hold of Club kit before Easter so please ensure you get your order in by the deadline. Orders received after the deadline will not be submitted until the next kit order at the end of the season.

You can find an online catalogue and kit order form on our website.

6. Clubhouse Project
I am delighted to inform you that our plans to build a Clubhouse at Bowood Sports Ground are moving on with pace. We now have the first tranche of funding to acknowledge and celebrate. North Wiltshire District Council have recognized that our project represents a great opportunity to provide fit for purpose facilities for our members and have committed £75,000 to our funding pool. As a result they would like to organize a photo opportunity at which the cheque will be presented. This will take place at Bowood Sports Ground at 10.45am on Saturday 17th January. We are keen that as many players and parents attend as possible as this will help demonstrate our appreciation of the grant as well as show other funders how important our project is to so many people.

If you are a parent who usually collects your child at 10.30am after the first session please stay behind to take part, also if you normally attend the second session then get to the ground early. We are hoping for a huge turnout and if we are successful this will mean pressure on our car-park. Can I please ask that you consider parking in the Soho Inn car-park for this event.

There is still much to do before we finally close on our plans and start building a Clubhouse for our members. We await with much excitement and anticipation for the outcome of our bids to Community First and The Football Foundation for the remaining £205,000 needed to meet our funding requirements. Be assured I will keep you informed of our progress as we have news.

In the meantime please try to support the photo opportunity on the Saturday 17th January as this represents an excellent chance to show the funding bodies what a great number of people our project effects.

Christmas Notes

2008-11-30T17:04:00.003Z

Wrap Up Warm

With the appearance of the colder weather this is a timely opportunity to remind all parents that it is your responsibility to send your child to football in appropriate clothing. The last two weeks appear to have caught a few people out and there have been incidents where players have found the conditions too cold to participate, this has been largely due to inappropriate clothing being worn.

Please ensure you send your child to football clothed appropriately for the conditions. Coaches have been asked to contact parents to collect children who they feel are inappropriately dressed.

Christmas Break

The Club will be closed for Christmas from Monday 15th December until Friday 2nd January. Bowood Sports Ground will be closed to all members the w/ends of December 20/21 and December 26/27. Activity recommences on Saturday 3rd January 2009.

Please remember that BSG is a private facility and members should only use the ground for official Club activities.

Christmas Party

This annual event for our Primary School children takes place on the afternoon of Saturday 13th December at the Lansdowne Hall, Derry Hill. Admission is by ticket only, £4 per player, these will be on sale at Bowood Sports Ground next Saturday (6th December) between 10.15 and 11.30am.

There will be NO other opportunities to buy tickets. Tickets cannot be reserved by email, or on-line, so please make sure you get to BSG at the advertised time to buy yours. If you cannot attend to buy your ticket in person then ask a friend to do so on your behalf.

Squad Photos

Each squad has now had its picture taken and are available to view and purchase on line. We are offering a number of formats for your child's photograph, each make excellent Christmas presents so visit the website and get viewing today.

Ice Hockey Trip

Last chance to get your tickets for the Wildcats match next Saturday evening (5.45pm, 6th December). The deadline for ticket requests is Monday 1st December. If you have never joined us on our ice hockey trip before why not do so now? It's a great opportunity to see something a bit different.

Tickets are £5 per adult, £2 for children (which is less than half the normal price) Members, families and friends all invited.

Book your tickets here

2008-11-21T19:46:00.001Z

Some brief news for you.

Ice Hockey
Swindon Wildcats versus Sheffield Scimitars at the Swindon Link Centre on Saturday 6th December, face-off 5.45pm.

We still have some tickets available for this event. This is an exciting, fast, sport and well worth a watch for those who have not experienced it before.

Tickets for DHUFC members are priced at significant discount to normal price, adults £5, children £2.

Order your tickets on-line here. Last bookings on Sunday 30th November.

Christmas Party
As we move towards the festive season here is early warning of ticket sales for this years Christmas party!

The Club Christmas party for players of primary school age will be on the afternoon of 13th December and tickets will go on sale on Saturday 29th November at BSG.

Full details of the party will be issued by email next week.

Referee Opportunities
Extend your involvement and knowledge of the game. Use your enjoyment of Football to supplement your pocket money.

Once you reach the age of 14 you are able to study and qualify to become a referee. The course is not long and once qualified you can start earning money by refereeing within our Club.

Did you know we pay £13 per match to have a referee take charge of a game?

The next course is due to start in January

Referees Course (4 days) - January 17/18, 24/25

This course takes place in Melksham, but I can find other dates and venues if you are prepared to travel further. Derry Hill United will pay your course and exam fees and your first year's membership to the Referees Society. If you want to give it a try then let me know by December 1st so I can book you on the course.

Adults are welcome to participate also. Derry Hill still pays your course fees and you qualify for match fees once once qualified.

Welcome back to Football @ Derry Hill

2008-10-30T22:05:00.002Z

Welcome back to the DHUFC football season which kicks off again this weekend, Saturday 1st November. Just a few messages to help you get the most from the Club's activity.

Squad Photos
The squad photos taken on Saturday 18th October by Frances McCormack, our new Club Photographer, are now available to view and purchase on line at her website.

All profits made from the sale of photos will go towards funding Frances' school expedition to Kenya.

Planning Permission
Thanks to the 93 of you who showed your support for the Club's planning application by registering your support on the NWDC website. We are pleased to know that these folks had strong enough views to support this project which will improve the environment for your child whilst at Bowood Sports Ground. Your support is essential to the success of our applications for funding and planning. Please do take the time to support us as our application and funding activity progresses.

Maintenance
Look out for our new maintenance scheme. We will be introducing a new scheme shortly where each squad's parents will have responsibility, during one month in the year, for completing simple maintenance tasks at BSG e.g. painting the goalposts. Your Team Secretary will be in touch when it is your squad's turn to explain what needs doing and ask for your help. Please give them your support.

Ice Hockey Trip
If you have never joined us on our ice hockey trip before why not do so now? It's a great opportunity to see something a bit different.

Tickets are _5 per adult, _2 for children (which is less than half the normal price) Members, families and friends all invited.

Book your tickets here

U15s Girls
Last years U14s had great success winning their league and several of that squad have now gone on to play for the Wiltshire Centre of Excellence and Bristol Academy. The remaining squad now play in the U15s 11 a-side league and are keen to recruit more players. If you know a girl who is in year 10 at school and might be interested in trying out football please drop us an email

Keep Up To Date With Club Activity
Why not make these two essentials web visits each time you use the net?

DHUFC Calendar
DHUFC News

Squad Photos (Saturday 18th October)

2008-10-17T12:18:00.002+01:00

Many thanks to all who have supported our planning application. Activities to get the Clubhouse funded and built are progressing well. We will need your support for other phases of the project, please support these when requested.

Squad Photographs
Our new Club Photographer, Frances McCormack, will be at Bowood Sports Ground this Saturday, the 18th October, to take squad photographs. Please send you child to this Saturday's session dressed in full Club kit.

Half-Term Break
Derry Hill United is closed to all activities the weekend 25th/26th October. This closure is in alignment with our standard policy of giving all squads the opportunity to have a break from football the first weekend of the school holidays. Activity recommences the first weekend in November (1st/2nd)

The DHUFC calendar which offers details of all Club events can be found at http://www.dhufc.org/calendar.html

DHUFC @ Swindon Wildcats
Our annual visit to see the Ice-Hockey at the Swindown Wildcats is just being finalized. Pencil a date in your diary for Saturday 6th December when the Wildcats hosts Sheffield Scimitars at the Link Centre in Swindon. Keep an eye on your email for confirmation of this event and how to book your tickets.

Car-Parking
If you are just dropping off/picking up your child from football then please help us avoid congestion at the ground by using the Soho Inn car-park. The Soho is available for Club use as long as it is clear of football traffic by mid-day.

Young Volunteers
The Club has an active youth volunteer program which offers opportunities for teenagers to develop their skills through a number of voluntary activities. We have lots of opportunities available for enthusiastic teenagers from Refereeing and Coaching to Web-Design and Marketing (and lots in between). If you know of someone who would like to join our scheme, develop their skills and experience whilst gaining satisfaction from knowing they are helping out in their community then please get in touch with me.

Support Our Vision

2008-09-24T21:52:00.002+01:00

After 7 seasons of growth at Bowood Sports Ground, Derry Hill United now supports 13 squads of children and teenagers from the ages of 6 through to 16. I believe our young players deserve "Fit For Purpose" facilities to enhance their experience whilst at the ground and now is the time to make this happen.

After 6 months of consultation we have completed our first major milestone to accomplishing our goal and have formally presented our planning proposal for approval.

As a member of Derry Hill United FC your response to our proposal holds great weight on whether the project moves forward.

If as I do, you believe that our members deserve toilets and showers, changing rooms, and a heated building to retreat to when the weather is cold, wet or both, then please publicly share your support with the Council planners.

You can demonstrate your support for our proposals by accessing the on-line planning submission form. Completion will take less than 5 minutes but make such a difference to the success of our plan. Click here to go to the on-line form. Once at the page select the "If you do not have a reference number click here" link to register your support for our planning application.

Success of our project will lead to a considerably enhanced experience for your child whilst at Bowood Sports Ground.

Many thanks,
Alan

View our latest project presentation here

Our First Trip Of 2008-09

2008-09-05T22:16:00.001+01:00

I am able to get access to coach tickets and match entry to Arsenal's premiership game against Hull City.

Tickets are limited and will be available on a first come first serve basis upon receipt of your payment.

Details:-
Arsenal v Hull City
Saturday September 27th 5.30pm Kick off
Coach pick-up from J17 M4 (time to be advised)

Cost including coach travel £65 per person

Please contact me before Wednesday 10th September to reserve your place.

Welcome To The New Football Season

2008-08-31T16:34:00.002+01:00

Derry Hill United FC re-opens on Saturday 30th August, with many squads commencing training this weekend. If your squad is not scheduled to train this week you should have been notified accordingly by your Team Secretary. However if you are unsure then please contact them to check.

The Mid Wilts Youth & Minor League fixtures start on the 13th September and the Wiltshire Women's & Girls League Fixtures the following weekend.

For those players and officials who attended the end of season presentation and were pictured with Stuart Pearce your complimentary photo is now available for collection. The Thunder and Lightning players will be able to collect their photos from Julie Tipping at evening training. All others can collect from Wendy Crocker at BSG on Saturday 30th August or Saturday 6th September between 9.30 and 11.30am. Those who want to purchase further copies or larger versions please order on-line via the TN Photography website.

Squad Training and Match Times
Due to logistical and League requirements some squads will train or play at a different time this season. If you are unsure when your squad trains/plays then visit the "Our Squads" section of the DHUFC Website and select your team name to find out.

Help Provide A Safe, Supportive And Friendly Place For Our Players
Give your child the time and opportunity to make their own decisions
- they need to learn the consequences of getting it right or wrong

Do not to shout, correct or criticise your child from the sidelines. Give them the chance to relax and perform
- the players need to make mistakes to help them learn

Try not to keep offering advice going to or from games.
- let your child unwind and reflect, again this helps them learn

Remember your child, our players, are not mini adults or professional players
- let them participate, build confidence, have fun and enjoy the activity on offer, whether it be training, a friendly or League football. It truly isn't about winning but about developing the skills to be a winner.

... and finally, please actively support all our referees and officials, don't bring conflict and aggression to game - be a good role model to your child.

Help us provide the very best environment for children to play football. Take a look at The FA RESPECT campaign for further details of how you can support our goal.

Bowood Sports Ground Improvement Plans

2008-07-28T19:45:00.001+01:00

Bowood Sports Ground Improvement Plans

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended this week's public presentation of our improvement plans for Bowood Sports Ground.

We were delighted with the attendance and each of the project's working party were pleased to hear of your overwhelming support and approval of our proposals.

Our plans will shortly be submitted to the council for planning approval, once this is done the hard work to raise the funds will commence.

If any of you should know of someone who can help with the following items I would be interested in hearing from you;

A solicitor with experience of lease work
Businesses who may be interested in making a financial contribution to support our efforts
Access to fencing materials and farm style gates

For those who were unable to make the evening I have now posted copies of the presentation on our website. Just click on the improvements plan banner on the front page.

End of Season Presentation Pictures

The photographs of the End Of Season Presentation are now available. I have posted some samples on the Club Picture Gallery. Remember the Club has a 6"x4" print of your child available for collection when we return to training. Those who want to purchase further copies or larger versions please order on-line via the TN Photography website.

Finally I hope you all have a great summer and I look forward to seeing you when DHUFC commences its 08-09 activity on Saturday 30th August.

Hope you all had a wonderful season

2008-07-04T07:53:00.001+01:00

Following our presentation we have now reached the end of season 2007-08.

I hope those of you who attended the event last Saturday had a great time. Once again the weather stayed fine and allowed us to make the most of the ground. Thank you for allowing our guest of honour to enjoy the evening's activities with his family, I sense Stuart enjoyed the opportunity.

Before closing I have some important messages. Please take a look below, if you have any questions please contact me.

I hope you have a peaceful and enjoyable summer break and I look forward to seeing you at the Club when we return to training on Saturday 30th August.

1. Ground Closure
As of Saturday 19th July Bowood Sports Ground is closed to all activity. Please do not use the ground after this time as the Club cannot be held responsible for any accidents or injuries caused whilst unsupervised.

2. Facilities Development at BSG
Some of you may have heard the Club has now started its plans to improve the facilities at Bowood Sports Ground. There is much to do, but a small working party has helped to shape our plans for a Clubhouse and changing facility.

These plans will be on public view for the first time on Tuesday 22nd July when we shall be convening a short presentation and review. The meeting takes place at the Lansdowne Hall, Derry Hill between 6.45pm and 7.30pm. Drop by and see what we have planned.

3. Mid-Wilts League Registration
For those of you who have yet to return your completed League Registration forms then you have a final chance to do so before we process and submit them 10th July. Any forms received after this date will be processed when we resume activity for Season 2008-09 at the end of August. This will most likely mean that your child will not qualify to play League matches for the first few fixtures of the season.

Kids beat the weather

2008-06-30T23:20:00.001+01:00

A cool, wet mid-summer's day failed to dampen the spirit and enthusiasm of the youngsters who participated in Derry Hill United's annual "Friendly Festival".

Eighteen teams, aged 7-9,from across Mid-Wiltshire took part in the event demonstrating their skills and joy of playing the game.

The event offers a unique opportunity for players and their coaches to get together and challenge themselves against teams of a similar standard.

Alan Crocker, Chair of Derry Hill United said "This is a great format which allows players of all abilities to participate, enjoy themselves and improve their football skills. If one side is significantly stronger than another we encourage coaches to challenge their players by inviting the opposition to field an additional player.”

Adrian Gingell, Festival Director comments “For some of our youngest players this is the first experience of such an event. The Festival ethos is all about playing for enjoyment with no concern about scores or results.
It is evident that the hard work organising the Festival pays off when you see the fun the children are having.”

Shauna Bodman, Councillor for Calne Without and Barry Stephens, Football Development Officer for the Wiltshire FA presented medals to all those who took part.

Barry said “We want children to enjoy coming to football, to want to be there week in week out, and that means they need to have fun. It’s evident that Derry Hill’s Festival provides them with a real opportunity to do so.”

The Derry Hill United Friendly Festival

2008-05-18T14:13:00.001+01:00

A date for your diary.

I am pleased to announce that DHUFC will be holding a small, friendly festival at BSG for Under 7, Under 8 and Under 9 age groups. The event will take place on Saturday 21st June. The event will be non-competitive and is promoted as strictly developmental for players of all ability. We shall be encouraging DHUFC teams to be entered as mixed ability, no 'A' or 'B' teams, and also be communicating this message to our invited guests. There will be no scores recorded, no league tables, no winners, no losers. Just five opportunities to play meaningful length games against matched opposition. All players will receive a medal to celebrate their participation. From past experience I know that our players love this 'home' event with its unique format and atmosphere and I'm delighted to be able to put it on again after a break last season.

I am delighted to say that Adrian Gingell has volunteered to lead the event organization. I am most grateful to him for taking on this task and want to take this opportunity to express my thanks to him. The festival takes considerable time to organize and resource to put on. Please offer him your full support.

Help make this event a success by offering your time and support to the tasks that need to be done. Volunteer when asked. If it helps you consider your own involvement I can confirm to you that I won't be asking anyone to dig the toilet pits, empty or refill the chemical toilet, I shall be taking these roles. Your involvement is essential and your help will be required to help with tasks from refreshments and registration to ground preparation and car-parking.

You will hear more about the event in the coming weeks from Adrian and your team secretary. Please make sure you get involved and help make this a really wonderful experience for your child.

Finally, the festival will bring many families to the ground and offers an excellent platform for local businesses to promote their activity. We would be delighted to hear from anyone who would like to discuss the opportunity of partnering with us. Many opportunities exist from programme and pitch-side adverts to medal presentations. Get in touch with me for more details.

Late Spring Update

2008-05-12T21:45:00.004+01:00

1. Sign-On Day
2. End Of Season Presentation And BBQ
3. DHUFC Kit Orders
4. Chair's Report Season 2007 - 08
5. Keep Up To Date
6. Breaking News

Sign-On Day
Message: Secure your child's place with their squad for season 2008 - 09.

Date: Saturday 17th May
Venue: Bowood Sport Ground
The Club has Sign-On Day on the morning of the 17th May. All the paperwork and staffing is at the ground, as it is both difficult and inappropriate to do this activity at another time/place. I'm sure you can appreciate the amount of effort it takes to organize this hugely important event for our 180 members. We have to submit our League entries by 1st June hence our need to get this done at this time. Please ensure a parent comes to the ground at the time assigned for your squad's sign-on. We need your time and signature, you'll need your papers and money.

After Saturday morning we will be assessing how many vacancies are in each squad and will start recruitment to fill these places in order to move forward with League applications. You should have received information about Sign-On Day in previous mails (incl. your sign-on papers and cost).

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. As you can imagine this is an extremely busy period for Wendy and myself and your support is key to helping us through this time.

End Of Season Presentation And BBQ
Message: Tickets only available for sale at BSG Saturday 17th May. Strictly no late-comers.

Date: Saturday 28th June
Venue: Bowood Sports Ground
An opportunity for every player to celebrate their participation in football at Derry Hill for season 2007 - 08. Trophies and photos, fun and games at the field. A really great evening for all the family at Bowood Sports Ground. Your chance to say thank you to your coaches and team secretary for their commitment and energy to your child's football development through the season. Tickets £4 each only available on sale at BSG, last chance to purchase is Saturday 17th May, please make sure you get yours.

I encourage you to mark the date in your diary and take this last opportunity to purchase your tickets this weekend.

DHUFC Kit Orders
Message: If you need kit for the start of season 2008 - 09 now is the time to order.

Orders must be placed by Saturday 17th May. We order once a term so if you miss this deadline you won't get kit until December. Go to the website to get your order forms.

Chair's Report Season 2007 - 08
Message: If you want to know what we have done and what plans we have then read the report.

Please download and read the Chair's Report for season 2007 - 08. This was presented and discussed at our recent AGM. If you have have any comment or questions please feel free to get in touch with me. As part of the AGM activity we posted each squad's achievements and goals sheets, each written by the team's coaches.

It is important to recognize the commitment, effort and consideration each group of coaches puts into developing the squad each season, and the squad report offers a brief summary of this activity. The Squad reports are now posted in the Derry Hill Dug-Out for you to read. Please try and spend a little time reading what your child's coach thought about the season and what goals are being set for next.

Keep Up To Date
Message: Always up to date, always available. Not sure what's on? Visit the website, it's all there.

All current news and diary events for the Club are maintained and available on-line at, make sure you visit them frequently.

Club News

Club Diary

Breaking News
Congratulations to the Derry Hill Thunder who this weekend won the League Title in the Wiltshire Womens' and Girls League Under 14s division. A magnificent achievement for this squad of dedicated girls and their coaches Mark Saint and Chris Bogg. Well done to all of you.

End of Season Presentation

2008-04-30T08:03:00.001+01:00

We are pleased to confirm details of the End Of Season Presentation:

Derry Hill United FC
End of Season Presentation and BBQ
Saturday 28th June from 6pm - 9.30pm
BBQ Served from 6pm - 7.20pm
Presentation 7.30pm

Admission Is Strictly By Ticket Only
Please keep your tickets safe as this year they will be checked on arrival at the event.

Tickets will only be available to purchase on Saturday 10th and Saturday 17th May. Tickets can be purchased from Tim and Nina in the Dug Out at BSG. Tickets are available to players, parents and siblings only.

Ticket sales close on the 17th May, there will be no late-comers accommodated after this date. If you cannot make it in person to the ground on either of these days I would encourage you to make arrangements for a friend to purchase tickets on your behalf. There will be no opportunity to order tickets by email or post - they are only available at BSG on 10th and 17th May.

This is a huge event for us and takes a great deal of preparation. Last year we had 480 people attend and over 10% of these missed the ticket deadline but were accommodated. I'm sure each family concerned probably thought they were the only ones but in fact many took this approach and this caused significant additional work on top of what was already planned. It is for this reason there will be no tickets available after the deadline this year.

This is our last Club event of the season and a big celebration of each players' participation at Derry Hill for 2007-08. It's an informal event and lots of fun. Hope to see you there.

Please help us, to help you, have a fun, enjoyable and well organised event and purchase your tickets before the deadline.

Qualified Referees - Congratulations

2008-04-23T20:19:00.001+01:00

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

George (Fire)

Rory (Fire)

Mike (Fire)

Jack (Fire)

Adam (Flames)

Each of them has subsequently taken, and passed, both a written and oral exam and are now qualified as Class 8 referees.

It is most likely you will 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 both players and young people.

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

I would like to extend my congratulations to George, Rory, Mike, Jack and Adam, each of who has given their time freely to support our Club, your children and our game. Thanks to you all.

DHUFC supports and sponsors referees through their course. Youth volunteers are also offered the opportunity to chart and gain recognition for their commitment through access and registration to the Sport England and FA, Step Into Sport programme.

email LikeToRef@dhufc.org if you want to become a referee

End of Season Activity 2007-08

2008-04-12T23:20:00.002+01:00

As we move into the final part of our activity for the year I want to update you on our plans for the close of season. You'll find a list of major events at the foot of this mail. You can access the Club Calendar to view our full schedule of events.

The Club Calendar has been re-designed, is now permanently maintained, and readily available on-line 24 hours a day. If you have any doubts about what is happening at the Club make sure you point your browser at http://www.dhufc.org/calendar.html. If you don't have access to your bookmarks the Calendar can be found from the DHUFC Front page by navigating through the menu system under 'Home' > 'Members' > 'Calendar'

I just want to also take this opportunity to highlight two important events for all Club members.

1. Sign-On Day

Saturday 17 May
This is an important day for you to renew your child's membership at DHUFC for next season. Please make sure you attend and secure your place for 2008-09.

2. End Of Season BBQ and Presentation

Saturday 7 June or Saturday 5 July
Our main event of the season where all players get to be recognized for their involvement and are awarded a trophy to mark their participation. We are still making final arrangements for this year's event. Two dates have been set a-side, Saturday 7th June and Saturday 5th July. Don't miss out, pencil both in your diary. I'll let you know as soon as we are able to confirm which of these two dates the event is going to take place.

I hope both you and your child have had a rewarding and enjoyable season and look forward to seeing you at our End Of Season Presentation.

Regards,
Alan

Club Calendar
Main Events (full calendar and details here)

Sat 26 April: Club Trip To Wembley (England v Scotland)
Wed 7 May: DHUFC AGM @ Lansdowne Hall
Sat 17 May: Sign-on Day @ BSG
Sat 17 May: Last Club training session
(some squads may choose to continue training to BSG closure in July)
Sat 24 May: Girls Training with Bristol Academy (TBC)
Sat 7 June: End Of Season Presentation and BBQ (TBC)
Sat 14 June: Clean and Tidy Day @ BSG
(please come along for the morning and help clean and tidy the huts)
Sat 21 June: DHUFC Festival (U7 - U9)
Sat 5 July: End Of Season Presentation and BBQ (TBC)
Fri 18 July: BSG Closed (No more training)
Sat 30 Aug: First Training Session (Season 2008-09)

Springfields Users (Pitch Closed: w/e 19 and 20 January)

2008-01-18T12:44:00.000Z

We have just had notification from the school that the Springfields pitches
are closed this weekend due to the continuing poor weather. All those who
were looking to use this pitch during the weekend please take action as
appropriate.

Also, we will be looking to make decisions about the use of BSG this
weekend. A decision will be made by 8pm this evening. Please direct your
members at the website and hotline to gain visibility of our decision.

My current thinking is that we will implement use per last weekend - no
matches but pitch available for training off of key areas (penalty areas
and goal lines).

Our objective is to facilitate as much football as with can without
damaging the pitch for future activity. This is a difficult path to tread
as we know that you require timely visibility of our decision to inform
your opposition and members of your activity.

Thank you for your patience and support during this time of uncertainty.

Pitch Status (January 12 and 13)

2008-01-11T18:03:00.000Z

Unfortunately the weather has got the better of our grounds this weekend. I'd just like to offer you an update of the situation;-

Springfields School: Closed to all activity Saturday and Sunday
BSG: Open Saturday and Sunday for TRAINING ONLY

Those who had matches scheduled at BSG may now be training instead. Please contact your team secretary to find out what your squad is doing.

Following review of various reports this evening I am encouraged to see the weather is set to clear by 6am tomorrow, leaving us with a bright, crisp morning. Not wanting to stop the children getting out and enjoying their football we have made the decision to open the ground for training only under controlled use.

We have made this unusual decision to close the ground to games only in order to protect the key playing surfaces (goal-lines and penalty areas) which are currently very wet and showing signs of severe wear. All groups that train at BSG this weekend will take care not to use these critical areas thus protecting them for future matches.

Finally, the BSG car-park is very wet and slippery. I suggest those of you who are dropping off/picking up, use the Soho car-park to do so. This facility is available to us as long as all football traffic is clear by midday. Please do not use the bus-stop/layby to park in as it severely obscures vision of those entering/leaving the ground and has in the past been the primary cause of road traffic accidents.

Here's hoping for some sun tomorrow morning.

Regards,
Alan

Latest pitch status available on the DHUFC Website and the Derry Hill Pitch Hotline (01249 814362)

Club Closed 17th December - 4th January 2008

2007-12-14T14:45:00.000Z

The Club will be closed from Monday 17th December until Friday 4th January 2008. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all members that both of our grounds are private facilities not open to the general public and should not be used without the attendance and supervision of a Club coach. Please respect this position and keep away from Bowood Sports Ground and Springfields School whilst the Club remains closed.

We return to training and match activities on Saturday 5th January 2008.

For those squads who have had their photographs taken this season take a look at your Squad page to view your child's latest team picture.

Our Club photographer, Tim Morris, has the master copies of these pictures, and more, available for viewing and purchase from his website.

Have a great Christmas break and a rest away from football. We look forward to seeing you refreshed and ready to play when we return on the first weekend in 2008.

Club Programme
{Subject to confirmation}

January: Goalkeeping Session at BSG with TGS
February: Club Visit to Wildcats Ice Hockey
March: DHUFC is the Team Club at the County Ground - Swindon Town FC versus Leeds Utd
April: Emirates Stadium to watch Arsenal play Reading
May: Club Sign-On
June: End of Season BBQ

Remember to keep up to date with Club activity by visiting the Club Notice Board and Calendar regularly;-

Players Christmas Party

2007-11-18T11:19:00.000Z

Saturday 8th December
The Lansdowne Hall
Derry Hill

It's a Christmas Cracker
Beacons, Flares and Inferno Players
2pm - 4pm

The Kool Yule
Burn, Blaze and Phoenix Players
4.30pm - 6.30pm

Tickets only on sale
10am - 11.30am
Bowood Sport Ground
Saturday 24th November/1st December

£4 per ticket

Squad Photographs

2007-11-04T17:37:00.000Z

Squad Photographs

We are hoping to get each squad photographed over the next few weeks.

If your child plays or trains at Bowood Sports Ground on Saturday morning then please send them in full DHUFC kit this weekend, Saturday 11th November. If your squad trains at another time then we will be in touch to arrange your squad photos over the next few weeks. Keep an eye on your mail.

Swindon Wildcats

Are you doing anything on the evening of Saturday 17th November?

If not, consider joining us on a Club visit to the Swindon Link Centre. We will be watching the Swindon Wildcats play an English Premier League Ice Hockey match against arch rivals Romford Raiders. Face-Off takes place at 5.45pm, the game will be over by 8.

Tickets to Club members are heavily discounted; Adults £4, Children £2.

This represents a great opportunity for those who have not seen this fast, furious and exciting game a chance to experience it first hand without breaking the bank - a family of 4 costs just £12 and you'll get a complimentary ticket to return to a further game at half price!

Ticket reservations must close on Monday 12th November.

Go to the ticket booking page to reserve your tickets.

Support The Hero In The Black

2007-10-23T13:42:00.000+01:00

A reminder that Derry Hill United returns to training this coming weekend, Saturday 27th October. The next break will be for Christmas when the Club will be closed on Saturday 22nd December, last training session of 2007 will be on the w/end of 15th December. We return to training the first weekend of 2008 on Saturday 5th January.

Remember to order your items of kit for Christmas - last orders Saturday 27th October.

I also want to take this opportunity to address the issue of player, coach and parent pressure on referees. A subject which has vexed both the national press and FA recently (see this article for details).

DHUFC is currently sponsoring, mentoring and actively promoting its older members to get involved in refereeing. The reason? - there is a huge shortage of qualified referees. Why? - here are some raw figures from within the County;-

128 Youth/Minor Football Clubs
700 Youth/Minor Teams
5 Youth/Minor Leagues
300 qualified referees (mostly used to cover all adult games within the County)

Before publically voicing your dissatisfaction about a refereeing decision I ask that you consider the following;-

Are you better positioned to make a judgement?
Are you better qualified to make the decision?
Do you feel that sharing your opinion in public is likely to improve the referee's desire to continue?
How would you feel if it was your son/daughter that was subject to this public, verbal abuse?

I would ask you to consider whether you are prepared to referee the match - because if you are, youth and minor football is desperate to have you do so, if you're not then please keep your opinion to yourself. You will be offering far more support to your players by doing this as opposed to turning referees away by shouting your opinion at them.

If coaches, parents and players continue to behave in an aggressive way toward referees they are going to continue to leave in their droves and there will be no-one to referee the game and the children will not play.

Enjoy watching your child, share their delight and enjoyment, their highs and lows, but help them to understand the officials are their friends - without them we have no game. Help us create a friendly, enjoyable and supportive environment in which the players, our children, can develop and learn.

Remember keep the game in perspective and your behaviour in check.

I thank you for your support.

If you wish to become a referee then please contact Alan on WantToRef@dhufc.org

DHUFC pays your course fees and offers support and mentorship to help build your confidence and decision making. Anyone from 14 years of age can apply.

Welcome to Derry Hill United (Season 2007-08)

2007-08-27T11:17:00.000+01:00

Hello and welcome to members both old and new to the start of our seventh season here at Derry Hill.

Here is your copy of the Club newsletter, "Wildfire". Please read in preparation for the start of your child's activity. Also ensure you look at the training schedule in order to familiarize yourself with your squad's training slot and venue.

Remember DHUFC is manned entirely by volunteers who have kindly given up their time, and directed their energy, to facilitating football development for your child. Please help our officials have an enjoyable and trouble free experience by reading and acting on Squad information, responding to availability requests, and most importantly, ensuring you arrive well before the end of each session to collect your child - our coaches want to get home too, and it's unfair to burden them with the task of looking after children once their session has finished.

I would like to thank all those people who took time out during the summer to help with the cleaning and maintenance of the ground and it's facilities. Your time and effort is much appreciated and I must say Bowood Sports Ground (BSG) appears at the start of the 2007-08 season in the best shape it has been for years. The pitches look great, and the buildings clean and tidy, both inside and out.

Finally, can I ask that our members take pride in their environment and keep BSG clean and tidy. It would be extremely helpful if you can pickup and take home discarded bottles, sock ties and other items which often litter the field after training and matches.

Club activity commences the weekend commencing Saturday 1st September.

I hope you and your child have a really enjoyable and successful season with us here at Derry Hill.

Time To Party

2007-06-11T22:22:00.000+01:00

The Presentation Evening is on Saturday 16th June, from 6.30pm-9.30pm at Bowood Sports Ground. (Weather permitting). All those who have booked tickets need to print off your ticket confirmation and bring it with you to the BBQ.

If the weather is poor please remember to check the web site or hotline (01249 811952) after 4pm to find out where the presentation will be and at what time.

With over 400 guests attending parking will be tight so please park sensibly, and closely, to allow as many cars in as possible. Do not park in the bus stop/lay by outside the ground as this obscures the view of others leaving the ground and has previously caused an accident.

Only people who have booked tickets should turn up for this event. Trophies for children who have not booked tickets will not be available on the night but can be collected at a later date, details will follow after the presentation.

Alternative arrangements if the weather is very wet on 16th June

If the venue has been changed from BSG to The Lansdowne Hall, Derry Hill then check which of the two presentations is for your child's team and attend that presentation.

Presentation 1
(6.30pm - 7.45pm)
For players in the Flares, Inferno, Burn, Blaze, Phoenix U10s, Sparks, Lightning
Presentation 2
(8.15pm - 9.30pm)
For players in the Phoenix U15s, Phoenix U14s, Fire, Flames,Thunder, Heat

New Clothing for DHUFC

2007-06-07T10:43:00.000+01:00

If you wish to order football kit or other Club branded clothing for the new season you will need to do so at Sign On Day.

We are pleased to launch a new catologue of DHUFC branded extras. This includes the new range of track suits and rain jackets and some of the old favourites; boot bags, wallets, hats, caps and sweatshirts etc. The following forms are available to view and order kit;-

Catherine Saville, our new Kit Co-ordinator will be available between 10 and 12 this Saturday to take your orders, (with payment - so bring your cheque book!). Look out for the kit table, in the Clubhouse. My thanks go to Catherine for responding to our appeal for additional help and volunteering to take on this role. Items ordered at Sign On Day should be available for collection at the start of the new season.

After Sign On Day the next opportunity to order will be in the Autumn term, for delivery October/November, therefore order now to be prepared for the new season!

Training with National League and Cup Winners

2007-05-22T14:24:00.000+01:00

The girls of Derry Hill United were this weekend treated to a first class training session led by current Republic of Ireland player, Claire Scanlon.

Claire was accompanied by members of the triumphant Filton College female team who have recently completed a unique double, winning both the English College League and Cup.

The 40 girls from Derry Hill were offered an energetic and engaging session by the professionals, stretching the youngsters to their limits. As well as a technical session the girls played mini-soccer matches and concluded with a fun penalty shoot-out competition.

Alan Crocker, chair said "It was fantastic to have such great role models visit us. Football is traditionally led by men but we have some of the top female players based here in the South West. It was wonderful to tap into their skill and experience to provide our girls with a positive vision of successful female players and what can be achieved with hardwork, confidence and application".

Julie Tipping, Girls Development Officer of the Calne based Club commented "The session was great fun, and enjoyed by both the players and coaches. The girls were treated to a brilliant session and their coaches were rewarded with lots of enthusiasm and smiles."

Alan continues, "Derry Hill United has worked hard to build it's girls section, I hope the initiative to create a lasting relationship with Filton College will help us continue to attract and retain girls within football".

Derry Hill United offers football for girls and boys from 6 to 15. The Club is currently actively recruiting enthusiastic players to join its girls squads. Visit the Club website at www.dhufc.org for further details.

FA Soccer Stars @ DHUFC

2007-04-29T09:06:00.000+01:00

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

2007-04-16T23:03:00.000+01:00

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

Closed for Easter

2007-03-25T23:16:00.000+01:00

As we head into our Easter break I want to thank all of our coaches and team secretaries for successfully dealing with the extra work caused by the exceptionally poor weather conditions. It is due to these folks care and attention that our pitches have come through pretty unscathed from damage whilst supporting a full League and training programme. This is a remarkable feat as is highlighted by the number of fixtures which have been postponed by our opposition over the past 3 months, whilst BSG has had few postponements during this period. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Diccon Jordan who has put in many additional hours at the ground ensuring the lines were not washed away, but straight, bright and visible for all our squads.

The Club is now closed for the next two weekends. Have a great break and enjoy some weekend lie-ins with no need to get up for football.

When we return in April we shall be recruiting for squads which currently have vacancies. Please contact me if you know anyone who wants to join us, especially if they are in the following age groups;-

Flares (Under 7); School Year 2
Inferno (Under 8); School Year 3
Heat (Under 12); School Year 7
Girls (Under 10 - 15); School Years 5 - 10

Club activity resumes on Saturday 14th April - let's hope for some bright, sunny, warm weather in which to train.

Holiday Football Activities

Arsenal Soccer Schools
Springfields, Calne 4/5 Apr; George Ward School, Melksham 10/11 Apr
Tell them you are from Derry Hill FC when you book and receive £1 discount
DHUFC @ Swindon Town FC
Coca Cola League Division Two match versus Mansfield FC (21st April)
Adult tickets less then half price, children £1 each
Ticket requests in by 8th April - Go HERE to order
Kit Orders
All orders for shirts, shorts and socks by 11th April
Kit Order Form
Club Activities
Up to date and on-line
Club Calendar

Qualified Referees - Congratulations

2007-03-11T23:10:00.000Z

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

Mary (Phoenix U15)
Lewis (Fire)
Jake (Fire)
Jade (Phoenix U15)

Each of them has subsequently taken, and passed, both a written and oral exam and are now qualified as Class 8 referees.

It is most likely you will 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 our activity in perspective - we are charged with creating a supportive, safe, learning environment in which our players can have fun and develop as both players and young people.

Our new referees join Emma in our increasing Referee Qualified player's group.

I would like to extend my congratulations to Mary, Lewis, Jake and Jade, all of whom have given their time freely to support our Club, your children and our game. Thanks to you all.

The next Referees Course commences on April 14th and completes on April 22nd. The course takes place in Melksham, but I can find other dates and venues if you are prepared to travel further.

Any one over the age of 14 can attend and qualify.

DHUFC supports and sponsors referees through their course.

email LikeToRef@dhufc.org if you want to become a referee

DHUFC @ The Wildcats

2007-02-20T05:13:00.000Z

I am pleased to say we had many responses to my request for interest in this event and as a consequence are able to once again able to book seats to see Swindon npower Wildcats play Ice Hockey at the Swindon Link Centre in an English Premier League game.

Ice Hockey is quick, loud and great entertainment. Don't let the chance slip by to watch a fast and furious game with your mates from the Club.

This is a special event arranged between the Wildcats Kidzone and DHUFC.

Ticket prices are adults £4 and children £2.50. That's a massive saving of £13.50 on the regular admission price for a family of four.

Some come on, get your skates on and join DHUFC at the Swindon Link Centre on Saturday 10th March. It's a great spectator game, highly recommended to those who have not experienced it before.

Reserve your tickets before Saturday 3rd March. Simply email me your requirements, providing details of how many adult and child tickets you want. You are most welcome to book tickets for your family and friends for this event.

Note: Transport not provided, you'll have to make your own way to the Link Centre - doors open at 4.30pm for a 5.45 face-off.

Wildcats on the Web

Half Term Break

2007-02-12T18:05:00.000Z

I hope you have enjoyed your football despite the weather since we returned to training after Christmas.

Whilst we have had the ground closed on a couple occasions I'm pleased to say that our pitches have survived pretty well thanks to sensible use by our coaches. It is satisfying to see that most of our squads are ahead, or at least on a par, with the schedule of their League opposition, so hopefully your child's League season won't be drawn out beyond the scheduled finish date of May.

In line with Club policy the first weekend of the school break sees the Club shutdown its activity. So no football this weekend (17/18 February). Enjoy your break and return refreshed for the weekend of the 24th. Remember to check the website or ring the pitch hotline (01249 811952) prior to travelling to the ground to find out whether our facilities are open or not.

You will find details of all Club activities and events on the Club Calendar.

Current events/activities;-

Suppport the Springfields School bid
DHUFC @ Swindon Wildcats (Ice Hockey)
- email ticket numbers (adult and child)
DHUFC @ England v Holland

Springfields School Bid Support

2007-02-09T21:23:00.000Z

Springfields School is a key partner to our Club and has, over the past two seasons, offered DHUFC the capability to extend our training and match activities at their facility over the weekend.

Access to Springfields School has allowed DHUFC to extend the range of ages and groups to which we offer football. Without access to these additional pitches the Club would not be able to accommodate the 200 players and 13 squads solely at BSG. Currently most of our girls groups use the facility to train and play matches as well as the Flames and Fire who play Sunday afternoon 11 a-side matches there. As the Club continues to grow more squads will get to use the facilities at the site.

Springfields School has recently bid for funding to the Wiltshire Young Peoples Opportunity Fund (WYPOF) to extend its range of facilities to include a floodlit hardcourt training area. The school have indicated that if the bid is successful this facility would also be made available to their user community, of which we are one.

I ask that you take a look at the campaign website through which we aim to collect names of supporters of the bid. Please take a look, and if you feel this is a worthwhile cause, add your vote of support to the campaign. We intend to use your voice via this website to show the bid committee how much support this application has.

Springfields School Bid Support Site

Club Committee - Julie Tipping

2007-01-13T19:45:00.000Z

Some of you may be aware that since Jon Baker left the Club to continue his work for the Wiltshire Womens and Girls League, the girls section of our Club has been without direct committee representation. Whilst the game of football for both boys and girls is the same the underlying league frameworks, regulation and reporting are entirely different.

Whilst we were looking for a replacement on the committee, during the interim period, I have personally taken responsibility for understanding and addressing the needs of girls football within the Club. Some of the changes have been difficult, but with the outstanding support of the coaching teams involved we have successfully navigated the two year age boundaries imposed by the League and have extended our girls football to 5 groups; age 10 - 16.

It now gives me great pleasure to announce that we have been able to identify a new Girls Football Representative to sit on the committee, Julie Tipping. Julie's involvement will ensure the girls section has more direct involvement in committee decisions affecting the girls.

Julie is in her third season at Derry Hill having joined when her daughter Ellie decided to play Club football in 2004. Julie's husband Andy is a Level 1 qualified coach who leads the Phoenix Lightning (Under 11s) ably assisted by Julie, who is also the team secretary, ensuring the Lightning are a truly family run squad!

I'd like to thank Julie for accepting this position and know that her knowledge and experience will enhance the committee's understanding of the girl's environment. Finally I'd once again like to take this opportunity to thank all those coaches and secretaries who volunteer their time, energy and commitment to support the girls within our Club

Last Session of 2006

2006-12-15T21:13:00.000Z

The end of another year provides me with a chance to thank all those who help out at the Club. A big, big thank you to The Coaches and Team Secretaries, Tim and Nina with the refreshments at the Dug-out, Bobbi Nolan for her work as Child Welfare Officer, Karen McCormack our events organizer and finally to my committee; Pete Weston, Diccon Jordan, Andy Nott and Wendy Crocker. A heartfelt thank you to you all, without your effort, commitment and support we would not be able to offer such great opportunities to our ever growing membership.

In line with its usual policy, the Club closes for a break whilst the schools are on holiday making this the last Club weekend of 2006. This policy gives all those people who commit their time keeping the Club operational, marking lines, preparing training sessions, reporting results, finding referees and selecting teams the opportunity to take a well earned break and return refreshed and ready to go when we start for 2007 on Saturday 6th January.

Finally, I would like to wish all our officials, players and parents a peaceful and joyous Christmas and a fantastic New Year. I hope you've had a great 2006 here at Derry Hill United and that above all that you and your child have enjoyed taking part in an exciting, healthy and challenging team sport.

Regards,
Alan

For details of all Club breaks and other events visit the Club Calendar

Christmas Party (Part 2)

2006-11-07T15:41:00.000Z

DHUFC Christmas Party for Flares, Inferno, Burn, Blaze, Sparks, Phoenix U10s and Lightning Squads.

This years Christmas Party will be held on Saturday 16th December 2006 at the Lansdowne Hall, Derry Hill.

Tickets are £4.00 each, per child, and admission is by ticket only, purchased in advance. Due to restricted numbers this event is only open to players, no siblings or friends.

Click here to order tickets.

The deadline for tickets will be 3rd December 2006

Due to the number of children now in the club we will run two separate parties. This will allow us to tailor the activities appropriately for the age groups.

Both parties will include games, music and tea.

Help at each event would be appreciated, so if you are able to spare some time to help, please email me.

The first party 'Christmas Cracker' will be from 2pm to 4pm for the members of the Flares, Inferno and Burn squads.

The second Party 'A Cool Yule ' will be from 4pm to 6pm for players from the Blaze, Sparks, Phoenix U10's and Lightning squads.

Any parents of young children who wish to stay during the party are welcome, however be prepared to get roped in to helping.

Dont delay book today!

Christmas Party (Part 1)

2006-11-07T14:29:00.000Z

DHUFC Christmas Party for Thunder, Phoenix U14's, Phoenix U15's, Heat, Flames, and Fire squads.

This year's Christmas Party will be a swimming party at the Olympiad on Sunday 3rd December at 5pm. The cost of this swimmingly festive event is £4.00. Details of how to apply for tickets can be found by emailing me.

We will meet at the Olympiad at 5pm, Swimming at 5.10 - 6.00. A drink and nibbles will be provided afterwards in the main hall. All children to be collected at 6.45pm.

Help would be appreciated. If you are able to help at this event please email me.

There will be a limited number of places and tickets will be allocated on first come first served basis. Admission is by ticket only, ordered in advance, and due to restricted numbers this event is only open to players, no siblings or friends.

The deadline for tickets is 26th November 2006

See England Play at Exeter City

2006-11-06T13:29:00.000Z

Your chance to see the first ever international fixture to be hosted at Exeter City’s St James’ Park when England Women’s U21s take on France.

When: Wednesday 22nd November 2006, kick-off 7.30pm
Price: FREE to DHUFC Members

If you would like tickets please reserve your seats by email before Tuesday 14th November. Please indicate how many adult and child tickets you require in your party.

Half Term Holiday

2006-10-14T23:23:00.000+01:00

Well I hope everyone has had a great start to the season. I for one, after a long and very busy close season, have been energized by the return to football activity... too much admin and organization makes for a sad life!

It has been a very busy first quarter and in the 6 weeks since we commenced training we have;-

qualified 5 Level 1 coaches
35 matches played in the Mid-Wilts & Wilts Womens/Girls Leagues
run 90 training sessions
used 4 venues;
BSG, Springfields, Devizes Astro & John Bentley to meet training needs
signed 40 new members, both boys and girls
attended the England v Portugal U17 International
received support and packages from the Persil 'Be My Coach' campaign
introduced our new Under 7's, The Flares, to football within our Club

I do hope, and am sure, you have had the opportunity to be part of this activity.

This weekend, October 21st, sees the first break of the season. The purpose of this is to give our players, families and pitches the opportunity to rest and recover from football. As a consequence there is no Club activity this weekend (there may be some squads who are running special sessions - watch for messages from your Team Secretary or Coach).

Have a good break, and for those you really can't do without football for a week take a look at the Club's Event Board where you will find details of football related activity in the region;-

Arsenal Soccer Schools @ John Bentley School, Calne
Boys and Girls Goalkeeping Course, South Marston, Swindon
Watch a Professional Match at one of our local Championship and League Teams

Finally, keep up to date with latest activity by visiting the Club Calendar. You'll not only find Club events listed here but dates of significant sports events like The FA Cup Final or The Six Nation Rugby Internationals.

Enjoy your week away from football and come back refreshed and ready for training and matches on Saturday 28th October.

Recruitment Note

We currently have spaces for enthusiastic players in all girls groups (aged 10 - 15) and the Derry Hill Heat (School Year 7). If anyone is aware of a child keen to join then please let me know.