Hethersett
Athletic |
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Record Section
Club Matters
Miscellaneous Matters
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A National FA Community Charter Club Founded
- 1991 Annual General Meeting July 2009 The club's annual general meeting for 2009 was held at Park Farm Hotel on Monday 13th July. Club Chairman Peter Steward reported on the most successful season in the club's history. His report is re-produced below: Season 2008/2009 has
been one of looking back at the past, celebrating the present and more
increasingly looking forward to and planning the future. In looking back whilst updating and re-designing parts of our official web site, I began to read reports from previous agms and there seemed to be a theme running through them. Continually I have reported on the club’s most successful season in its history. This in itself shows how the club is continually progressing and moving forward. So here I go again in my latest report: Season 2008/2009 was the most successful in the club’s history. If you have any doubts about this just consider the following. We have run a record number of 17 teams during the season and almost achieved our aim of providing competitive football for both sexes and all ages (more of this later) We introduced men’s Saturday football for the first time and were more successful than we could ever have hoped. We won Division Four of the Crown Fire South and Central Norfolk League by a 14 point landslide, losing just one game on the way (our last match of the season). We scored the highest number of goals in any of the four divisions and Danny Gray broke the club scoring record with 79. We also reached the finals of both the Ben Smith Memorial Cup and the Fen Regis Invitation Cup where we were desperately unlucky to lose in the final 7-6 on penalties to Gressenhall. We were the first team from Division Four to reach the final of the Ben Smith Cup. The team’s achievements were recognised when we were named league team of the year at the club’s annual meeting in Wymondham. The ladies team lost a
number of key players at the start of the season to either University or
other clubs. Last season’s coach Tom Parke also left. Chris
Bolderstone took over and has done a remarkable job as in some quarters
we were looked upon as relegation certainties. Far from it. Chris
moulded a number of existing experienced players together with some
excellent young players and we finished fifth in the league (having been
in with a chance of runners-up slot until three defeats at the end of
the season). More importantly we retained the prestigious Eastern Region
League Cup by beating Cambridge University 2-1 in a close game at Soham
FC. On the way to that final we were one of a very few teams to beat
Dagenham and Redbridge. With a whole host of talented youngsters coming
through, we are looking to mount a serious challenge on the league title
in the next year or so. (again more about girls and women’s
development later). As if to underline the strength of the female side of the club the Under-16 Girls had a superb season, winning their league against some very tough opposition. The Under-13 Girls finished runners-up in their league. At youth level where the onus is on enjoyment as well as competitiveness, the Under-11 side finished league runners-up and the Under-16s in their last season at youth level won the fairplay award in their league. There has been a considerable amount of work going on behind the scenes this year, particularly in the development field and tonight we have numerous proposed changes to the constitution aimed at enhancing our status and professionalism with a small p. We must never forget
that we are an amateur club whose objectives are always to provide
football for all. At the same time we are a progressive and ambitious
club. Running so many teams provides a logistic headache and once again
I would like to thank our secretary Mel Perkins for all his hard work
juggling several balls at once. We are now using numerous venues and we are very grateful for the continued support of the Memorial Playing Field, Old Hall School, Little Melton Playing Field, Easton College and all the other venues used during the season. We would still dearly love our own ground in addition to those already mentioned. I would like to see a serious attempt over the next year to find a piece of land. Considerable improvements have been made during the season to the Memorial Field with diseased trees being chopped down and many improvements being made to the playing surface thanks to the efforts of our facilities manager Simon Crowe. The club's development plan is undergoing a serious overhaul under the leadership of the club development officer Steve Raven who has put in many hours of work in fashioning what will be a very robust document. It sets out aims for the short, medium and long term and addresses and focuses on many important club issues. Copies of this are available on the club's website. On the Development front the club has run a number of special evenings. One of the most important of these was a women's and girls development evening which attracted over 100 people to Park Farm Hotel to discuss the future of the female side of the game. It was a highly positive evening and has given us a structure to take this side of the club forward. We also hosted a Norfolk FA Respect Evening and the club has adopted the national FA Respect guidelines. We pride ourselves on being a family orientated club and have a strong child protection policy with all coaches/managers and officers being Criminal Records Bureau checked. Sue Buffin undertakes the vital role of child protection officer as well as assistant secretary and is a mind of information on the subject. The club has also instigated a discipline committee to regularly review the situation at the club. We have a very good discipline record but there is always room for improvement. This committee meets at the end of regular club committee meetings to review any discipline problems and also to look at records of individual players if it is felt they are transgressing the club's codes of conduct. Now I would like to turn my attention to Presentation evenings and fund-raising. Once again our annual presentation events provided the club with two high profile days. The Men's and Ladies evening was held at Park Farm Hotel and this year took the form of a buffet. It was an excellent evening and a format I am sure we will repeat next season. This year's youth team funday was the best to date. The weather was glorious and every team was represented in what has become a real showcase for the club. Many thanks go to the organising team. Apart from producing an excellent day of prize-giving and small sided games of football, Funday also raises a four figure sum for the youth teams. Which brings me onto the financial side of the club. I can remember many years ago when the club was really struggling financially and had to be baled out with loans. Thankfully today we are on a much stronger financial footing. Fund-raisers such as darts evenings, socials, quizzes and even bag packing at Waitrose have all raised funds over the past season. Funds are raised through club membership and match fees with many of the running costs being divided between the club's teams with each being asked to achieve its targets. We have found this season, however, that there is a need to tighten up on the financial side. Players still avoid paying membership fees and this not only lets their team down but also cuts back the amount of money raised. Similarly some teams have been guilty of not paying in match fees on a regular basis and this matter will be discussed as part of the proposed changes in the club constitution later in this agenda. We all need to tighten up on the finance side of the club. I would like to take the opportunity of thanking all our many sponsors. We have been heartened that despite the recession many local businesses have given us financial support. Tonight I will mention just a few. I am hoping during the coming season to construct a full register of sponsors for the internet site. I would also like to spend some money from the development fund for an evening to thank our sponsors and also to host other potential sponsors and provide them with a presentation about the club and what we can offer them in exchange for their support. I said I would mention a few just to show you the scope involved. Megaman energy saving bulbs were the main sponors of Funday, Edward Jones financial services have provided water bottles for every team for the coming season, Park Farm Hotel provide us with meeting rooms and each team has individual sponsors. I think it is a tribute to the success of our club that so many people are prepared to help and support us. One of the achievements I would like to see over the next 12 months is an improvement in the idea that we are one club. We are not just an adult men's club, we are not just a women's and girls club, we are not just a youth football club – we are all three. At times we tend to be rather parochial, only being interested in certain aspects of club life. The one club ethos engenders ownership by everybody of the brand that is Hethersett Athletic Football Club. On a personal note I hope in the coming season to get round to watching each of our teams at least twice. To help with the corporate feel of the club we are beginning to move to a standard shirt colour. After a very close vote it was decided that we should play in orange. So as kits wear out they will be replaced with orange shorts of a similar design. To this end we are looking to sort out a deal with one supplier. This is something we have tried in the past but we now feel it is time to take the matter forward again. There are a number of miscellaneous projects I would like to see achieved over the coming year. I am looking into the possibility of writing and having printed a booklet on the history of the club which hopefully would raise a bit of money as well. Also I would like to see a range of club merchandise from shirts, tracksuits, scarves, baseball caps etc that can be sold over the internet and at club functions. I would also like to see us re-visit our vice-presidents list which currently stands at just two and also appoint a suitable club president – all these are honorary positions. The web site is being re-designed and fully updates as a source of club records, history and current news. We are also taking possession of the historic Nurses Cup – a very valuable trophy which goes back many decades. It will be up to us to decide just what this trophy is used for. Whilst on the subject of trophies this year saw us create our third honorary playing life member when Matt Steward completed 300 league and cup appearances. The annual Lee Thompson Memorial Trophy went to founder and secretary Mel Perkins and the Saturday men's team beat Lyng to retain the Lee Thompson Plate for the club. The goalposts for Community Charter status have been moved again and we are due for renewal in the next year or so. The club committee will continue to work towards maintaining our status within our development plan which is discussed at each and every committee meeting. I feel in the coming years having the charter standard will be vital in attracting grants and funding. I feel it has already helped us greatly to focus on the future of the club and to attract sponsorship but I would like us to become more pro-active in looking for grant aid. It looks as if in the coming season we will be running 18 teams. That will include youth teams at Under-8, Under-9, Under-10, Under-11, Under-12, Under-13, Under-14, Under-15, Under-16; girls teams at Under-14 and Under-17; a Ladies first team and a Ladies Hearts team, a Saturday men's team, three Sunday Men's teams and for the first time a Veterans' team. The National and Norfolk FA continue to look at pyramid systems for the various leagues. The latest news is of steps to make the Crown Fire South and Central Norfolk League on par with the bottom two divisions of the Anglian Combination with the Division One League winners given the opportunity to move straight into Division Five of the Anglian Combination. This gives us plenty of scope for progression in the Saturday game. Similarly there is a pyramid system in the ladies game where our aim will be to progress from the Eastern Region Premier Division into the third national tier and the South East Combination, There is no doubt that we have made huge strides forward in the past 18 years and particularly in the last couple of seasons. The future for Hethersett Athletic looks bright and exciting providing we get all the infra-structure in place, I am hoping that season 2009/2010 will not only bring us more success but will be enjoyed by everyone involved with the club whether they are players, managers, coaches, club officers or spectators. Finally I would like to appeal for anybody interested in helping at the club in any capacity to come forwards. As we continue to grow a small army of people is needed to help with the day to day running of the club. * * * Club secretary Mel Perkins reported that the club had run 17 teams during the season and played a total of 384 league and cup games of which 161 were won, 40 drawn and 183 lost. The club scored 1,024 goals and conceded 1,115. The club has 382 signed up members. The number of players signed up for the clubs codes of conduct showed an increase of 25% and now stands at 75%. "We need to get this up towards 100%," Mel said. "Running this club is now bigger than running a small business yet we are all volunteers. We must ensure that we don't run too quickly and ignore the basics. I know that we are highly regarded as a club by the county FA and the various leagues we play in," he added. * * * The following officers were elected:
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