What a fantastic Presentation weekender we had over the weekend of the 20th May! It just seems to get better and better every year – and we were again blessed with incredibly good weather for the youth awards day, our showpiece for the end of season.

Whilst the adult Men’s and Ladies teams take to the town and head out for an evening , Sunday the 20th was The Grange takeover day, the coaches were up early (Sam Smart started on the Friday before!) erecting the Awards marquee, laying out seating and tables, setting up the car parking, fencing off the activities areas etc – by midday we were ready with Paintball, Lazertag, Gladiators style Rotating Arm, Inflatable Slide and two mini football pitches with goals. The bar was open – thanks as ever to the Sports Association and especially to Jane and her team – and E Lee and Sons were already cooking up a storm on their BBQ to their ever high standards, the Ice Cream van was ready for a rip roaring day of trade and the Candy Floss stall was ready to fill everyone with sugar! And all of this is paid for by the club (your bar bill is your business though!) as a thank you for the season. The ever vigilant Fundraising Committee also had their World Cup sweepstake, spot the ball and competitions ready also – which were tremendously supported on the day.

The nature of the presentation day – every team is allotted a specific time for all of the activities – means the Grange is perfect for all of our teams, although the hundreds of players and families that attend over the course of the day would be simply too many in one go. Part of the idea of the day is to remind all teams that they are part of something much bigger and we are here to support the players develop and grow over many years – as a player you are actually part of a huge club not just the team you see at training or match day.

And so, to the awards themselves. Each team has the option to change the title of the awards so that they can best reflect their season, as such the awards can look a little different from team to team –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well done to all, lots of very deserving winners there.

A big thankyou to Matt Smith also who used various cameras and gadgets to come up with a video of the day – including some fantastic drone shots of the whole thing. You will find a link to the video below:-

https://youtu.be/1mfu5zYaTTM

 

WANTED!

The club is currently seeking volunteer’s to help with the club’s vital fundraising work.

Did you know?

• EBUFC is the only club we know of that dedicates an entire day to all youth teams with free activities such as paintball, gladiators, bubble football, BBQ etc at the end of every season
• The club is all inclusive and whilst others may simply drop such things as the end of season presentations, raise match and training fees or charge players for match kit, the club has always done everything it can to ensure that cost is not a barrier for people getting involved in the sport.
• We currently have 16 teams, and approximately 276 players (this changes with comings and goings over the course of a season)
• EBUFC Football is available to all ages – from Under 6’s all the way through to the Over 55’s
• To run those teams, we have a total of 4 x Level 2 FA Coaches, 10 x Level 1 FA Coaches and a further 7 Coaches awaiting qualification – all 21 of the coaching staff are CRB/Safeguarding checked and the club has 19 x First Aiders.
• In addition to coaching, we also have 2 x Welfare Officers, the Club Secretary, a Webmaster, 8 x Members of The Committee, a groundsman, President, Vice President and 2 x Life Vice Presidents!
• Many volunteer’s cover multiple roles, but we have a total of approximately 30 volunteer’s in all – Total Volunteer Hours to run the club last season was circa 4,000 hours!
• Last Year our Club Secretary, Lisa Harding-Duff was awarded the prestigious Club Secretary of the Year from the Weetabix League, our Groundsman Tony Sanders was a runner up in Groundsman of the Year from the FA and the late Anne Cleaver, whom sadly passed away recently after almost 30 years as the heartbeat of the club, was a runner up in the Lifetime Achievement award from the FA.
• Over the years the club has claimed League, Cup, Shield and Fair Play Victories but it’s our status as one of the largest Chartered Standard Clubs in the county that we retain the most pride in – in 2014 we were presented with The FA Charter Standard in the Community Status Award.
• The FA also supplied us last season with 50 hours of mentoring from an Elite Coach (a professional coach that works with the highest level fulltime clubs) and this was used to support many of our coaches to help them continually improve over that season.
• We have many players in our youth ranks that have also ben scouted by professional clubs – they combine playing for Earls Barton United with coaching and matches for the likes of Leicester, West Brom, Cambridge, Northampton Town and more.
• The club was first formed in the late 1800’s – the first actual recorded match was against Northampton Town who themselves formed in 1897 – their very first match was against us (they won 4-1), so we are older than the Cobblers!
• For over 21 years we have twinned with a German Club – SLV Wittlich – with whom we have, every year, organised a trip (taking it in turns for them to visit us or us to visit them) for youth and adult teams. The week always revolves around football, players stay with host families and are generally spoilt rotten – long friendships have been formed and this has now become a bond that has passed onto a third generation. Sadly, the main organisers from the Wittlich side – Roland Heinrich – passed away suddenly this year as did our own key organiser Anne but the clubs will continue to honour the tradition in their name.
• We are a progressive club – each season we apply ourselves to being at the forefront of change and progression in football (as an example, last season we trialled the online player registration portal for the league that’s now been fully adopted, and we invested in defibrillators (AED’s) at our two training/match facilities at The Grange and The Pioneer. This season again we are at it – trialling a Parent Liaison Officer to help instil the FA’s Fair Play guidelines on a match day for instance.

The reality however is that the club simply doesn’t generate sufficient funds each season, although the help provided by the large number of club and team sponsors is a massive help and very gratefully receieved, it is through key individual’s generosity and support that the club continues to thrive as it does and that’s a situation that needs to change.

If you can help in anyway, ideally through joining our Charity Committee and helping to drive fundraising – please get in touch with the Club Secretary HERE

 

Smile

By Cliff Elliot

 

Anne to me was my Northampton mum.

 She’d calm me down when football wasn’t much fun.

 But there was a few times, she’d call me and say

 Cliff, we have another appointment with the FA

 But with Anne by my side,  I always knew

 My ten game ban would be reduced to two.

 She had a voice of reason, with an intelligent sound

 One I loved to hear, as it saved me a few pound

 Anne’s Rosey cheek smile, will never leave my mind

 From Barton to Wittlich,  a warmer one you won’t find .

 Take the S from her Smile,  that’s how far it goes

 Especially on your good days , and also your lows.

 Life’s about living,  so grasp with both hands

 Keep smiling don’t waste it,  or bury your head in the sands

 I’m going to keep smiling, even though I feel sad

 I knew Anne,  so life’s really not bad .

 

You share the same goal as somebody, sit around meetings and spend lots of time on the phone, e-mail and visits, but until you are faced with the news that they are no longer with you, and the tears fall as you hear of their passing, more tears as you inform others and finally more tears as the over whelming declaration of affection comes from far and wide. Too late you realise they meant so much more than you could ever appreciate.

Anne Cleaver passed away on the 21st September and her dedication to her family, friends, and the community was endless.

Whilst it was one of the saddest days in Earls Barton United’s history, on that night I took the Under 16 squad for training and they in turn helped the under 13’s prepare for the weekend game, only interested in getting the best from their juniors. On Saturday morning I took the under 7, for some their first ever game, others it was their 2nd. These moments are what Anne would like her legacy to be.

Football where there are no boundaries, where children show innocence untainted by the prejudices of the world. At Earls Barton we have girls football, but this week the boundaries were pushed again as the boys under 14 and 13 teams, invited the more developed girls to join them not only improving their own squads, but helping also to develop the girls with different challenges.

29 years, Anne has been part of football in Earls Barton and the County. So many club secretaries have written expressing their thanks to Anne for supporting them over the years with advice and friendship. Opposition on the pitch yes, but the sharing of the common goal.

Steve Legg of Corby Kingswood wrote: –

“Anne was a unique person and I only wish that some of the leagues would have listened to her wise words. I was extremely lucky to have met Anne and Geoff 20 years ago, when our boys played against each other over at the pioneer. In that time I did not hesitate to ring Anne for advice.”

Anne had a favourite poem, a reminder to adults that children deserve the right to be children.

“They stand on the field their heart beating fast,

The whistle has blown, the die has been cast.

Mum and dad cannot help, they stand all alone,

A goal at this moment, will send the team home.

The ball near their feet, they kick and it misses,

There’s a moan from the crowd, some boos and some hisses.

A thoughtless voice cries “take off the bum”

Tears fill their eyes it’s no longer fun.

If your ever tempted to shout or to groan,

Remember it’s a child, who stands all alone.

So open your heart, give them a break,

It’s moments like this, a player you make.

Keep this in mind, please do not forget,

They’re only children, not adults yet.”

If we are to ensure Anne’s memory and legacy continue in the right way, then it must start with remembering, it doesn’t matter whether you are a child or adult, player or official, spectator or volunteer, respect each other, bring the best out of each other and be true to your own development. Share with others what you have learnt and ensure your friends and teammates are not standing alone.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Geoff, Matthew, Andrew and their families, at this very difficult time. May the grieving process be eased in the knowledge of what an amazing person Anne was, and how she had touched the hearts of so many.

Antony Owen

Earls Barton United FC

Earls Barton United Football Club Newsletter

Each month the village magazine, Barton Today, publishes an article about the club – below you will find an archive of the most recent and a number of old articles as they have been published – each one a Newsletter from the club!

EBUFC Jan 2018

There is a trials day for all new player under 18 years of age on Tuesday  6th June 2017 – 7pm at the Pioneers Sports Ground, Earls Barton.

All player must be under 18 years of age on 31 August 2017. We play in the NDYAL league and train of Wednesday evenings 7pm – 9pm in Earls Barton through the season.

 

Please contact James Shurville on 07780 453 933 with your name and playing position to register you interest or contact us using the online form provided.

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the sudden death of Roland Heinrich. Roland was a great friend of our club and the German organiser of our highly successful twinning exchanges.

Roland was involved with youth football for nearly 20 years and during this time he organised the exchange trip on behalf of SLV Wittlich/Luxem. As we are fully aware, it takes a lot of passion to persuade countless families in the Wittlich area to host a boy or girl from Earls Barton / Wellingborough. This was something Roland had in abundance.

Many friendships have been formed and continue to be, and many independent personal visits have occurred where these friendships have expanded beyond the initial exchange visits. This is as a result of the time and effort Roland put in to keep the friendship going over the many years.

Over the years, Roland had enriched the lives of around 1,000 children and many adults. This was so much so that the children of the original boys have now been involved with the twinning of their children, and others who first visited as children have now attended as adults and revisited the families they stayed with. I don’t believe Roland really appreciated this fact.

During the 21 years of the twinning trip Roland introduced us to many of Germany’s sights and traditions; Internationals and Bundesliga football, German
theme parks, castles, typical German towns and food which most of the boys, girls and adults have enjoyed and appreciated.

 

On the reverse we have introduced him to Wembley Stadium and “that” cross bar from 1966. He became a true Cobblers fan with several visits to Sixfields and even travelling over to the play off final of 2013. He loved Warwick Castle, Cambridge, London and all the other places he visited.

His knowledge of football was incredible. Not just German football but English and indeed world football. If you spoke to him about a club he would know its history.

Roland will be sadly missed by all in Earls Barton and Wittlich. We hope there is someone in Wittlich with the same drive and enthusiasm as he had, thus continuing his legacy of bringing families of Wittlich and Earls Barton together.

The Chartered Standard Community Plan 2016-17 is now available for download (pdf file)