Season
U15s Ed Carnochan and Fareed Fletcher-Lord currently hold the club keepy uppy passing record. Working as a pair each player must do three or more kick ups then pass the ball to their partner who must do three or more kick ups and then pass it back. It is a ball skills technique competition to see which pair can keep the ball up between them and make the most passes. The ball must never touch the ground. Ed and Fareed's current club record stands at 33. The second best score achieved to date is 29 done by U15 Alex Hayles and U14 Bradley Haseley. The third best is 27 done by club individual kick up record holder Joe Taylor-Holland and Fareed Fletcher-Lord and the fourth best is 21 done by U14 pair Fred Fox and Tom Diamond.
Having beaten last year's sponsored marathon running time in September we
can confirm that the double has been done and the total sponsorship money
raised has also surpassed last year's total of £1500. This year's total
raised currently stands at £1600. Well done and many thanks to all who've
contributed by collection or donation.
Top quality Under 15 player, Alex Hayles, suffered a horrendous injury at
training on October 27th, which will keep him out of football for the rest of the
current season. Alex will be sorely missed and his return to the team
won't come a moment too soon. He is a fantastic player, with a great
attitude and is a vitally important member of the squad. He was in great
form this season. Alex's power, presence, excellent range of passing and
silky skills means he can play anywhere and this season he had already
played up front, scoring five goals, in midfield and for the first time in
central defence where, as with everywhere else he plays, he was
inspirational. Alex is irreplaceable and everyone at the club wishes him as
speedy a return to action as is possible.
We are delighted to welcome back referee Phil Childs this season. Phil will be sharing refereeing duties at the Trevor Bailey Sports Ground with Rubel Ahmed who refereed our home games last season. We are very lucky to have two such highly qualified and experienced referees as Rubel and Phil.
The first Balham Blazers Coaching School course took place on Wandsworth
Common in half term and proved to be a great success. 8 to 14 year old
players from both inside and outside the club took part over three days
playing loads of football, answering three testing lunchtime quizzes and
hopefully having a lot of fun. There may well be another course before
Christmas. Watch this space for further news.
We are very grateful to Robert Trindle & Co who are replacing Tesco as our main sponsor this season. Robert's increased sponsorship and continued support is much appreciated by all at Balham Blazers. It's great to have the backing of a local business such as Robert Trindle & Co, whose name will be emblazoned on the Blazers' shirts in 2007/08.
Charlie Barthorp, Fred Fox, Billy Holmes, Tom Jelliffe and Ned Mansfield from our Under 13 squad went along recently, with Under 13 manager Grenville Fox, to meet and thank in person Robert Trindle of Balham based Estate Agents, Robert Trindle & Co for his very generous sponsorship of the Blazers this season.
The 3rd annual Balham Blazers Sponsored Marathon took place on Saturday September 8th. Runners from our U9s, U12s, U14s and U15s each carried the baton for 1km. We were also treated to some "stunning" running from mums, dads and siblings. The record overall time, achieved last year, of 3 hours 13 minutes was obliterated with a new record time of 2 hours 59 minutes being set. Last year the event raised £1,500. We are hoping to set two new records by beating that total this year.
Young Balham Blazers coach Robin Shroot represented Northern Ireland Under 20's at the Milk Cup in his home country in July. With a draw against Turkey and victory over Chile, Northern Ireland qualified for the final where they lost to Israel. Robin, who has won many plaudits at AFC Wimbledon, where he is currently under contract, played in all three games.
The 2007 annual end of season Presentation Evening was held this year at our
home ground in Dulwich on Tuesday July 10th. The weather was fantastic, the
burgers were delicious and there was a big turnout to celebrate the
achievements, dedication and hard work of all Balham Blazers players,
helpers and supporters. A PDF document can be downloaded showing all the trophy winners for the 2006-7 season.
Congratulations to our U13s who finished joint Runners Up in the Tandridge League B Division and as a result have been promoted to the A Division for 2007/08.
Balham Blazers F.C. returned triumphant from the Petts Wood F.C. youth football tournament in Bromley, Kent, on Sunday May 20th. The Blazers three age group teams all made the finals with the Under 11s and Under 14s winning a high standard tournament and the Under 13s finishing as runners up.
Congratulations to our U13s who went unbeaten in winning the South Park F.C. tournament in Surrey in June and to our U11s who won the Furngate Youth F.C tournament in West Sussex, where our two sides entered in this age group played a total of seventeen matches in all, with the one and only time one of them lost a game coming when the two Balham
Blazers teams had to play each other in one of the semi finals.
Congratulations to our U13s who won the Sportsmanship award for the Tandridge League B division which is voted for by the twelve competing clubs. Congratulations also to our U8s who in their first ever competitive tournament at Elm Grove Colts F.C played some excellent football against much more experienced teams and won the tournaments' Fair Play award.
At the end of this season Minnie Cruttwell is being forced to leave the mixed team she has been a key member of since it started. Why should she be made to leave her friends when she is just as strong and technically gifted as they are? If she lived in any other European country she wouldn¹t have to. England is the only country in Europe that stops girls playing mixed football after the age of U11. The government has looked into this and issued a strong recommendation to the F.A. that they change the rule and raise the age barrier. If you agree please sign the petition (http://www.barrhillfc.com/petition/?page=minnie). Please also forward the link to as many people as possible.
CHECK OUT MINNIES STORY
April 2007
After coming very close a few weeks earlier U13, Jamie Davis, smashed the club kick up record at training on April 3rd, becoming the first player to top 300 with a stunning 309. His record stood for only ninety minutes however as the previous record holder, Joe Taylor-Holland, who looked on as Jamie took his record, reclaimed it with a staggering 488. At training on April 24th, inspired by coach Robin Shroot doing a mean 500, Joe broke the record yet again with a magnificent, mesmerising 552.
Joe Taylor-Holland created a new kick up record with a staggering total of 552.
The FA announced at the end of June that they are launching a pilot scheme for next season allowing girls in Under 12, Under 13 and Under14 age groups to continue playing mixed football. Individual Leagues have to apply to the FA to put this into practise. The FA will then weigh things up at the end of the 2007/08 season and go from there. This is great news for Minnie Cruttwell whose campaign has brought this about and for the many other girls all over the country who have supported the campaign and now have the opportunity to play mixed football next season.
One of the Blazers coaches, Robin Shroot, hopes he has taken his first steps towards captaining Northern Ireland after being called up to their U19 squad.
The 18-year-old has only a handful of appearances for AFC Wimbledon, the club he has supported since he was a boy, but it has been enough to impress Northern Ireland's U19 boss, former Manchester United star Mal Donaghy, who called him into the squad to face Israel in Tel Aviv on March 12th and 14th.
Well done Robin.
October 2006 Under 14 Joe Taylor-Holland broke the Balham Blazers kick up record, which has to be done in front of other members of the club, at training on October 31st. He eclipsed Reece Hewett's previous record of 248, which had stood for a long time, with a magnificent new record of 298. Joe's new record will certainly take some beating.
There was an excellent turn out for the second annual Balham Blazers quiz night on March 10th. Thirteen teams battled it out over a fish and chip supper with the simply named, Table Seven, emerging victorious. The evening raised £500 for the club, which is almost double the total raised last year. Many thanks to everyone who came along.
Balham Blazers are delighted to be moving this season to a prestigious new home ground owned by Dulwich College school at Dulwich College Sports Ground. Having played previously on Tooting Common and at Fishponds Playing Fields in SW17 we are honoured to be the only outsiders granted use of the schools excellent sporting facilities.
In addition to the existing teams playing this season in the Tandridge League, Balham Blazers will be starting two new age group teams at Under 8 and Under 9. Neither age group will berushed into playing League football however but will spend the season training together, playing friendlies and if all goes well possibly entering tournaments later in the season with a view to playing League football in their second seasons together.
The 2nd annual Balham Blazers Sponsored Marathon took place on Tooting Common on September 9th. Players from different age groups, including our new Under 8s, each carried the baton for 1km. The marathon distance was completed in 3 hours 13 minutes, which eclipsed the time for 2005 when it was run in monsoon conditions. The event raised £1,000 for the club in 2005.
We are hoping to beat that total this year.
Balham Blazers would like to thank Tooting based group, Natural Triangles, for writing a club song for us. The song, music and lyrics are copyright NNT 2006. All enquiries to resmash@gmail.com
Have a listen by downloading the track as a mpeg. The file size is 3.6megs
Ten year old Balham Blazers player, Minnie Cruttwell, continues her battle with the Football Association. Minnie is seeking to get changed the current F.A. ruling which states that girls are not allowed to play mixed football after Under 11s. Minnie's campaign has been championed by Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell, who Minnie wrote to asking for help and support. Miss Jowell came to watch Minnie play and then took her together with team mates, Frank Mably, Eddie Luchford and Cornell Taylor-Holland to meet Brian Barwick, the Chief Executive of the F.A. at their headquarters in Soho Square in order to discuss the issue. Fellow MPs Sadiq Khan and Helen Southworth were also present to lend their backing to a campaign which has engendered massive media interest and support throughout the country. A government Select Committee looking into women's sport, which requested a submission from Minnie, have recently recommended the F.A. change this ruling and allow girls the opportunity to stay in mixed football longer. This would bring England into line with countries in the rest of Europe, all of whom allow mixed football to continue until girls are much older. In some instances there is no age barrier. This is the case in all countries where women's football is strongest, including Germany, who are the current European Champions. Perhaps, if Minnie gets her way and we follow suit England might be European Champions too one day!
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News Archive 2009-10
News Archive 2008-09
News Archive 2007-08
News Archive 2006-07
 Blazers Under 13 squad with manager Grenville Fox, met and thanked in person Robert Trindle of Balham based Estate Agent for his sponsorship and support
 U11s who won the Furngate Youth F.C tournament in West Sussex
 Our U13s who went unbeaten in winning the South Park F.C. tournament in Surrey
 Balham Blazers F.C. returned triumphant from the Petts Wood F.C. youth football tournament
 FA Chief Executive Brian Barwick talks to Minnie Cruttwell, watched by Tessa Jowell, the Minister for Culture Sport and Media
 Minnie meeting Tessa Jowell, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
 Robin Shroot of AFC Wimbledon and Northern Ireland
 The Quiz Night winning team Table Seven.
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 The Blazers sponsored marathon sets off.
 In August 2006 Tescos asked the Blazers to officially open their new refurbished store at Clapham South.
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