Chairman Chat FEBRUARY

Welcome to 'Chairman Chat' or if you've been following over the last 5 months, welcome back!

This is a platform I use to communicate openly to our supporters, parents and the wider local community online about all the ongoings at our club, so with all that in mind, i'll be covering a few areas in this instalment

We are flying through 2022 and already into February without even knowing we were in January it seems. It has been very busy behind the scenes, putting dates together for our annual tournament, the AGM and our end of season presentation, as well as the changes to the running of the PBA site itself...but more on this later.

I personally love this time of year, fresh mornings, the sun starting to last just that little bit longer each night and new things happening everywhere. Both on and off the pitch, we've been delighted to make a number of exciting new announcements over the last fortnight, including that of our Soccer Tots, starting in April for boys and girls who will be just starting their footballing journeys.

There has always been a lot of interest in Soccer Tots at Port of Bristol Youth, but there has been many asking for 'girl only sessions' and I am happy to say this is happening.

More information on both the boys and girl sessions will come in the spring.

We have added to every squad this season and set up second teams at U6 & U8s and in the process of setting up third teams at our current U10 and U12 age groups, ready for next season. Our vision has always been the creation of the best community based youth football club in North Bristol and it has really be noticeable it has been busier than ever around the club.

Anyone who has played their part over the last six seasons should be very proud of what has been created here and I believe the best is yet to come.

U18 Players Into Open Age Football

Two boys so far have played regularly this season, playing alongside men they have built relationships with for a number of years, as their coaches and parents. I still remember going into a male changing room at 15 (yes, I should of been 16) and not knowing what to expect, it was terrifying...to be fair, what has probably been more terrifying is these two lads watching me on a football pitch the few times I've put my boots on... but enough said about that the better.

The men's team is completely separate from the youth, different bank account and committee, only linking up to give our players a pathway to open age football, which we hope will help them develop and stay in the game.

Tom Lees has stepped away from these duties, after taking the position when it was created three seasons ago. The aim of this 'job' is to work alongside the website, getting relevant content out to our members and the wider football community in general, aiding our growth as a club and making us accessible to our members, instead of just the parent/coach relationship.

Tom won't be leaving the club, as he is still a coach with our U15s, but I would like to personally thank him for the time and effort he has put into social media.

Committee member Mark Sage will now take this role over and is really looking forward to adding his ideas to what is already a successful tool for the football club.

As some of you know, we introduced age group parent reps not long after I became chairman, to give parents another platform to ask any questions or ideas they believe would benefit our players. One of these suggestions was a 'Player Postbox' and we have had some success in players interacting and highlighting some issues that we can and have addressed as a committee.

We were also recognised by our County FA, who were really impressed with this and highlighted it to us over a recent meeting that I attended.

At the time of writing this, I am amazed of a transfer being announced to the footballing world and wanted to remind everyone of this important bit of equipment that is on site.

Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen has just signed for Brentford and although for most of you reading this, that probably means nothing, it is important to recognise he is alive. During a EURO 2020 game between Denmark and Finland, played last summer, he collapsed after a sudden Cardiac Arrest just before half time.

It was a highly emotional time for everyone, but he survived because of the quick actions of people present at the game. A difibrillator was present pitch side and after a rapid recovery, he has been able to continue playing this amazing sport, now in the Premier League, six months after the incident.

With that in mind, this piece of life saving equipment is directly outside the main doors of the social club. It will go a long way to ensuring the safety of our players at both games and training, as well as the safety of all opponents, and because of this we are looking to put on a course to aid our members incase of a serious emergency. 

If interested please make yourself known to me.

The attitude around the club has been great over the last few weeks but nobody is getting carried away. It's no secret that this club was in a bad way towards the end of last year, and the rebuilding process will have to be slow and steady, taking one small step at a time. There is still a long way to go but we now believe we can developed a strong and effective relationship with the PBA that will benefit the community as a whole.