We're pleased to announce a new range of branded goods available for you to buy. We have Hoodies, Rain-Jackets, Training Tops. Polo Shirts, Beanie Hats, T-Shirts and DVDs. Support the Club and look good while you’re doing it.
Check out our online shop managed by BBFC Committee Member - Zoe Appleton.
All profits will go directly to the club.
Six BBFC teams - U9, U10, U11 Colts, U11 Eagles, U13 and U14 - will be off, for the first time, to the seaside at the Camber Sands Football Tournament from May 4th-7th. Two days of football and a 1970’s themed Saturday night lay in wait. Final payment of the full entry fee for each person going is needed by Monday Feb 27th and should be given to Team Managers.
The last Balham FC/Balham Blazers FC training session of 2011 for Under 16, Youth and First team players, took place on Friday December 30th. On a dull day on Clapham Common it was great to see many of the club's stalwarts on duty, popping the ball around in the mud, playing some bright football and working off any Christmas indulgence, before regular training resumes for all on Tuesday January 2nd 2012.
No one likes losing, especially 8-1 and more especially 8-1 in a local derby. That was the score when our newly formed Under 9 Colts team played a much more experienced AFC Wandsworth team, who played together as Under 8s, in their second ever game at the start of the season. It's a sign of the Colts massive improvement and quick learning however that when the two teams met again on Saturday December 10th the Colts got their revenge, winning 2-0, thanks to a first half goal from Matteo Ezani and a second half penalty, struck like a rocket, from Kyren Simpson-Cameron.
Click here to see further match photos in the club gallery.
We are delighted to announce that Marçal Trulls Sevillano has recently been added the coaching roster at Balham FC and Balham Blazers FC. Coming as he does from Barcelona, it’s no surprise to find that Marçal shares the same playing ethos and philosophy that we espouse at our club.
Following a degree in Sports Science, specialising in football performance and five years coaching in his homeland with three clubs and youngsters aged from ten to eighteen, Marçal decided to come to England to learn proper English. He arrived two and a half years ago, since when he has coached in a Japanese football school and in North London with Kentish Town FC. He also spent six weeks coaching in a football camp in Saudi Arabia.
It is already clear to all in the club that Marçal is a technocrat, concerned, in particular, as we all are, with developing the technical ability of our players. He is also a fitness expert and in addition to working across a wide range of age groups he has taken on leading the fitness, strength and conditioning sessions for Under 16s, Youth and First team players on Wednesday nights.
We are delighted to welcome massage therapist, Gail Cameron, to the ever expanding BBFC Medical Department. Gail has always been a sports fanatic, particularly keen on football, surfing & athletics. Her love of sport and a specific interest in human anatomy and the biomechanics of movement prompted the pursuit of a career in the sports/health sector.
Gail graduated from London Metropolitan University in 2003 with a degree in Sports Therapy. She is also qualified in holistic, Indian head and pregnancy massage. In addition to this she has just completed a level 5 BTEC in Sports Massage and Injury Treatment with Essentials for Health to further expand her skills base and knowledge of injury treatment and rehabilitation for athletes.
Gail has worked in a variety of environments, ranging from Coogee Bay Surf Rescue Club in Australia to sporting events in England, such as, the London Marathon and Blenheim Triathlon. She can now be found at the Angel Therapy Rooms Day Spa, Wimbledon RFC, in her treatment room at the Moving Arts Base in Islington or, thankfully for us, in the Balham Blazers FC Sports Injury Clinic on Wednesday evenings at Chestnut Grove School.
For more information visit www.back2active.co.uk
Many thanks to the Murwill family, who are very generously sponsoring our Club Physio/Medical Director, Darren Gregoire and the Balham Blazers Medical Department. The Murwills heard about our club through Kate Sheehy and Richmond Physiotherapy and we are all incredibly grateful for their help and support.
Following his successful performance for the ISFA – Independent Schools Football Association – South of England team recently, Alec Fiddes was selected for the full England ISFA team and played in a friendly against a highly rated Leeds University team, currently top of the University League, on Sunday December 11th. England won the game 5-3 and Alec clearly made his mark, scoring the first three goals, one with his head, one with his left foot and one with his right. As a result of his stellar performance Alec undoubtedly stands a very good chance of being in the team for ISFA England’s next match against Australia in January. Tom Read, who also played for the South of England team, alongside Alec, was a non travelling reserve for the Leeds University game.
Congratulations to Youth team players, Alec Fiddes and Tom Read, who were
both selected for the Independent Schools Football Association South of
England team to play the North in Derby on Sunday November 27th. Both boys,
who've been in great form for Balham, scored in the game and played crucial
roles in a rousing 5-0 win for the South. Here's hoping they get selected
for the full England team. Photo © www.isfa.org.uk.
BBFC General Manager Greg Cruttwell and BBFC Committee Members, Louise Eyeington, Mike Allen and Mark Chaudoir were all invited by Cllr Mrs Jane Cooper, The Worshipful Mayor of Wandsworth, to attend the Mayor's Annual Civic Dinner and Presentation of Civic and Community Awards on November 22nd, where Greg was honoured for his work with Balham Blazers as one of six recipients of this years Wandsworth Civic Awards.
Balham Blazers teams, including our U13s at Crawley Utd, held a minute’s silence on Remembrance Sunday before their matches to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.
Team mate Alec Fiddes snapped a flattering picture of fellow Youth and First team player, Niah Burke, on the team bus to Cobham for a Youth game on Thursday November 10th. Niah's pre match forty winks stood him in good stead for the match however in which he was wide awake from the first whistle and absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately the match ended in frustration for Niah, Alec and the rest of the squad when, after sixty minutes, due to floodlight failure, the game was abandoned, with Balham leading 2-1 at the time.
Many thanks to the ever generous ex Balham Blazers Coach and former Birmingham City player, Robin Shroot, now doing excellently at League One, Stevenage Borough, who not only donated free boots to the club while in Birmingham but has used his PFA boot allowance when signing for Stevenage to buy boots for those who need them but can't afford them at Balham Blazers FC. Now living back in London, Robin has also started coming back to BBFC training sessions whenever he can to do some coaching.
Ollie Kanner has become a crucial member of BBFC since joining the club back in 2008. He currently coaches a number of age groups, including our Under 10s, Under 11s, Under 16s, Youth and First Team. Coaching is and has been Ollie's full time occupation for some time and all is going extremely well for him, not only at BBFC, where he has become irreplaceable, but at League Two club, Barnet FC, where Ollie is the Under 12-14 coordinator and U13 head coach. His Barnet Under 13s are having a great season, notching up wins against Tottenham and Crystal Palace and drawing with Fulham and Charlton. In fact, until they lost very recently to Southampton, they were unbeaten. In addition to Balham Blazers FC and Barnet FC, Ollie also works in several schools in Wandsworth, Lambeth and Merton. Ollie got his UEFA B license when only 21 and is hoping, now that he's old enough, to enrol for his UEFA A license next year.
Balham Blazers FC won both the London Football Association Award as Charter Standard Club of the Year for 2011 and the Regional Award as Charter Standard Club of the Year too. General Manager, Greg Cruttwell, was presented with the awards and various LFA goodies at the ceremony at Stamford Bridge on Thursday October 27th. Winning two such prestigious awards is fantastic for the club. Now all we need is a club house in which to display them.
We are delighted to announce that Balham Blazers FC have been granted a Nike Kit and Equipment Award from the Premier League Players' Kit Scheme, organised by the Premier League Charitable Fund. Over 5,000 applications were submitted so the competition was tough and our BBFC Sponsorship Secretary, Louise Eyeington, has done a great job for us once again, submitting a successful application.
Charlton Athletic Community Trust have secured funding to run a FA Level 1 Football coaching course which is free to 16-18 year olds who are not in school or education.
The dates are 19th Nov, 26th Nov and 3rd December 2011 between 9.00am-4pm and the venue will be at the CAFC Training Ground in Sparrows Lane, New Eltham, SE9 2JR.
Many thanks to everyone who turned up and ran in the Sponsored Marathon on Sunday October 16th and to all those who helped organise and run the event. The weather was kind this year and once again there was an excellent turn out and some brilliant committed running from players in all age groups.
Run as a 1km relay, the Marathon, was completed in 3 hours 16 minutes. Although not a club record breaking time - the club record which stands at 2 hours 47 minutes was set in 2008 - this was exceptional none the less given that almost all of the runners were from the younger age groups, some of whom had already played a match earlier in the day.
The fastest individual runners in each age group were: U9s – Jim Evans, U10s – Aaron Bafi, U11s – Tane Stappard, U13s – Arthur Fordham, U14s – Ben Gleadell.
Whether you attended and ran on the day or not please do your best to raise as much sponsorship money as possible. We need every penny we can get. Donations are also welcome. Any money raised or donated can be handed in at training or sent to our club treasurer – Sue Lamont.
Each season to date we've managed to beat the previous year's total raised. This year's target is £4,000, which won't be easy. Let's hope we can do it yet again!
Download a full set of times from the event.
Check out a few of the photos from the day
Under 10 player, Aaron Bafi, scored no less than five goals in his first ever league game on Saturday September 24th. Not only did he score five in his team's 7-0 win but apparently, according to his age group manager, they were all belters. Youth team player, Tom Read, matched Aaron's feat, scoring five in his team's recent 7-1 victory away to St Andrews. Fellow Youth team player, Alec Fiddes, has also been on fire in front of goal this season to date, bagging three hat tricks and fourteen goals in all competitions for the Youth team and First team. Timothy Williams, from the Under 10 Colts, has also nabbed two hat tricks, whilst fellow team mates, Tom Appleton and Rory Haughey, Under 11 Eagles player, Reuben Matheson, Under 16 Athletic player, Reyneel Ashie and Under 16 Eagles players, Zach Gilkes-Murray and Louis Jeffrey, have also netted three in a game. Under 14 player, Ollie Archard, scored three in extra time in the London Cup which turned a 2-2 full time score into a 5-2 win. Under 11 Colts player, Fred Fordham however, remains the top individual scorer in any match thus far with seven in a 13-0 victory. It goes without saying of course that the goals don't happen, in a team game, without the hard work and support of the rest of the team. So, on behalf of all BBFC goal scorers mentioned above, many thanks to your team mates!
It was an incredible evening on Saturday October 8th at the White Eagle Club in Balham for all associated with Balham Blazers FC as we celebrated, in style, our first ten years as a club. The setting was stunning and everyone who contributed, from guest speaker, Adrian Chiles, to superb band, Twenty Nine Fingers, did an amazing job. The spectacular evening began with drinks at 7.30pm and finally concluded, after dinner, speeches and games, an auction, a fantastic film about the club's journey to date and dancing into the small hours, at 2.15am.
Many thanks go to many people for making this such a special evening in the clubs' history. Thanks to Sullivan Thomas who sponsored the evening, to Lea and Sandeman, to our special guests, Jane Cooper - Mayor of Wandsworth, Jane Ellison - MP for Battersea, Balham and Wandsworth, Katie Sykes from the London FA, Chris Austin from Wandsworth Sports Development, to MC Matthew Taylor, to BBFC film makers, Toa Stappard and Mark Chaudoir and to Anthony Lawrence for designing a stunning commemorative programme. Extra special thanks go to club committee stalwarts, Rachel Arbuckle and Mark Chaudoir who organised and orchestrated the event, ably assisted by Zoe Appleton, Mary Klecowski and Paula Fallowfield.
Check out a few of the photos from the evening
We are delighted that Balham Blazers FC has been invited by the London FA to host the latest in-service training session exclusive to Charter Standard clubs. It will take place at our training facility at Chestnut Grove School, on Friday October 21st from 7pm to 9pm when Fulham FC Youth Coach, Derek Bradley, will put a group of Balham's Under 16’s through their paces. The theme for the session will be confirmed by Derek on the night.
On Saturday October 1st, Tane Stappard from BBFC Under 11 Colts and Danny Given from BBFC Under 11 Eagles were both invited to participate in the South London Athletics 'QuadKids' competition. 36 athletes in their age group competed across four events: 75m sprint, throwing a junior javelin (the Vortex Howler), the long jump and finally the 600m. At the end of a tough competition we were thrilled to hear that it was a one-two for BBFC with Tane taking gold and Danny silver. A fantastic achievement! Very well done to both boys!
We are delighted that after five years at BBFC, Aaron Mitchell, has signed schoolboy terms with Premiership club, Queens Park Rangers. Even though he only started with the Loftus Road club this season he has already captained the Under 16s and played up a year at Under 17.
James Lacey - Under 9 Colts:
Originally from Poole, Dorset, James has lived in London on and off for the last eleven years. In 2003 James graduated from the University of Surrey in Sports Science and has since coached "soccer" professionally in the US for New York and Connecticut based soccer company NOGA between 2005 - 2007 and is now a qualified NSCAA coach. A mad Liverpool fan, James most recently coached at Thomas's School in Battersea and will be looking to undertake his Level 2 Coaching Certificate shortly. "I'm thrilled to have joined Balham Blazers and already I can see the talent and enthusiasm from the players is second to none. I hope to educate the players in the Balham Blazers coaching philosophy and develop the technical, tactical and mental abilities of an already talented group of players".
James Scott - Under 9 Eagles: 
James, who originally is from Margate in South East Kent, has been coaching Football on and off since completing his degree in Sports Studies BA (Hons) at the University of Bedfordshire. He currently holds a level 1 coaching badge and will be completing his level 2 in early 2012. James is a full time PE teacher at a secondary school in Croydon and completed his teacher training back in Kent in Canterbury. James joined BBFC at the start of the 2011/12 season to coach and manage the Under 9 Eagles. He also helps to coach the under 10's and under 13's and will soon be helping with the Youth and First teams. James is very excited at joining a growing, forward thinking club and looks forward to continuing his development as a football coach with BBFC.
Ian Anderson - Under 14s:
Originally from Newcastle, Ian took the tough decision to leave his Newcastle United season ticket behind and move to London three years ago, moving to Clapham last summer. He studied Sport at Leeds Metropolitan University, and spent a summer coaching in New York during his second year. Ian completed his Level 1 this summer, and is part of the way through his Level 2 Award. He also coaches and plays for Claremont FC in the Wimbledon & District League. "I am excited to be joining a club which places such an emphasis on long term player development. The ethos of the club fits perfectly with the way I believe the game should be played, and I am looking forward to helping the kids improve both individually and as a team."
Marcelino Mata - Under 16 Eagles:
Marcel joined Balham Blazers for the 2011/12 season to coach and manage our Under 16 Eagles. He is also registered as a squad goalkeeper with our First Team. Marcel comes to us with a wealth of experience both as a player and coach in Portugal, where he is originally from and in England. As a player he was in the Sporting Lisbon academy and played professionally in his homeland. Before coming to England he was also a Fusilier and both played for and coached his regiment in football and other sports. Marcel has his level 2 coaching badge and since arriving in England has coached and managed West End FC Under 14s in Camden, North London, to league title success. He also works part time with Little Kickers FC, where he coaches children aged 2 - 7yrs. " I am passionate about lending my skills to youth football: motivating and inspiring players to achieve good results. To that end I am delighted to be associated with Balham Blazers FC."
The 2011 annual Sponsored Marathon will take place on Sunday October 16th on Clapham Common - same venue as last year - Nightingale Walk, SW4 - very close to Clapham South Underground Station. It will start at 2pm and finish at approximately 5pm.
The Marathon is one of the club's major fundraising events of the season and needs your support. Last year we raised a record £4,000 and we're looking to beat that total in 2011.
We hope that as many U9, U10, U11, U13, U14, U16, Youth and First team players as possible will take part. Runners from different age groups each carry the baton for 1km as part of a relay. All players have to do is turn up on the day and run.
There will be individual prizes presented at our Presentation Evening for the fastest three 1km runners in each age group. The record overall time is 2 hours 47 minutes, set in 2008.
As well as being an important fundraiser the Marathon is also a social event too. There will be an opportunity to play football and mix with others in the club. Bring a picnic and come along. You are welcome to stay for the duration or turn up, run and then be on your way.
You can also download a sponsorship form here. Please do everything you can to raise as much as possible. If you can't raise sponsorship and/or cannot attend on the day then you are welcome to make a donation instead.
Former Balham Blazers FC coach and age group manager, Robin Shroot, has signed to play for Stevenage Borough FC in League One. After coming to the end of his contract at Birmingham City, the Northern Ireland U21 International was looking for a good club to play for. Having scored the winning goal in a pre season friendly for Stevenage against Fulham whilst on trial, in addition to putting in some other excellent pre season performances, Robin was asked to sign on the dotted line, which he has very recently done. It's great news for Robin as, Stevenage, promoted last season from League Two, are a well run club heading in the right direction, hopefully towards the Championship, it's great news for Stevenage as Robin is a fantastic footballer with top technique and it's great news for BBFC as now he's back south, Shrooty is very keen, time permitting, to get back to coaching on the 3g at Chestnut Grove with Balham's finest.
Balham Blazers F.C. are always on the lookout for new coaches and team managers. Anyone interested needs to be qualified, CRB checked and would need to share the same playing and coaching ethos as other coaches in the club. If you're interested in joining us please email info@balhamblazers.org
We are delighted to announce that Balham Blazers F.C. has been awarded Charter Standard Club status by the Football Association.
The FA Charter Standard 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 will improve the playing experience for all. To achieve the FA Charter Standard the Club needs to have policies and systems in place such as a written constitution, FA CRB-checked volunteers and all team managers have to have a minimum of the FA Level One Coaching badge. The club also needs behaviour Codes of Conduct in place and a commitment to attend in-service training, provide Mini-Soccer opportunities for under-10s and promote schools liaison and equal opportunities for all.
"Rightly, it’s not easy to attain, but by achieving a Charter Standard award, you are demonstrating to all members, parents and the public, that you are a well organised and safe club. It’s also an excellent way of promoting your Club to potential members, parents, volunteers and sponsors." says Les Howie, FA National Development Manager.
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