EB Lions AFC - The Children's Village Football Club

Posted on December 8, 2011

Season 2011 - 12

We are THE village children's football Club – serving Edlesborough, Eaton Bray, Dagnall, Northall, Studham and Kensworth too. We provide village based safe, friendly, competitive and fun football for boys and girls of all ages, from 4 to 18.

This season has seen another record breaking number of teams and players - an amazing 22 teams and almost 300 children who play team sport in our villages every week, of which over 90% come from our rural villages!!!!

Furthermore the quality and skill of our players and teams just gets better and better.

We are now one of only 10 Charter Standard Community Clubs in Bedfordshire and one of the largest too – great for the villages!

Season 2011-12 - New Players Required

Whilst we have been hugely successful in stimulating huge demand for childrens football, particularly from the youngest age groups upwards, we do have a few places still available in certain teams.

This Winter we are keen to attract new players for the following teams, from the following school years;

• Boys and Girls – Reception year – entry level Reception year, for our U5's.
• YEAR 1 – Boys and Girls – just a couple of places left for our U6's,
• YEAR 4 – 2 Boys required to complete our third U9 team this season.
• GIRLS YEAR 3 and 4 – Girls to register interest in joining a new U10 Girls team 2012-13 next summer.
• GIRLS YEAR 5, 6, 8 and 11 – 2 Girls each, to join our vibrant U11's, U13's and U16's squads.

We would particularly like to hear from you if you fall into these age bands – but indeed from anyone who has a son or daughter of any age who wants to play competitive football for their village club. We have teams at every age group. Please email us at [email protected]

Training Pitch – Project 'E B Astro'

We are working on an exciting project to build an all weather 3rd Generation pitch within the village envelope. This is at an early stage, but would, if successful mean we can provide all weather all year around facilities on an artificial surface to all our teams.

Clearly this will be subject to funding (this is a highly expensive investment) and planning, both of which are detailed and complex, but would transform our facilities and vastly expand opportunities for our local children, improve their fitness and skills.

It would also reduce both travelling to training and be provided at only a minimal cost to parents. We are working closely with Eaton Bray Parish Council who have been extremely supportive of this project so far, which is budgeted to cost around £200,000, a massive investment in rural sport and a huge fund raising project is just underway.

Golf Day

We had a hugely successful Golf Day in September 2011 at Three Locks golf club, where almost 40 golfers enjoyed bright sunshine to play team golf and a fantastic day was had by all. Our sincere thanks to Paul Cook (from Eaton Bray, our U13 Coach) for running a brilliantly organised event and we raised almost £2,500 as early fund raising for our new training pitch.

Committee

We have been blessed with a very keen and enthusiastic committee for the last 9 years and moreover have a wonderful group of dedicated coaches, which is now in total over 40!

As part of our continued development there are several key roles we are now looking to appoint and we are seeking keen mums or dads interested in the Club – be them parent, coach, grandparent etc.

1. ASST CLUB SECRETARY – to support our excellent Club secretary and help with general organisational matters. This would suit an organised IT literate helper and is only a couple of hours a week.
2. ASST GROUNDSMAN – to help Adrian Bush with lining and looking after our pitches and goals.
3. U5/6 COACHES – to support our youngest age groups.

All these roles are very much occasional/part time. Everyone on the committee and those coaching have busy lives, jobs and families, but in sparing a few hours a week we make a vital difference to the fabric and life of our children in the villages, without which there would be few healthy sporting opportunities without getting into a car and travelling. Please step up to help make a difference. All require full CRB clearance and Club acceptance.

Team Sponsors

We are delighted to have team sponsors for all our 22 teams this Summer, whom we are hugely grateful too. They include the following new sponsors;

• TAYLOR FRENCH DEVELOPMENTS LTD – kind thanks to Steve French for his sponsorship of our U16 Girls. www.taylorfrench.co.uk
• 1C PUBLISHING – Peter King for his sponsorship of the U9 Whites. www.1cpublishing.eu
• PDJ FINISHING – Paul Hurleys kind sponsorship for our brilliant U11's. www.vibratory finishing.co.uk

TALKTALK PROUDLY SUPPORTS E B LIONS AFC

NEXT GENERATION NETWORK COMES TO EATON BRAY BRINGING BEST VALUE BROADBAND

TalkTalk, the home phone, broadband and mobile provider, is proud to be sponsoring E B Lions AFC for the next twelve months. The donation will be used to maintain facilities at the club and to provide a personalised club training fleece for every coach. Alongside the sponsorship, TalkTalk is investing £50,000 in technology to bring best value broadband offers to Eaton Bray and surrounding areas. TalkTalk is expanding its Next Generation Network in the area, which gives customers access to fast, reliable broadband services for all of the family's needs. Tristia Clarke, Commercial Director at TalkTalk said, "We are delighted to be able to support E B Lions AFC for the upcoming year. We wish them all the best for their endeavours on and off the field".

Expanding its Next Generation Network allows TalkTalk to offer its best value for money packages to even more of the UK. With maximum speeds of up to 24 Meg, prices for broadband and phone packages start from as little as £6.50 plus line rental and include unlimited evening and weekend calls.

TalkTalk's Next Generation Network will cover Eaton Bray, Northall, Edlesborough, Slapton and Totternhoe.

For more information visit www.talktalk.co.uk/local

Keep the dedicated hard work going!

E B Lions AFC