Premier League Under 16's Open Schools Cup Final

It was the final of the Premier League Under 16's Open School Cup Final last week. Hosted at the Manchester City Complex.

If you haven't been to the Man City complex, you should - It's impressive. The facilities are incredible with the main stadium being only one part of it. There are smaller stadiums around the complex for events such as this final. This on top of the Ladies team stadium and retail outlets, it's always very busy.

Well this final had an emotional connection to my family. The final was between Ravens Wood School (Kent) and Reddish Vale High School (Stockport). The connection - My Mum's old school - Reddish Vale. Not only that but my Mum's PE Teacher, is still the Team Manager - Mr Andrew Moores - or Moose as he is called. Bearing in mind that my Mum is now 52, it was anounced at the match that this would be Moose's last match, as he is retiring this year. How apt that he is going out on such a high.

Well again, I couldnt get away from work to get to the match, but Mum and Grandad did and there were already around 100 people there. The match was being filmed and shown live on ESFA TV, which was fantastic - expecially for those fans that hadn't been able to travel. Mum managed to have a chat with some of the staff and also got contact details for me to get onto the Referee team for future matches, which was Mum doing her usual Networking.

Anyway the supporters excitement was loud, the teams came out to music and cheers. Parents looked on proud as punch. The match got under way. Initially Ravens Wood controlled the match. Around 10 minutes in there was a sudden tsunami of school children, The Valers had arrived, loud and on a mission - the coaches from Reddish Vale school had been delayed, but as always with the Valers they make themselves known - it was obviously really handy for Reddish Vale that it is only around 5 miles away from Manchester City's ground.

Whether this made the difference I don't know, but suddenly Reddish Vale's game went into overdrive. They scored, and never looked back, the skills of both side were commendable, with a couple of the players really standing out. The game was a great game and worthy of a final, and being televised.

Ravens Wood 0   Reddish Vale 1

It was an amazing finalle to Moose's Reddish Vale sports career. Reddish Vale has a history of producing great footballers, My Mum and Grandad enjoyed the match, it was as enjoyable (if not more so) than any professional match

Raise Your Game 2017

As all my Footballing is part-time - I have to work (Boo!!!!). Work is pretty good, but unfortunately I couldn't get any time off this week. Events in football are happening all the time, and this week was no different.

Dilemma - How to get the most out of the event without attending???

Answer - Send your Mum !!!!!

RAISE YOUR GAME

Held at Arsenal, I now have a favourite parking spot about 500 metres away. I was about 10 minutes late, and went up the escalator to the conference suites. As I got to the top I was met with a lovely hug from Troy Townsend. We had a quick chat and he then walked me through to the main conference room, where the opening address was happening. Around 400 people must have been in the room, all eagerly listening to the presenters, but excited for their upcoming 'one to one's'. I immediately saw around 5 people to do the hello nod to, and sign that I would catch up with them later.

The morning session then started;

Mentors sat at their desks, number 1 to 91. So many wonderful people from various roles within the football industry, each giving up their valuable time to help those trying to get in to the industry. Each mentor sat wondering what the day was going to bring, and how they were going to be able to assist.

Mentee's eagerly wondered around the desks with their personal folders in their hands, checking their own personal itinerary, checking the name and time of their appointment, and then locating the relevant desk number. The day is such that if there is no mentee at the desk, it becomes open game, three-second rule.

You can tell the mentee's who have been to 'Raise your Game' before. They have the whole day sewn up. They have gone through their itinerary a couple of days before, and studied the other Mentors at the event. They then scan for who's around and swoop in at desks as soon as they are vacated. It's a skill, that is so useful on the day.

There are great informative workshops held throughout the day, presented by personnel at the top of their game. The presentations are absolutely tailored to the event, and what's more, the presenters stay around afterwards to give their time to people wanting to know more.

I spoke with personnel from the Media, FA and Refereeing. Some people I had met before and others were now new contacts for Honor. I had extremely relevant conversations with all of them, and reported back to Honor - and gave her some admin to do when I got back home.

RYG as Honor has said before, is a fantastic day, and something that Troy and his team should be proud of. This could be seen by the number of Mentors at the event who have in years gone by attended RYG as a Mentee. It is actually a fantastic Alumni to be part of.

And to top ot all - It's free.

Check next year's details, and 'SAVE THE DATE!!!!

Inspirational Day

I was asked if I would help at a Muslim Community Event.

My Mum was involved with a Muslim Community event this week. The event was for Muslim Girls from 13 to 18 years old and involved a variety of activities. As part of the physical activities my Mum was asked if I would go and run a football session with them.

They did some jogging and circuit training the night before, and they were very tired, so I adjusted my session accordingly. The girls hadn't played football before, so again I needed to do some exercises that were introducing them to;

Dribbling

Passing

Shooting

We were in the Gym hall so had cones laid out and plenty of space for footballs flying everywhere!!! The girls did well, but were lacking in confidence and very slow with their movements. I got them into two teams and gave them an exercise kicking the ball to someone, then running to take that persons place. They started to chatter a bit more, and put a bit more oomph into their passing!

We finished that particular part of the session learning how to do kick-ups which definately had balls shooting off in all directions. They loved doing this, and in fact a couple of the girls really got the hang of it very quickly, which they were chuffed about.

We then went into a 10 mins each way football match.

I admit that I was slightly worried that the game wouldn't be very fast, the passing wouldn't really work and the game would be quite boring ????????

HOW WRONG COULD I BE

The minute the whistle was blown - oh my goodness, these weren't the same girls;

• The girls who were so tired at the gym the night before, were suddenly sprinting, twisting, turning non-stop
• The Girls who were so shy and retiring, were suddenly going in for the tackle, and fearless
• The quiet environment was suddenly so loud and vibrant with the girls either shouting for the ball, or shouting out instructions
• The competitiveness was incredible, without exemption
• AND - within minutes they had got the jist of shouting at the Referee!!!!!!

I had a great time, and I think that the girls did to. They were all so inspirational

And a couple of them would do well in a competitive football team

The Beautiful Game

I was going to post about something else, but given yesterday's events, I decided to write about football - the beautiful game;

I guess it was going to happen at some point, it was just when and where????

It just shows how important football is, that the terrorists decided to attack a team to gain maximum media coverage. They tried it in Paris, and have tried it again to the Borrusia Dortmund team coach.

Football is a beautiful game, and as I have said before; it has worldwide coverage, and needs no language. It provides enjoyment across the globe. Supporters may be passionate about their team and their country. But most of all they are passionate about the game. Football doesn't take kindly to someone trying to spoil the game.

Music and Sport are precious to everyone, they take a person away from the day to day, They take a person to a wonderful place, an amazing memory, friendship, teamwork and understanding.

The resilience shines through though;

• The people of Dortmund inviting Monaco supporters to stay at their houses for the night, Instead of creating terror, the town has now created new friendships, and grown the football family bond stronger #bedsforawayfans 

• The Dortmund team played tonight with strength and vigor. Competitve to the final whistle, and putting in a fine effort. They showed that football wasn't going to bow down. 

• The media coverage was of resilience rather then a damaged coach. 

We need to look after each other, and look after our game. It's everyone's responsibility to keep an eye on everything around you. If you see something suspicious then don't turn a blind eye. The world is only on loan to us, and we need to be able to pass it on to the next generation in a good state. 

Absence of the Normal, 

Presence of the Abnormal

Any doubts, report it.