Charter Standard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHARTER STANDARD
 

SMARTER, NOT HARDER AT HOCKLEY WORKSHOPS
 
Working smarter, not harder, and reviewing the new structure of the F.A. Level Two Coaching Course were subjects of the day at Hockley Community Centre as the Essex County F.A. delivered their latest Charter Standard in-service events for coaches and club secretaries.
 
 
Introduction to the Level Two and Role of the Club Secretary Workshops were well-attended and are seen as amongst the benefits of local clubs striving for Charter Standard status. The scheme is a best practice guide that sets standards of coaching, administration and child protection for all clubs outside the Football League and Premier League. As a benchmark for quality, it aims to improve the playing experience for all, and E.C.F.A. Senior Football Development Officer, Brendan Walshe, believes events of this nature are vital to advance Essex's football workforce.

"The new format of the Level Two Coaching Course is very different from the old one, and it's our task to ensure the transition is easy to make, starting with our Charter clubs," he explained. "Coaching is a challenging but rewarding experience and the updated structure allows coaches to think more for themselves, be open-minded and think more, delivering sessions they have designed themselves."

Gary Piggott, the County's Coaching Development Officer, led the Workshop and provided a taster to the practical and theoretical aspects of the new format, while elsewhere at the Centre, the Effective Football Club Administration Workshop ensured volunteers received pointers on how to recruit and retain volunteers and define their role as club secretaries. "All grassroots clubs rely heavily on their secretaries and without them, they simply wouldn't exist," Brendan continued. "It can be a demanding role, often with little preparation or training, so we need to offer assistance in passing-on the most helpful hints and tips on efficiency that we can."

Terry Scudder, of Hawkwell Athletic Y.F.C., was particularly pleased with how the event unfolded: "We were very grateful to Gary and his colleagues for running the two workshops. I'm sure that everyone would rate it as useful and we look forward to seeing if anyone is interested in doing the new Course from within our club."

Coming-up soon on the C.S. roadshow is the 11 v 11 Charter Standard Tournament from Saturday 9th August (Men) to Sunday 10th August (Women) at Marconi Sport & Leisure Club in Chelmsford. Entries are being sought for the proceedings, which will take place between 10:00am and 5:00pm each day at a refundable price of £10 per team. Prizes will be handed to the winners and runners-up, as well as a Fair Play Award for the best sportspersons. An Entry Form can be downloaded from www.essexfa.com.
 

EASTERN REGION AWARD FOR ST. CHRISTOPHER'S
 
St. Christopher's in Leigh-on-Sea have extended their representation in local football by scooping a prestigious award recognising their achievements as a leading F.A. Charter Standard Special School in Essex, and now the Eastern Region.
 

F.A. Skills Coach Luke Williams puts the children through their paces in a specially-arranged session based at the St. Christopher's Sports complex, Leigh-on-Sea.

 
Wayne Curtis, Football Coach and Sports Hall Manager, received the acknowledgement on behalf of the school at their sports complex and was thrilled all their hard work was being rewarded: "It's brilliant to receive this award to sit alongside those we've already received in the Leisure & Tourism and Community categories at the Southend & District Business Awards. They all help us advertise the sporting achievements of the school as part of our community programme to extend opportunities to children of all abilities, linking-in with the F.A. 3 Lions scheme."
  
Part of their prize included a visit from one of Essex's new F.A. Skills Coaches, Luke Williams, to deliver a coaching session based around fun and skill development. Matthew Joseph, the F.A. Skills Team Leader, was also on hand to present Wayne with a commemorative plaque.
 
The school were selected for their latest honour by The Football Association's Area Manager, Darren Lawrence, out of the seven counties' entries which constituted the eastern region. Wayne is now focussing on several busy months ahead: "We won't be sitting back and resting on our laurels just because we've won what we have. There's still a lot more we plan to do, such as improving our dilapidated Astroturf synthetic pitch and working in partnership with the Southend Community Trust and local clubs to improve what we have to offer."
 
St. Christopher's had the opportunity to nominate themselves for the County version, completing a form outlining the football schemes and projects they'd delivered during the year. This included teaching qualifications and school-to-club links as well as curriculum and out-of-school-hours provision.

Lana Bond, Essex County F.A. Education Officer commented: "St. Christopher's have consistently provided excellent opportunities for their pupils and the wider community to get involved with football both in the curriculum and after school. They fully deserve this award and we look forward to working with them in the future."

HUNDREDS ENJOY CHARTER STANDARD DAY
 
Under 10s boys from F.A. Charter Standard clubs across the County took part in activities at the successful Fourth Annual Southend Charter Standard Day at St. Thomas More High School on Saturday 22nd September.
 
 
250 children from seventeen different Charter Standard clubs enjoyed a morning of skills stations which were led by a team of Essex F.A. Coaches along with the new F.A. Skills Coaches. The Skills Stations on offer included dribbling and passing games and 'Speed Shot', which recorded how hard you could strike the ball into an inflatable goal. There was an award for the hardest shot which went to a Dagenham United player who registered 51 miles per hour with his strike !
 
The event was held in partnership with Southend United F.C. who not only supplied the goody bags for the day but also reduced their prices for the game against Doncaster Rovers which the children watched in the afternoon. As well as the activities for the children, there was also a separate Coaches' Session which was led by F.A. Skills Coach Matthew Joseph. Up to fifty club coaches took part in the session which was directed towards the 5-11 age group.
 
The British Heart Foundation was the designated charity for the event and those present managed to raise £82 from a raffle for a signed Shrimpers football which was also kindly donated by the club.
 
The participants were also provided with three hundred bottles of '97' Bottled Tap water courtesy of Essex & Suffolk Water as part of their Water for Health campaign.
 
 
E.C.F.A. Club Development Officer, Sharon Brownlie, summarised: "This was by far our largest Charter Standard Day, which again proved to be a real success. The introduction of the session for coaches enhanced the work we do in developing every area of the game and the support from Southend United F.C. has been brilliant, with the Goody Bags going down extremely well."
 
 

 

DOUBLE IN-SERVICE EVENT SUCCESS
Maldon Town Football Club played host to the Essex County F.A.'s latest Double In-Service Event and, with forty-two people from twenty-one Charter Standard Clubs getting involved.

As usual, the attendance was very positive, the workshops including an 'Idiot's Guide' to the Laws of the Game from an experienced referee and a practical session outside led by a team of the new F.A. Skills Coaches.

The Laws of the Game workshop was tutored by E.C.F.A. Referee Instructor, Keith Ashley, who provided the fifteen attendees with simple instructions on how to understand and remember the basic Laws.

Meanwhile, a team of F.A. Skills Coaches led a group of 27 through the new 'Skills Programme' which included innovative and exciting sessions and activities directed towards the important 5-11 age group. Both workshops were well-received and clubs can now look forward the next 'double' event due to take place in the North-West area of the County in October.

E.C.F.A. Club Development Officer, Sharon Brownlie, was pleased with the successful experience: "This is our fifth 'double' event and, as usual, the interest has been huge. All events are designed with the clubs' needs in mind and we are interested in hearing from clubs with ideas for future events."