6th September 2020: U12-U18 Weekend round up - First weekend of the Season!

U12 Harriers unfortunately didn't get off to the best of starts this season ending up losing 6-1 to a good Totton & Eling Side. Unfortunately we lost our keeper to injury in the warm up, both Stanley & Caleb deputised in his absence and both played well. The game was a close encounter for the first 30 minutes and was evenly balanced and went in at halftime 2-1 down.The second half we started brights and there keeper pulled of 4 amazing saves and we were unfortunate for it not to be a lot closer overall. MOTM - Oliver Mills. Goal scorer - Billy Gillooly.

U12 Spitfires lost 3-2 the boys battled and definitely were the better team and deserved more from the game. Massive thanks goes to Alfie Bell and Luka Hewitt for stepping up and going in goal as the team keeper was away. Our goals were scored by Harvey Booth and and Own Goal.

U12 Panthers - great start for us today. Won 9-0 against Oakwood Scorpions who only had 8 players for 9-a-side also picking up two injuries but put up a very spirited display. Goals: Karlos Kryczka 3, Jacob Povey 2, Mylo Ives 2, Joey Philpott 1 , Will Rose 1. Mylo Ives has been nominated as our captain and was today's MOM.

U12 Tornadoes - We lost against whitley wonderers 4-0. It was very even in the first 30 minutes. We created plenty of chances and held them of very well. We were very hopeful going into the second half only 1-0 down and thought we had a good chance but it was a different story with our boys struggling and were outplayed with the better team deserving winners in the end. MOM was Josh for being very strong on the ball always determined and never giving up.

U13 royals hosted a friendly against AFC Southbourne. Unfortunately the Royals suffered a 3-1 loss .The Royals didn’t let their heads go down and fought to the end. It was a great opportunity for several new signings to play their first game as a purp.

U13 Knights v Romsey Town: Won 7-3. Goals: Sam B (5’, 25’), Elliot (23’, 63’) Ben 51’, Manu (61’, 66’). Man of Match: Sam B. First competitive match for our new U13 Knights, 3 players scored 2 each and Ben scored a great lob over the keeper from outside the box.

U13 Panthers lost 6-0 but will improve as the season gains momentum.

U14 Wolves - Drew 0-0 away to Hamble. MOTM - Kieran Evans. Special mention to the GK & back three who as a unit put in a great performance.

U14 Spitfires - Excellent start to the season with a 5-3 win away to Hamble Club. Goals scored by Taylor Waters 4 & Tristan Sparkman. Everyone played really well and thoroughly deserved the win. Special mention to Lincoln Emery for a solid game in midfield. POM went Ollie Payne who stepped up and went in goal as our new keeper was injured.

AFC Stoneham United U14 got off to a flying start in the Tyro today with a 11-0 win away at Whiteley. The boys played some incredible football, maintaining possession throughout both halves. It was really good to see the goals being shared around, with a hat-trick from Stanley Potter and a hat-trick from George Scappaticci. Other players on the scoresheet were, Frazer Minns, Aaron Crooks, Stanley Bennett, Finley Gateshill and Ben Meehan. A fantastic and enjoyable team performance.

U15 Rovers lost thief first game of season to Oakwood 3-2. Both goals from Travis Scottow.

U15 Hawks lost 2-0 away to Bobcats FC. MOTM Kyle Podolanski.

U15 Galaxy lost against Alresford Town 6-1 .Daniel Beggs scored and our mom was Josh Cull

Our U18s beat Sholing 2-0 in the Hampshire Youth league who they meet again this week in the FA Youth Cup.

Well done to all of our teams!

6th September 2020: U8-U11 Weekend round up - First day of the season!

U8 Spitfires had a great first day in Purple with Dylan Down, Alfie Holmes and Tom Robinson on fire in front of goal . POD (Purp of the day) awarded to Jack Dyde. Great result for our first game.

Stoneham U8 Royals had a tough day. The score line didn’t reflect the performance. Special mention to all the lads who improved throughout the game, was hard to pick a Mom but went to Toby, played well in multiple positions with strong tackling and positive play getting forward.

U8 Royals had a difficult first ever game, coming up against a very good team. Lots of positives to take away, as the team got better each quarter. Great work Royals!

U8 Falcons also played their first ever game today just ensuring that they came away with the biggest smiles in a great close game. Millie Mae, Agaam, Nathaniel and Bobby wete on fire in front of goal .Player of the match Agaam for his tireless effort and running!

U9 Royals played their first game together and did very well with a spirited display. Most importantly they all left having really enjoyed the game. Marcus and Tuula were "Purps of the day" with their tireless work rate throughout the game which was great to see.

Spitfires U9s kicked off the season with a great performance. A good team performance seeing each player working hard from start to finish. George Bushell was on fire in front of goal. MOM went to goalkeeper Joshua Hughes for coming off his line twice to make crucial saves.

U10 Royals left with big smiles on their faces with Finley and Alistair doing well in front of goal. MOM was Finley with special mention to Ben

U10 Panthers playing up another two divisions from last season began with a hard fought performance ensuring they were very happy. Jacob Pinder, Ablaye Djallo and Josh Jervis were all excellent in front of goal. Great display and kept our heads after going behind. Man of the match Abdoulaye Jalloh for a great defensive display and playing in an unfamiliar position and performing very well.

U10 Tigers had a superb day. Outstanding performance to start the season. Every player was superb and showcased the hard work we have been putting in over the past months. Dominant in possession with our slick passing and movement, and our work rate too much for them out of possession. We created chance after chance at one end, whilst winning the battles in midfield to give GK Jack Binns a quiet day, who despite having quiet periods, kept into action with highlight reel saves when needed. Special mentions for Mustapha Suso who was electric in front of goal along with Spencer Winter. Louis Howard created chance after chance whilst Kristof Hollosy was another who caused the opposition problems all game long. MOM: Mustapha Suso.

U11 Spitfires - Amazing start to our first season of 9-a-side with a great day v Littleton. George Polkinghorne ,Jake Fluck ,Harley Marjason ,Harry Halligan, Charlie Maguire & Mason Field all notched in a great all round great team performance. POM went to George Polkinghorne. The win was dedicated to Sally Wilson (Nan of our GK Miles Earnshaw) who followed and supported the team at all his games in all weathers who sadly passed away last week.

Under 11 Falcons opened their league campaign with a superb away performance which was fantastic with the lads playing a new formation brilliantly with 100% energy and amazing passing. Well done boys. Fantastic to see so many new young teams,including our U7’s on Saturday, playing their first games in Purple.

Team of the week goes to our U11 Spitfires for their outstanding performance in memory of Miles Nan, Sally.

Club Update

One club – 59 Teams - 750 Players – 200 Volunteers

The last 6 months have been difficult for everyone and whilst we all enjoy getting back to football and slowly getting back to some structure and normality in our lives perhaps we should all take a minute to reflect on the 41,500 people in this country who have lost their lives to date due to the pandemic. We must also never forget the heroic efforts of our unsung heroes in the NHS, and all types of care and support workers, who continue to perform miracles on a daily basis under exceptionally challenging conditions.

We have seen all of our clubs teams resume training and games over the last couple of months and whilst our young players were all delighted to be back playing football the biggest smiles, having been in lockdown for some 3 months or so, were reserved for seeing friends and team mates again. The comradery of being part of a team and the wellbeing this brings should not be underestimated or taken for granted as has been experienced in so many ways over the last few months.

I would at this point like to take the opportunity to thank all of our managers and coaches who prepared the training sessions for their teams in small groups under very stringent covid 19 guidelines, set by both the FA , the government and our club, to ensure that the children could return to football as soon as possible which undoubtedly had a positive effect on both their wellbeing and mental health.

Our first team held online training sessions during early lockdown from the comfort of their own homes and then commenced training in small groups when permitted in early June. This then progressed to competitive friendlies in August of which we played seven games winning five, drawing one with one defeat.

Our young teams were sadly denied their normal end of season presentations and therefore many of these events took place via “zoom” or “team” platforms, now very normal and everyday terminology, to ensure that the children were rewarded and recognised for their hard work during a season which ultimately was declared null and void.

Our club will start the 2020/21 season with 59 teams and 750 registered players due to the hard work of everyone over the last few months in forming teams, preparing training sessions and registering players. A not to be underestimated task!

We will field 22 new teams to the club next season of which 14 are made up of children who have predominately never played football in a team (6 x U7, 3 x U8, 1 x U9, 1 x U10, 1 x U10 Girls, 2 x U11 Girls). The club is extremely proud to have made this happen encouraging very young children , and their parents, to get involved in the “beautiful game”. In addition to the newly formed teams we extend a huge welcome to the managers/coaches and teams who have joined us from other local clubs namely Tom and Phil(U8), Dan(U10), Nick and Richard(U12), Mark and Mike(U13) and Karl and Darren (U14).

The club has seen a huge interest in female football over the summer months whereby we will field 12 female teams next season from 4 last season and now include a Ladies Development team to bridge the gap between youth football and senior football . Like their male counterparts the club has high ambitions for ladies football with an objective to join the National Womens League Pyramid system within 2-3 years.

We were delighted to recently see 4 x U18 players make their debuts for our ladies senior team with 3 of them scoring whilst 16 year old Kaylee Buckingham made history last season becoming the youngest player to score for the club at senior level in our 102 year history.

The club will sadly leave our home for the last 13 years in Chestnut Avenue at the end of October. Whilst the new ground and facilities in the “new world” are fantastic those of us that have only known the club to be at the “old ground” will leave with wonderful memories of the venue that has seen the club grow and develop tremendously over that time.

The outstanding work of club volunteers has seen the venue develop to host such great memories as summer tournaments, our first FA Cup game, winning the wessex league division one, various presentation days,  thousands of junior/youth games, the development of girls and ladies football, summer training every day/night to name a few. The recent history of the club is at Chestnut Avenue, which will be very sadly missed, as we have to now build new memories at Stoneham Lane whilst the memories for those of us fortunate enough to have been with the club at Chestnut Avenue will live forever.

Developing Potential: Paving the way for AFC Stoneham’s Youth.

AFC Stoneham have a proud record of developing our own young players and one that we are fully committed to growing further in the next few years through a defined and structured player pathway.

At the heart of this ambition is the Player Development Centre. Undertaken by fully qualified coaches, extra sessions outside of usual team training times present the opportunity for ambitious players to flourish in an advanced environment.

With the development programme taking full advantage of our new £10 million training complex, the extra facilities at the club’s disposal offer more opportunities for the next generation of talent to hone their skills through individually managed sessions.

This added attention to detail is hugely beneficial to both the players and coaches, something that our U-18 coach and Development Centre manager Tom Brown sees as a real positive of the new set-up:

“I've seen great development in the players in such a short space of time, purely down the quality of the facility which allows us to continually train, and it also helps with matchdays.

“In terms of the new centre, I think because of the resources which are available, for example, the number of goals that can be used, the increase in space has definitely allowed us to explore new methods.

“It allows the coaches a lot more flexibility with their plans. If we’ve got access to two goals, we can make it look and feel like a game in training. That's ultimately what we want to be able to achieve.

“There's a lot more decision making for the players off the back of that, and far more in-game scenarios that we can replicate on the training field which massively improves our preparation for matches.”

Tom oversees a vast number of sessions and games at the new AFC Stoneham ground, and with 13 players making the step up from youth level into the first team as we were placed second in the Wessex Premier League last season, it’s clear that progression through the ranks is a priority focus:

“For me, with it being such a local club, I think it's really important that we look to bring through our own players.

“We’ve seen that across the course of this season. At one point I believe we had eight under-18 players playing in the Development Squad (AFC Stoneham second team) and we’ve been really impressed not only with their impact but the results too.

“Beating the side sitting top of the table was really nice to see - it goes to show that these lads have a great mentality and all play for each other.

“Some of those players are still only 16 years of age and they’re already competing against fully grown men.”

In the Development Squad this season, having played 12 competitive games, the club has used 22 players who have previously represented the club at youth level. 17 of these players are still currently with our U-18’s, 10 of which were 16 years of age when making their debuts.

Furthermore, three of our current U-16 squad were involved in the U-18 FA Youth Cup this season, with a total of seven having been involved in U-18 football at AFC Stoneham to date.

This growing number of young players taking impressive steps throughout the entire structure of the club is a great sign of what’s to come, and evidence of the work being put in at the new centre.

As well as smoothing out the often tough transition from youth football to first team action, the added training time has enabled coaches to work on specific elements of each player’s game.

It’s one of the main benefits of the centre and something that Tom believes to be a vital aspect of developing a player’s skillset:

“I think the main aim of the Development Centre is to identify the players that we recognise to be pushing up to a high level within their age group, from there we look to try and push them up to work within different age groups in order to take them out of their comfort zones. It’s a real test of their ability, that’s where we’ll start to see what the biggest challenges facing that individual are.

“It's really interesting to see how the players cope, and while some players might struggle initially, as the sessions go on you always start to see a little bit more confidence in their play.

“Us as coaches and the players themselves begin learning more from there.

“Whether it turns out that they might need to work more on the physical side of the game, or if it’s from a technical point of view where they're struggling, even if it’s a tactical lesson where we can work on how to find spaces and where to look on the pitch; it’s all very positive and beneficial for the lads.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic plunging the UK into multiple lockdowns, the good work being put in at the Development Centre has been brought to a temporary halt. Building strong relationships on and off the field has always been a key element of a successful team, something the club are keen to stress more than ever in this year of isolation:

“When we’re mixing the age groups, we’re of course looking at the fundamentals of the game but socially as well it’s a great aid for the players, usually that comes from the older players talking and giving advice to the younger lads, but it helps them too.

“We’re very much a family, we want those relationships up and down the club. I think if you can get players from a young age getting to know people from the other squads when they eventually get to that top end to be in the first team or part of the Development Squad, it’s not so much of a big step because they're aware of who those players are beforehand.

“We’re excited looking forward, there’s a lot more that can be done with it. It’s been difficult because of everything that’s going on in the world but I think as the next few months go on, when we can get back to playing football we'll be able to put some other things in place that’ll see us progress even further.”

Diamond Gas and Heating

AFC Stoneham are delighted to announce another major sponsorship package with Diamond Gas and Heating.

Diamond will now sponsor the clubs new VEO Technology camera system and first team training kit.

The Veo camera is a soccer tracking camera that uses artificial intelligence to pan and zoom smoothly to follow the ball around.

Diamond Managing Director Ian Simm, said " we are delighted and excited to sponsor and support the tremendous work that is very clearly happening at AFC Stoneham within the local community.

We particularly believe the VEO camera and analysis will be very beneficial to the forward thinking outlook of the first team management and many of the clubs youth sides and Ladies team".

The club would like to send a massive thank you to Ian and all at Diamond Gas and Heating for their very generous support for which we hope will be a very long and fruitful relationship.

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Recruitment: Managers and Coaches

The club are currently looking for help and support in both managing and coaching roles for the following teams:

  • U11 Girls

  • U16 Girls

  • U18 Boys

  • Ladies Development squad

As we grow and develop our teams inevitably we need more Managers and Coaches. Vast experience is not required as support and mentoring will be offered to new volunteers by existing coaches/managers. Attributes will include good communication,organisation and interpersonal skills.

The positions would suit both male or female, young and old ensuring that the new people will be joining a vibrant club in a role which will be extremely rewarding whilst giving something back to the local community.

Interested parties please contact: chairman@afcstoneham.co.uk or 07841696579.

Thank you!

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Woman’s F.A. Cup 2020/21

Our Ladies will make history next season as the first AFC Stoneham team in 102 years to enter the Women's FA Cup.

We received confirmation this morning and are truly delighted.

First team coach Adam Lee said " This is a wonderful moment in the clubs history and for the girls. If further proof was needed as to how much progress is being made at our club around female football this is most definitely it".

Fantastic news. Well done girls!

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Club Update

The club will enter the new season with 60 teams continuing our huge growth and development of recent years as we leave our old ground in Chestnut Avenue at the end of October and move the whole club permanently to our new £10M home in Stoneham Lane, Eastleigh.

Our first ever season in the Wessex Premier league was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic at a point when we were sitting 2nd in the league and having a great season. We will hope to build on last season having retained almost the whole squad with the additions of Duarte Martins, Sam Woodward, Craig Hunt and Filippos Terzidis.

A feature of this summer has been the significant growth in female teams from four last season to twelve for the new season which we are delighted about. In addition we now have five new under 7 teams and four new under 8 teams full of children playing in teams for the first time which is fantastic news.

Like all Community Grassroots sports clubs the pandemic has effected our club with the loss of two summer tournaments, our annual trip to Holland, loss of first team gate money and grant monies being cancelled whilst still having to pay bills. We have moved forward due to good financial planning and through the support of our many great sponsors and supporters for which we are all very grateful.

Our teams have all been training now for some two months under strict COVID-19 guidelines and their seasons are currently due to start during the first couple of weeks of September. After the recent challenges leading to no football for nearly six months we feel sure that the 2020/21 season is possibly the most eagerly anticipated of all time!

AFC Stoneham Ladies Promoted!

We are delighted to officially announce that our Ladies team will now play in division one of the Hampshire League next season.

This is fantastic news in our quest to reach the Women's National Pyramid in the very near future.

Manager Tom Forbes said" We are delighted to receive the news and this is a reward for all of the girls hard work over the last 12 months".

In addition to our first team being promoted the club has also created a new development squad in the Hampshire league which will be a big part of our Ladies Player Pathway from U16 and U18 football into our first team.

We are still looking for new players who are warmly invited to our open day on Sunday or alternatively can contact Tom Forbes on 07775 933887.

Well done to all of the Ladies and the Management team on a great achievement!

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Purps return to Football!

Sunday August 2nd Venue: AFC Stoneham, Stoneham Lane, Eastleigh.

We are delighted to announce that our first ever Club Day will be held on Sunday August 2nd at our new ground.

All of our teams will be playing and training throughout the day across all 3 pitches including our own stadia pitch.

All new players interested in joining the club are very welcome, male and female, and we would ask that they register their interest via our social media sites, e-mail: chairman@afcstoneham.co.uk or call 07841696579.

The day is a great opportunity to get the whole club back together and celebrate a return to football after what has been a very challenging time for everyone.

We are all looking forward to a fantastic day!

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Boot Exchange Shop

AFC Stoneham are delighted to launch our new "boot exchange shop" following many requests from parents (mainly mums!) to do so.

Until Monday July 27 the club will be collecting boots from our players that have been grown out of and/or are no longer wanted.

These can be passed to the club:

1. Via your team manager

2. Left at our Chestnut Avenue ground anytime

3. Passed to a committee member who will be at the ground on Thursdays 6-8pm and Saturdays 10-midday until July 27.

From Tuesday July 28 the "shop" will open on: Tuesdays 6-7 pm Thursdays 6.30-8pm Saturdays 10-midday.

At this point parents who have donated a pair of boots will then be able to exchange for another pair in the "shop". Additional pairs of boots will be £5.

We do hope everyone will support this initiative and clear out their garages and cupboards of no longer used football boots!

Thank you.

Coaches And Managers Wanted!

The roles will suit Males and Females of all coaching levels/experience who possess enthusiasm, positivity and both good communication and organisational skills. The role is extremely rewarding allowing the individual to support and effect young people in our community in a positive manner.

For an initial chat please contact 07841696579 or e-mail chairman@afcstoneham.co.uk

Thank you

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AFC STONEHAM SUMMER TOURNAMENTS - GIRLS/LADIES AND BOYS

The club is taking a positive stance towards our summer tournaments going ahead in the hope that the world can overcome the corona virus by then.

Our summer tournaments are scheduled for :

Girls and Ladies - June 20/21st

Boys - July 11/12th

We are able to arrange an event hopefully within 2-3 weeks notice and will therefore not make a decision until early June for the Girls/Ladies tournament and late June for the boys tournament.

Entry forms and details can be obtained from chairman@afcstoneham.co.uk or by contacting 07841696579.

Thank you.

AFC Stoneham - Skill School - NHS Donation

We are inviting all AFC Stoneham players, big and small, to send in a clip of their skill/skills to development@afcstoneham.co.uk

Episode 1 is below:

If you want to be in next weeks clips please send your video clip (portrait) to development@afcstoneham.co.uk by Friday 4 pm. We will compile and show a new episode every week.

The club will then donate 50p per clip (1 clip per child per week) to the NHS. The children will then present a cheque to a hospital at a later date.

A very small gesture but one that still shows the huge appreciation and respect for all of our wonderful NHS workers at this difficult time by every player, parent, manager and coach at AFC Stoneham.

Girls and Ladies Football at AFC Stoneham

The club is still very much committed to running Girls teams next season across all age groups and have already had a lot of interest prior to the sad events around the coronavirus.

We are very excited about the further development of female football at AFC Stoneham and will update and confirm details as soon as possible to all parents and new players.

All new players are very welcome to contact chairman@afcstoneham.co.uk or 07841696579 should they have any questions in the meantime.

Season Summary

AFC Stoneham had another hugely successful season and we would like to send out a big "thank you" to all of our players, managers, coaches, parents, sponsors and volunteers.

Without YOU we have no club, no success, no fun and no smiles. Thank you for everything you do for the club!

We must keep things in perspective at this challenging time and currently football is a long way down anyone's priority list. Many people sadly won't have the opportunity to see another football season.

When we have beaten the corona virus we will all love and appreciate football, the football family and our community a little bit more.

Again, a huge thank you to everyone and for now please be kind to each other, stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

Thank you.