Female players who’d relish the opportunity to compete for a place within the Essex Schools Under 14s and 16s Representative Squads are invited to attend 2019/20 season trials in Chelmsford on Tuesday 24th and Thursday 26th September.

Ambitious players who can demonstrate an ability to take the next step in the talent pathway can register to attend the Melbourne Park 3G Pitch in Salerno Way to display their skills. The Under 16s trials are booked for the Tuesday, with the Under 14s following on the Thursday. Both get underway after registration at 3:30pm.

The squads cater for the Under 14s (school years eight and nine) and Under 16s (years ten and eleven) age groups as of September 2019. Both compete in the South-East England Schools Football Association (SEESFA) and English Schools FA competitions. Within the SEESFA Competition, Essex usually face Suffolk, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

If successful in their division, they'll play the winners or runners-up of the other division, which often consists of Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The National Cup is a draw and, in the past, Essex have played Wiltshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Lancashire.

The more successful Essex are, the more fixtures they play but, as an average, it is usually between seven and ten matches a season. These mostly take place on the second Saturday of every month though, on occasions, there can be midweek fixtures under lights.

The squads don’t train or practice, as it puts too much demand on the players who are ordinarily doing so much during the week, and the geographical spread of individuals is quite vast. The County Schools Squads do not replace grassroots or Regional Talent Club football, and players can still participate for their regular teams.

If girls are successful in obtaining a place they are representing their school at each fixture, and this is acknowledged in every home game matchday programme. Emma Burden from the Essex County FA explained: “At the trials, girls will play within a number of small-sided games where coaches will be looking at players’ technical ability, athleticism and attitude.”

“The girls will then be asked to play within some larger games, where coaches will be observing their positioning both on and off the ball and in transition, game understanding, attitude, work rate and technical ability. We look forward to seeing everyone at the trials!”

Please complete the nomination form by clicking here to attend the trials, providing as much detail as possible. Ideally, forms should be completed by a parent/carer as emergency contact details for two adults are required. Schools football information is shared by @EssexCountyFA and @EssexSchoolsFA on Twitter and by searching for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.