We are delighted to announce that Student Aid will be our main club sponsor
next season 2009/2010. We thank them for their generosity and support. Student Aid provides a range of services to Universities and their students
to make University life that little bit more fun and easier. Services
include Student Aid Parcels, which are the official welcome parcels for
leading Universities across the UK and our website, which enables students
to communicate, buy club tickets, share lecture notes, join sports clubs
etc. Please visit www.student-aid.co.uk for more info.
Our Under 13s continued their incredible record in tournaments this season at Furngate on Saturday July 4th. The squad of - Reyneel Ashie, Yuyi Kabanje, Ben Hutchens, Romello Cozier, Isaac Wong, Aaron Mitchell, Eddie Luchford and Danny Richardson - played brilliantly on the day to lift the trophy and make it five tournaments played for this age group, five tournaments won. By any standards, considering the many clubs who enter each tournament, this is an amazing achievement. Our Under 10s - Billy Read, Aaron Kodua, Oliver Hopkins, Jamie Platts, Ollie Platts, Jamie Allen and Lewis Mitchell - were also victorious on the day winning a high standard competition and our Under 15s - Ismail Hussein, Zach Xavier, Michael McConnell, Louis Wright, Guislain Ndjamba, Harry Newnham, Dan David and Alec Fiddes - did brilliantly as well, finishing Runners Up. Very well done to all!
It was a glorious evening on Friday July 3rd as all in the club gathered together at the Trevor Bailey Sports Ground in Dulwich for the annual Balham Blazers F.C Presentations. With our four age groups having won or been runners up in a record breaking seventeen League and Cup competitions this season, there were a lot of trophies and medals to be presented. Along with those won by different teams there were also the much coveted individual club awards to hand out to players in each age group. Many congratulations not only to the winners but to all of our fantastic players and many thanks to everyone who helped with preparations before and on the night itself which once again started in late afternoon sunshine and finished as darkness finally descended on those still making merry, kicking footballs on the green and demolishing the last of the barbeque.
It was a fantastic Saturday for our age group teams at the Petts Wood
tournament in Norman Park, Bromley, on Saturday June 27th. In a high
standard competition our U13s not only defended the title they won at the
last Petts Wood tournament in 2007 but beat another Balham Blazers team in
the final. That makes it four tournaments out of four for our U13s this
season which is an incredible achievement. Not to be outdone, our U16s
matched them all the way, also defending the title they won two years ago
and also beating another Balham Blazers team in the final. Our U15s didn't
do too badly either, finishing runners up, just as they did in 2007.
To not only have five teams qualify from the group stages but get all the way to
the final says a great deal about the ability of our teams who travelled
back to Balham at the end of an exhausting day, sun kissed and smiling,
having invaded Kent and conquered Norman Park.
The red team won a keenly contested U15 triangular 6-a-side tournament in training on Friday June 12th. The Reds - Tom Jelliffe, Ben Wood, Jermaine Townsend, Ned Mansfield, Dan David and Fred Fox, having come through six qualifying games, won an exciting final, which finished 0-0 at full time, with a golden goal from Jermaine in extra time.
U15 players Dan David and Ned Mansfield took the club keepy uppy passing record to new heights at training on Friday June 5th. Their technique and ball skills were exemplary as they eclipsed the previous record of 43, set recently, with a stupendous 63, which will certainly take some beating..
Our Under 13s won their third tournament in a row at Farncombe on Saturday June 6th. It was an amazing day for the age group with all three of our teams entered reaching the semi finals along with one team from the home club. The final was an all Balham affair in which a wonder goal from Aaron Mitchell was cancelled out by a cool finish from Frank Mably. The game, high quality and nail biting to the end, went to penalties, where the squad of Finn McGuinness, Louis Farquharson, Reyneel Ashie, Liam Fox, Frank Mably, Eddie Luchford and Miles Headley came out on top. Our Under 15s also did brilliantly with two sides making the semis, however unfortunately both lost narrowly, one on penalties, thus denying the club another all Balham final. Our third Under 15 team qualified from the group stage but lost in the quarter finals as did our one Under 10 team entered. In addition to it being a fantastic tournament for the club on the green baize thankfully, for once, our gazebo survived and it remains intact and ready to shelter all at the next tournoi at the end of the month.
The previous club keepy uppy passing record of 40 passes between two players, doing three or more kick ups before making each pass, without the
ball ever touching the ground was broken and raised to 43 at training on Wednesday May 27th, not by U16 or U15 players, as you might expect, but by two U13 players, Romello Cozier and Yuyi Kabanje. A phenomenal achievement!
We are delighted to announce that on May 15th Balham Blazers F.C. was 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.
The U10's Eagles suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Clapham Park Rangers losing 2-1 after extra time in a tense Cup Final. Having taken the lead through Charlie Appleton's strike midway in the first half, Clapham came back in numbers penning The Eagles into their own half. After conceding a number of corners in the second half and after some fine keeping from Peter Andersen, Clapham equalised sending the game into Extra Time. Both sides had chances but Clapham sneaked it in the first period.
The Eagles worked incredibly hard throughout the final but it wasn't to be their day. They must be proud of their first years achievements finishing runners up in their League and The Cup with very strong competition.
Congratulations to U13 player, Aaron Mitchell, who won player of the day, playing a year up at U14 and captaining Fulham. F.C. in a recent Kickz tournament. Kickz is a football programme in partnership with all Premier League clubs, the Football Foundation and the police which aims to highlight the dangers of knife crime.
The tournament is called 'It Doesn't Have To Happen'. Aaron's Fulham team beat Watford 2-1, Chelsea 1-0, Brentford 7-1 and QPR 2-0 to win all their league games. Although they were unluckily knocked out in the semi finals on penalties, Fulham won the fair play award which means they may yet gain a place in the national finals which are played in Derby County's Pride Park Stadium.
Many congratulations to Balham Blazers Colts who rode out victors in the Final of the LSYFL Shield final beating Broomwood FC 6-2.
The Colts did the hard work in the first half scoring four with no reply. Lewis opened the scoring with a simple tap in after Jamie A's speculative shot was parried by the keeper. Theo C doubled the lead shortly after with a trademark pin point drive from distance, Jamie A made it three before Lewis scored again to complete a good half. Theo and Frank kept cool and in total command at the back. William kept a clean sheet giving confidence to the defence.
The second half saw Broomwood push forward but Lewis put paid to their efforts completing his hat trick, Broomwoods two goals were well taken and were deserved consolation for their efforts. Lewis's fourth goal completed an excellent strikers performance. Subbing in goal for William, Ralph Cadzow made a magnificent save from a free kick and Ollie H hit the post twice in a match that really demonstrated how far the Colts have come this season.
George D, Jacko and Aaron all made appearances to help sure up the victory.
Well done to our U13s - Finn McGuinness, Louis Farquharson, Frank Mably,
Liam Fox, Romello Cozier, Reyneel Ashie, Miles Headley and Eddie Luchford -
who won the Walton & Hersham tournament on Saturday May 9th.
Having
qualified from the group stage unbeaten and won their semi final, a tense
final against the hosts finished 0-0 after extra time. Our boys kept their
nerve however and the mighty McGuinness performed heroics between the sticks
to seal victory 4-3 in the penalty shoot out.
Well done to our U10 Eagles who landed on Wandsworth Common on Saturday May 2nd with great success winning a triangular tournament after beating local rivals Fit4Kidz 2-0 in the final. The Eagles have had an excellent first League and Cup season, finishing runners up in the league and reaching the League Cup final. Let's hope they land with similar success in Norbury on Cup Final day.
We are very pleased to welcome new coach Nick Neilan to Balham Blazers F.C. Nick comes to us having been highly recommended by Wandsworth Sports Development for whom he currently coaches in schools and clubs. Nick is a F.A. level 2 coach and a qualified fitness instructor. He has been coaching since 2007, including six months in Spain as a sports coach in an internationally award winning leisure resort. Nick is also currently coaching for Fulham F.C. Nick has been impressed by the set up at Balham Blazers, “I was immediately struck by the club's professional set up, the passion and enjoyment in evidence on the faces of all those involved with the club, the aptitude and attitude of the players and coaches across all the age groups as well as the aspirations of the club as a whole. I think it's an extremely exciting time to be involved with Balham Blazers and I’m very confident that those aspirations will be achieved.” We at Balham Blazers are also very confident that Nick will be an excellent addition to our coaching set up.
The Congratulations to Balham Blazer's Colts who after a hard but very enjoyable season have walked away as the League Champions of the LSYFL U10's South Division in their first competitive year.
The Colts proved worthy champions having faced tough competition from a number of established clubs including Fitz 4 kids, Greenhouse Bethwin and Dulwich Park. The poor weather disrupted much of the middle season frustrating the team but they kept their focus and their desire to win in some very trying conditions.
Every player contributed, their work effort and commitment to the club are to be applauded.
Many thanks go to all the Parents who came to support even in dreadful weather and to our coaches Greg and Ollie who have developed the players into a winning side.
The Colts face Broomwood FC in the final of the Shield on May 9th and hope to make it a League and Shield double.
Download a PDF file showing directions to the ground.
The 2009 annual Balham Blazers F.C. Presentation Evening will take place on Friday July 3rd - 6.30pm to 9pm at our home ground:
Trevor Bailey Sports Ground, Dulwich College, Dulwich Common, London SE21 7HA
The evening is a celebration of the achievements, dedication
and hard work of all our players. There will be awards for each of them
including Training Trophies and The Players Player of the Year.
Click here for more information and details of how
to order
www.awardsforall.org.uk
The first Balham Blazers F.C. fundraising Bridge Night, organised by Arlene
Allen and hosted by Sara Brown, took place on Friday February 6th. The
evening was a great success with sixteen ladies playing five rounds of
bridge. Denyse and Maggie were winners on the night, closely followed by
Melissa and Jan. The winners received a bottle of the finest champagne and
everyone wants to know when there is going to be another one! Many thanks to
Arlene, Sara and all who attended.
Congratulations to the U10 Eagles who are through to the Saturday Youth
Football League Cup Final in their first season of League and Cup football.
Tommy Graham kept a cool head to net the winning goal from the penalty spot
in a tight semi final which finished 1-0. The U10 Colts are also through to
the League Shield semi finals after a resounding 3-0 quarter final victory.
 The celebrating Eagles and Tommy scoring the decisive penalty.
Charlie beating the keeper for the winning goal.
Saturday 28 February, 7:30pm – 11pm
St Mark’s United Reform Church Hall, Rowfant Road, SW17
Tickets £10 including supper • Bar
Evening includes auction of Premiership match tickets and weekend in holiday cottage. Raffle with chance to win meal voucher for local restaurant, lunch and tour of RSA, offer of handymen for DIY jobs, signed football club shirts and other exciting prizes. (the auction and Raffle is now closed. Please do not send any further bids.)
To reserve a place contact Vicki Sabatini 07792 883515 or
Diana Luchford 07855 139979 or e-mail for more information.
Having only just signed a two and a half year contract, Robin Shroot made his debut for Birmingham City in the 3rd round FA Cup tie v Wolves on Tuesday January 14th. According to the BBC Sports website, even though the Blues lost, Shrooty was man of the match with a player rating of 8.54. See the page on the City website or view the story as a PDF file.
We are delighted to announce that Balham Blazers Coach and U13 Manager Robin Shroot, having passed his medical, has signed to play for Birmingham City. Though he will now based in the Midlands Robin will continue however to be an integral part of this club. He will attend Sunday matches whenever possible and at the conclusion of the Championship League season in May he will be back coaching at the club until we break for the summer in July.
For further info go to: www.blues.premiumtv.co.uk
At the beginning of January there was a great news piece on Robin and the Blazers on the Sunday Mercury national newspaper website! Check out the web page here, or you can download a copy as a PDF file.
Well done and many thanks to Under 15 players, Fred Fox, Thomas Read, Jack Smith, Louis Wright and Marlon Wright, who all recently volunteered to spend a Saturday afternoon painting an office in Hammersmith.
By doing so the magnificent five raised £1,000 for the club. Not bad for an afternoon's work.
Many thanks also to Under 15 manager Grenville Fox, who took the boys along and to Tobias Read who organised the event.
Many thanks to Kay Simmonds who recently stepped down as club treasurer
after seven years sterling service. Kay, who quietly and expertly got on
with managing the clubs finances, will be a hard act to follow. We're all
confident however that Sue Lamont, who has kindly agreed to take over, is
the ideal replacement.
Sue's eldest son Aaron is a key member of our Under
13s and her youngest son Lewis has been scoring hatfuls of goals for our Under 10 Colts.
As we all know every good team needs a striker to be hitting the back of the net and the Under 16s Chris Ita certainly has been. Having scored 29 times in 17 games last season, which was his first for the club, he has scored 19 times in 11 games this season, which gives him an incredibly impressive overall total of 48 goals scored in 28 games for Balham Blazers.
Our two Under 10 sides, the Colts and the Eagles have started their first season playing competitive football very impressively. Both are challenging at the top of their divisions in the London Saturday Youth Football League. The Colts have won their first six league games and the Eagles, despite having lost a couple of close contests, remain very much in contention after a stunning 7-1 victory over fellow challengers AFC Wandsworth on Saturday November 8th.
Ollie Kanner, who came highly recommended, has joined Balham Blazers this season as part of the coaching team and has already made a big impression. Ollie, who has just completed his UEFA B Licence, is heavily involved with coaching the U13s, U15s and U16s. He says, "Having heard excellent things about BBFC via various sources I was glad to be offered a coaching position. The club has a great ethos and is very well organised and structured. I have been coaching for five years and work at various schools in Wandsworth along with Chelsea and other football projects in the evenings. We are all going to strive to achieve what the boys are capable of this season and I am looking forward to being part of their future development and the progression of the club."
We are delighted to welcome back referee Rubel Ahmed this season. Following a busy year away from the game, setting up his own company, Rubel is returning to Sundays on the green baize, whistle at the ready. Rubel has been a youth, community and sports worker for seventeen years. He gained his F.A. level two coaching badge fifteen years ago and shortly after that gained his referees badge. A serious injury stopped Rubel from playing football himself but gave him the chance to take on more refereeing which he really enjoys. He has spent several years officiating in the London Saturday Youth Football League and the Mitcham & District League and will take over from Phil Childs, who has retired, in 2008/09 as the man in the middle at the Trevor Bailey Sports Ground for Under 13 and Under 15 games.
The 4th annual Balham Blazers Sponsored Marathon took place on Friday September 19th on Clapham Common. Runners from our Under 10s, 13s, 15s and 16s each carried the baton for 1km as part of a relay. The previous record overall time of 2 hours 59 minutes, set in 2007, was easily beaten, as it has been each year to date. The new record time of 2 hours 47 minutes will take some beating in 2009.
Individual prize winners for the fastest 1km leg in each age group were:
Under 10s - 1st Jamie Allen - 2nd Lewis Mitchell - 3rd George Deptford
Under 13s - 1st Cornell Taylor-Holland - 2nd Finn McGuinness - 3rd Liam Fox
Under 15s - 1st Michael McConnell - 2nd Jack Smith - 3rd Charlie Barthorp
Under 16s - 1st Joe Taylor-Holland - 2nd Guy Farquharson - 3rd Duke Francis
Many thanks to everyone who attended, ran and helped. We had a great turn out. Special thanks to Matthew Taylor for organising the event, to Vicki Sabatini, who laid on a sumptuous picnic for the runners and to Sue Jelliffe, who took pictures of the proceedings, which commenced in daylight and concluded in darkness.
Many thanks to Jeremy Clarke and Parkgate Developments for sponsoring the trophies for this season's Presentation Evening. We very much need the support of companies such as Parkgate and can't thank them enough for their generosity.
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