Under 10's A Team - Runners Up at Garforth Tournament.

Tadcaster Albion Under 10's A Team have had their most successful 'tournament season' ever. In the 3 Tournaments entered (Tad, Garforth and Ulleskelf) they have either won the competition or been runners-up on each occasion. Today (15th June 2008) they came in as runners-up of Garforth Villa's 'UEFA' themed competition. We can't say that the play was particularly inspired - in fact some of the players were showing distinct signs of being 'footballed out' - however, there was a moment of pathos when Tadcaster A were drawn against Tadcaster B in the semi-finals. This game illustrated the true benefits of the Mini-Soccer system where league games of 'A vs A' and 'B vs B' are carried out thereby giving everyone an equal chance to shine. The A Team showed great sportsmanship in the 15 minutes of play and were gracious in their 6-0 victory over their friends.

This was the Under 10's A & B Team's last ever appearance. Starting in September (and in a few 'friendlies' before) we will have 2 teams playing 11-a-side in the 2008-2009 season. These teams will be called 'Tadcaster Albion JFC' and 'Tadcaster Albion Blues' and will play in the Ryedale League's 'Championship' and '2nd' Divisions respectively. 'Tadcaster Albion JFC' will be coached and managed by Mick Clow and Nick Brown. 'Tadcaster Albion Blues' will be coached and managed by Nicholas Devine and Mikey Biscombe. The teams will be playing different opponents, on different dates, at different venues. Both teams will also be entered for the 'Ryedale League Cup' in addition to their respective league competitions, with up to 30 matches being played (excluding local tournaments!) Both teams will have F.A. Affiliation with the West Riding County F.A. and continue their overall association under the umbrella of 'Tadcaster Albion JFC' which ranges from U7's to U18's.

Each player will be receiving a letter this week, from the acting Secretary of Tadcaster Albion JFC which will give them the choice of which team to register with based on their own estimation of their football abilities. No undue influence will be put on any player to chose one team over the other, in order to make the division of the 2 teams as open, honest and transparent as it can be. Everyone who responds will be able to continue their football career with Tadcaster Albion at whatever level they themselves choose. Full contact details and instructions for any questions that may arise will be attached. Thanks to all of the parents (and grandparents) who have helped out in 2007 - 2008. Check back soon to see full coverage of The A Team's victory at Ulleskelf (including video!)

Tad Albion JFC dominate Wetherby Distict Cub and Scout Tournament!

Players from Tadcaster Albion JFC literally had a 'field day' at Wetherby today, where they dominated the Competition. Players including Saul Guilford, Paul Hick, Owen Hick, Josh Jackson, Harry Jackson, Jack Burton, James Oliver, Cavan Conway and Joel Brown were spread amongst the competing teams even (at one point) playing each other. The scout team featuring Paul Hick & Josh Jackson were unfortunately knocked out in the quarter-final. The 'Tadcaster B' team (as they were called) featuring Saul Guilford, Harry 'Rooney' Jackson, Jack Burton, James Oliver and Owen Hick were beaten by 'Tad A' in the semis (2-1). This game featured a stunning strike from Cavan Conway which was straight out of 'Christiano Ronaldo's Big Book of Impossible Goals'.

The 'Tadcaster A' Team really gelled after an inauspicious start with some fantastic 'give and go' play from Joel, Cavan and potential new Tadcaster Albion U11 signing Matthew Orr. Everyone did exactly as the manager asked and concentrated on their own area of play (which was a very wide area for our attacking midfielders!). The defence was firm and the Goalkeeper (another potential new signing for Tad - Josh McCarthy) was absolutely outstanding. We even had a bit of light relief when Joel Brown was cautioned for dissent.....;

'Tadcaster A' reached the final playing a total of 6 games in the blistering heat. Both halves and extra time ended in deadlock (their opponents were '1st Wetherby Lions') with the final result being decided on penalties. Joel bravely stepped up to take the first penalty which was so coolly executed that the ambient temperature of the whole postcode dropped a degree...; The running score flipped and flipped again with Tad having the advantage and then Wetherby. Cavan proved that watching Man Utd is not an entirely wasted exercise, dummied the keeper and struck it so hard past the keeper's head that his left ear needed an ice-pack.

It was all down to the last strike from Tadcaster goalie Josh McCarthy (who had saved 2 out or the 5 penalties taken against him) - Josh proved he was just as adept at scoring penalties as saving them and 'Tadcaster A' won the Tournament. Thanks to Tad Parents Contingent (including Shelly, Stu, Alan, Denise, Graham, Debs, Cathy J, Frank, Jez, Mandy and Sharon -sorry if I've missed anyone) who turned out to lend their support. Great Day - Great Win!

Under 10's News - 3rd June 2008

Training & Garforth Tournament
Friday Training at Riverside will be taking place at 6:00pm this coming Friday 6th and following Friday 13th, prior to our final competitive appearance (for 2008) at the Garforth/Swillington Tournament on Sunday 15th June. For info - we need to be at Swillington Miners Welfare Club for 9:30am on Sunday 15th June.

Press & Ulleskelf A-Team Victory
For anyone who didn't see it, we had a two page spread in Saturday's York Press (in tandem with the report in the Wetherby News, provided to both papers by Sharon). I'll be scanning this report and putting it on the blog along with pictures and details of the U10's A-Team triumph at Ulleskelf.

New Season - 2 Teams
It will soon be time for me to register the teams for the 2008-09 season for agegroups of Under 7's up to Under 16's.
Mick is keen to use the nucleus of the current A & B Teams to form a strong U11 Team for next season and Nick Devine is actively recruiting another team for this agegroup to run alongside (though obviously dates & venues will differ for the 2 teams matches).

Nick Devine has already been able to secure the services of some star signings from Wistow and would welcome any introductions to eligible players that you may know of. We will be co-ordinating a major recruitment offensive in the next few weeks, but in the meantime if you are aware of anyone that may be interested, they can contact Nick Devine direct on: 01937 832331 or 07950 800212 or email Devinenicholas@aol.com

Tadcaster Albion Tournament 2008
The Tadcaster Albion Junior Football Tournament at Riverside on 17th & 18th May 2008 made a profit of £4,726 - which is £466 UP on last year! - Many thanks to the people who gave their time and effort - we can always use more help with this function - the pre-planning, the actual weekend and the workload afterwards are massively time consuming for the 10 or 12 people who take the burden of the responsibility (all of which is done voluntarily, so that costs for parents are kept to a minimum for training, kits, insurance etc throughout the season).

Collection of Kits
I'll be collecting in all of the Under 10's kits after the Garforth/Swillington Tournament - if you don't want to change on the day of the tournament could you please drop the washed kit in to me at Beech House, 49 Garnet Lane, Tadcaster, LS24 9LD. http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GBLS24%209LD We'll be topping up identical kits for the 'new' under 9's,10's and 11's, so it is imperative that we have these back in good time so that we can co-ordinate the sizing and squad numbers for the new kits. You don't want me 'cold calling' you like Gordon Brown do you?
Thanks in advance

Nick Brown
Tadcaster Albion JFC Treasurer/Acting Secretary

Bagpacking at Sainsburys 24th May 2008

Many thanks to those who took the time to get involved with our bagpacking fundraiser at Sainsburys in Tadcaster on Saturday 24th May. Coverage from Players & Parents was a bit thin on the ground - hopefully we'll have a few more particpants next time.

'Our Liz' will have the totals very soon which will then be added in to our Club Secretary's Year End Report.

We only have a couple of tournaments to play involving the various agegroups (Garforth & Otley) at which point we say goodbye to the current Under 10's (who move out of Mini-Soccer) and hello to the current Under 9's who join the Under 10's down at The Ings, but remain under the auspices of 'Mini-Soccer'.

Keep an eye on the Blog for photo's of Tadcaster Albion JFC Tournament and photo's and video from the Under 10's triumph at Ulleskelf.

T.A.J.F.C. Tournament Press Coverage (1 of 2)

Please find a link to The Wetherby News displaying Sharon's article about the Tournament on 17th/18th of May. The grand total raised will be displayed on the Blog on Tuesday 27th May. This article can also be seen on page 9 of the current edition of the paper. We have been reliably informed that The York Press plan on printing a similar article next weekend (Part 2 of 2).

http://www.wetherbynews.co.uk/wetherby/Youngsters-enjoy-football-event.4112656.jp

U8s at Tadcaster Tournament (17th May)

Tadcaster Albion Under 8s lined up for the Tadcaster tournament hoping for a repeat of the previous week's great performance at Ulleskelf. In blue team this week were Saul, George, Joseph, Louis, Ethan, James K, James O and Edan (cleverly disguised as the invisible man in the team photo). The yellow team was made up of Alfie, Daniel, Emily, Megan, Adam, Justin, Lewis and Harry.

The yellow team were first under way and started off with a cracking win over Ulleskelf thanks to a wonderful individual goal from Harry. They followed that up with a gritty 0-0 draw against Garforth and then another battling performance, losing narrowly to Bishopthorpe's 'A' team. As a team they put so much effort into those first 3 games and were visibly tiring as they lost the last two games. Firstly against a very strong team from Moorend and finally against Poppleton's 'B' team.

The blue team were drawn in the tougher of the groups, but expectations were high. They started with a 1-1 draw against Rawcliffe - having taken an early lead through James K. Next up were Poppleton and Tad always looked second best, losing 2-0. As if that wasn't bad enough, along came our Nemesis in the form of Garforth. Let's just say it was a 'heavy' defeat. They then somehow contrived to lose against Kirk Deighton - the group's whipping boys up until then, before finally ending on a high note with a 3-0 win over Bishopthorpe thanks to goals from James O, james K and Louis.

So, overall a mixed day, but at least everyone seemed to enjoy the day and went home happy - full of sweets ... and crisps ... and pop ... and ice cream .. and burgers ...

U8s at Ulleskelf Tournament (10th May)

Saturday 10th May saw two teams from Tad Albion attend the Ulleskelf Tournament. The red team made up of Alfie, Harry, Justin, George, James K, Louis and Ethan; the blue team made up of Saul, Charlie, Joseph, Adam, Sam, James O and Edan.

Both teams did brilliantly to make it through to the knockout stage.

First up were the red team, having won 1, lost 1 and drawn 1, they went into the final match against a very good (unbeaten) team from Kippax knowing that only a win would do. A tense match saw Tad sneak it 1-0 to make it through to the quater finals.

The blue team made it through their group unbeaten, the highlight was probably holding much fancied Fulford to a draw. A 1-0 win in their final game saw them finish 2nd in their group and set up an all Taddy Quarter final.

A close Quarter Final match saw the red team establish a 2-0 lead through goals from Louis and James K. Great goalkeeping from Saul kept the blues in the game before James O kept his cool to make it 2-1. The blues had a good chance for the equaliser but in the end the scores remained the same and the red team advanced to the Semi Finals.

Tad's opponents in the Semi were the Garforth Blues team. Tad were well on top from the start and when Louis was brought down in the box following a great surging run, James K stepped up to slot the penalty home. Against the run of play though Garforth equalised which set up a final nervy couple of minutes during which neither team could find a way through to score. 4 minutes of extra time still couldn't separate the sides and in the end the match went to a penalty shoot out. No doubt about the hero here - Alfie saved 2 penalties and then stepped up to bang in the winning spot kick .. get in !

Onto the final then, and another team from Garforth (why is it always them ?). Tad gave a good account of themselves in the first half, keeping the scores at 0-0. But in the end strength of Garforth's squad told as they ran out 3-0 winners.

All in all though, a magnificent effort from both teams. Many thanks go to Ulleskelf for organising a great tournament and we'll look forward to an invite next year ... so watch out Garforth !

U8s Mitchell League Presentation Night

Congratulations to the Under 8 Yellow team who finished runners to Heworth in the 'B' division (separated only on goal difference). The team turned out in full for the league presentations which were held at Heworth CC on Friday 9th May. Unfortunately, Megan had a bit of an accident in the 'warm up' so whilst her mates were collecting their trophies and getting their pictures taken, she was on her way to the x-ray department at York District Hospital with her broken finger .. doh !

If anyone has any more photos, please feel free to email them to me and I'll upload them to the blog.

BBQ Photos

http://tinyurl.com/5ovghj

BBQ - with mystery guest! - Sunday 27th April

Event Details

12:00 – Dad’s 5 aside Football Match

12:00 – Mum’s 7 aside Netball Match

13:30 – BBQ

15:00 - Trophy Presentations (with mystery special guest)

16:00 – Finish

Photos of last years event can be seen here:-
http://tinyurl.com/5zsw85

Under 9's and Under 10's at Leeds Utd Old Boys Match

Many thanks to Roy Jewitt who took some fantastic photos at Tadcaster Albion on Sunday 20th April 2008.

You can view all 83 photos here: http://tinyurl.com/3zyx9h
No child is named or identified - if you see something you don't like - let us know and we will remove it.

P.S. don't forget to wear 'high factor' on Sunday at the BBQ - blistering sun is forecast.

Bishopthorpe ‘v’ Tad Albion U8s (6th April)

U8 Yellow Team Match Report

1st Game report
Bishopthorpe 1 – 3 Tadcaster Albion
Scorers: Harry, James (2)
The Yellow team lined up for the first game with Alfie in goal; Emily and Joseph defence; James and Megan in midfield; Harry up front.
Tadcaster went into their final game of the season knowing that only a win would secure second place in the league. On a dreadful hard bumpy pitch both teams were somewhat tentative in the first couple of minutes. James soon settled the nerves though as he fired Tadcaster into the lead with a great low shot. From that point on Tadcaster always had the upper hand. The second goal was the best of the game; having beaten one player, James drew in the last defender before picking out a great run from Harry who rounded the keeper and tapped the ball home. Just before half time, Tadcaster were given a warning when they conceded a goal as a Bishopthorpe player fired in a loose goal kick.
Daniel replaced Emily for the second half and Tadcaster came full of determination. Alfie had very little to do in goal thanks to the efforts of all of the outfield players. Mid-way through the second half, Tadcaster were awarded a free kick wide on the right. James only had one thing on mind and he blasted the ball high into the net to restore the 2 goal cushion. Tadcaster continued to have the better of the play, but without creating any more clear-cut chances. When the referee’s whistle signalled the end of the match, the team were able to give themselves a pat on the back for a job well done.

Man of the Match: Joseph – up and down the pitch throughout the game, he absolutely ran his socks off once again. Well done Joseph!

This was great win and seals a well deserved second place in the league; losing out only on goal difference to Heworth. All the players involved throughout the season can be rightly proud of themselves for their individual efforts. However this success has been achieved by playing for each other, as a team. Well done all of you!

2nd Game report
Bishopthorpe 3 – 3 Tadcaster Albion
Scorers: Alfie, James (2)
The line up for the second game was Megan in goal; Daniel and Emily in defence; James and Harry in midfield; Alfie and Joseph up front.
An entertaining end to the season saw Tadcaster build a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Alfie and James. It looked like a comfortable win was on the cards, but a Bishopthorpe goal which nearly took Megan’s head off gave the home side confidence and they eventually scored twice more to go into the lead. James levelled the scores near the end and the last word went to Megan who pulled off a great save at the death to earn the draw.

Man of the Match: Emily – great defending. Well done Emily !

Mini Soccerer End of Season BBQ 2008

Mini-Soccer End of Season BBQ
Sunday 27th April
Riverside School Field.
12pm – 4pm

We are looking for adults interested in playing football or netball on the day Please let your coaches know if you would like to join in.

Any parents who can help setting up the tents and BBQ equipment will be welcome at 10am

Tickets are on sale now from your coaches, the cost is £5 per family.
You are asked to provide salad or deserts.
BBQ meat will be provided
Drinks, Crisps and Sweets will be on sale
Raffle
Please support the raffle by providing prizes, these can be handed in or brought on the day

Event Details
12:00 – Dad’s 5 aside Football Match
12:00 – Mum’s 7 aside Netball Match
13:30 – BBQ
15:00 - Trophy Presentations
16:00 – Finish

Photo's of last years event can be seen here:-

http://tinyurl.com/5zsw85

Under 10's Rescheduled Games.

The 2 remaining league games for Tadcaster Riverside Albion U10's will take place at home against Wilberfoss on 6th April and away against Old Malton on 13th April.

Training is as normal on Friday 29th March when Mick will give you some more details. We also have an 'Exhibition Match' against Copmanthorpe at Tadcaster Albion ground coming up on 20th April.

Housekeeping: Shirts are collected in and washed at the end of every game - this has happened for the last 5 months and will continue in the future. Don't forget to bring an extra layer of clothing for the end of the game.

U9 Tadcaster Albion 'v' Brooklyn 16th March