There are a number of things we need to cover prior to the season getting under way, so instead of lots of short emails where some of the detail may be missed, I've consolidated into this single mail so apologies from the start that its a long one.
Season dates
Believe it or not we are still to hear from the league when our first match is and who it is against. I'm led to believe it is likely to be on either Saturday 12th or Saturday 19th. As soon as I know I will share immediately.
Training
We have to ensure that the team can train as much as possible throughout the season, and as such we need to rely on artificial pitches as the Waverton field can be unplayable at times. Artificial pitches also come with floodlights so that also is a massive plus as we look into the Autumn and Winter months. In order to secure a pitch for our use over this period we will be sharing a pitch with the Waverton Rockets (this won't be a mixed session though, Rob will run the Rockets on one half and I will run the Arrows on the other; there will be opportunities I'm sure to play friendly matches at times, but separate training is a must). These sessions are likely to begin this coming Friday (4th September) and will run from 5:45 through to 6:45. I will confirm these details as soon as the club confirm to me, so please look out for a further email on this subject.
Subscriptions
In the past these have been £2.00 and payable weekly. We intend to keep the cost the same for this season, however we are looking at options to potentially collect on a monthly or term basis. Rebecca will discuss this with you when we are next all together. The majority of this sub goes to pay for the artificial pitch use, but there will be some left over to contribute to tournament entry fees and also hopefully contributions to Christmas and End of Season meals for the boys.
Kit
Out of the 12 boys I believe we have 5 with kits from last year, 2 with old 'chevron-style' kits and 5 with no Waverton kit at all. For the 2 with old kits, Rebecca has 2 new kits that we will swap out. For the 5 that have no kit then I will place an order in the next day or so with our supplier and they should take a couple of weeks to come through. They typically come in a standard size (Age 8-10 - they come up small!), however if you feel that you need an alternate size then please let me know within the next 24 hours else the standard size will be ordered.
I would recommend that the boys don't wear their Waverton kit on a Friday (for training) as they need to be in a clean and dry condition for the match day on the Saturday.
Jackets
We can order additional Prostar jackets for boys that do not have them. The cost is confirmed as £25. This comes with the Waverton badge and the boys initials. I can personally state that the boys love them, are really proud to wear them and most importantly do help to keep the weather at bay in the Autumn/Winter.
Training and Match Days
Please please please can all parents ensure the following: that your boy has a suitable drink for each session; that they have suitable clothing for the weather conditions; that parents bring their sons to training on time and for matches are there at a minimum 20 minutes prior to kick off (they need to warm up and have team talks). Parents also need to assist where possible in the set up of the pitch (for home matches).
Game time
I expect that we will play 6-a side most weekends. That being the case I intend to take a squad of 8 to each match (so 2 rolling subs). By doing this I can ensure that each boy plays on average 3 out of 4 quarters for the match where they are selected (this exceeds the FA guidelines). If you know in advance that you are not going to be around on a particular Saturday, please let me know ASAP so I can build it in to my rotation planner.
Respect
This isn't last as an afterthought, it is a real area for concern in football at all levels. There are a few resources that can be referenced; attached is AFC Waverton's Code of Conduct for Parents and below are some links to FA-related material. Please can I ask that you read and watch these so you understand what is/is not acceptable at training and matches. Believe it or not in the last year I have seen similar (although not quite so extreme examples on match days).
Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
FA Respect Videos
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdycLetF3akrS_eR4km9dc5NKssJGJcGj&feature=em-share_playlist_user
FA Respect - Elders & Better
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-6NMMZU1kQ
Apologies again for the length of this email, but each point is extremely important.
Thanks as always.
Carl
AFC Waverton U8 Arrows
07896 515717
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