It was amazing to see the club come together for our 2021/22 Trophy Night at the Ashwell Rec last night …the first time in three years following all the disruption due to COVID.
We welcomed lots of new faces, and caught up with some old friends. All the players (nearly 150 children from Ashwell and the surrounding area) loved receiving their Trophies, and a massive amount of fun was had by all.
Thank you to all the committee members who worked so hard to make the event special, to all the coaches for their hard work and support throughout the year and on the night, to all the parents and guardians who support us so well throughout the season, and especially to all the players for making all the hard work worthwhile.
Have a great summer break everyone, enjoy the Women’s Euros over the next few weeks, and we look forward to seeing you all at the start of next season.
Ashwell Accies Under 14’s travelled to Sandy on May 21st to take part in their 11-a-side tournament. The Accies qualified for the Semi-Finals after an eventful Round Robin group stage, the highlight of which were goals from Tom Warburton, Aston Byatt and Noah Hobbis in a 3-0 victory over Wymondley.
In the semi-final they were drawn against Broadhall Youth, from the league above them, and it was a thrilling end-to-end encounter throughout the 15-minute match. Samuel Handley had a fine effort saved by the Broadhall keeper, and then the Accies Number 1 Lucas Smith athletically tipped a rasping shot from the Broadhall striker past the post. Warburton then went close for Ashwell before the only goal of the game came as Smith made another super save only for the ball to drop to the feet of that same Broadhall striker who fired home the rebound. Despite the Accies pushing forward in numbers, and both Max Delderfield and Aston Byatt seeing the Broadhall keeper make further smart stops, it just wasn’t to be.
A fantastic achievement today from our under 9’s tournament team.
We finished the group stages with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss …joint second in the group and progressing through to the knock-out stages.
In the quarter final we played a team who came from the group division above us, and came back from 1-0 down to win 4-1 …onwards in to the semi-finals.
In the semi we were up against a team who came from two group divisions above us, and again showed some real determination to come back from 1-0 down to take the game in to penalties at 1-1. In the end a single penalty was the only difference between us reaching the final, but a massive achievement from all the players to get that close to a final in their first ever tournament.
Many many thanks to all the players for their determination and making us all so proud, thank you the the coaches, and thank you all the parents for your help, support, and enthusiastic cheering.
Some of our under 9’s team showing off their new kit sponsored by Days Bakery of Ashwell
This weekend our Under 9 team ran out on to the pitch in their brand new kit, thanks to the continued support from Days Bakery in Ashwell who have committed to a further two year shirt sponsorship deal.
The team were victorious, winning their match 4-0, so lets hope these become our lucky shirts!
Days have been supporting our team since we first started playing matches over two season’s ago as under 7’s. Thank you so much to George Dorrington and everyone at Days Bakery for your continued support …it really is appreciated, and a massive help for the club and the children in Ashwell.
Ashwell Accies is lending its full support to Play Safe – a national FA-led campaign to raise awareness of the importance of safeguarding in football.
Play Safe is being run in partnership with the NSPCC and has the full backing of the Premier League, EFL, Barclays FA Women’s Super League and the FA Women’s Championship. It’s also supported and being run across every other level of the game.
The main element of Play Safe is a series of short films which emphasise the importance of clubs such as ours having safeguarding as an everyday reality. The films also explain to parents/carers and children themselves what to do if they feel unsafe or worried, because nothing matters more than making sure football is safe for everyone, especially children and young people. You can see these films below.
“As a youth team coach, I will be working with my club to ensure we support the Play Safe messaging,” says FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham. “I am also pleased that the campaign has the support of the former footballers with lived experience of abuse in football, who are on our Survivor Support and Safeguarding Advisory Group. The Group has collectively said:
“Learning from the past is crucial, so that we can prevent the horrific experiences that happened to us and so many others in football, from happening again.
“As a group of survivors, we fully support the ethos and important messages that Play Safe conveys – whether to club officials, parents/carers and or vitally, children and young people themselves. Equally important is that Play Safe is not a one-off campaign – it will be used at key points in the football calendar to remind everyone in football, that children’s welfare and keeping them safe, should be at the heart of all that we do.”
As the Survivor Group points out, you’ll see Play Safe appearing at various points throughout the season to keep safeguarding front of mind in football. Together, we want to do everything we can so everyone – particularly children and young people – has a consistently positive experience of our great game.
The Ashwell Academicals youth football club provides a safe and welcoming environment for children of all abilities to express themselves through sport. We encourage young people to try their hardest, have fun and enjoy themselves.
8 teams ranging from under 7 ‘s to under 14’s are registered to play competitive matches as members of Royston Crow Youth Football League, often with more than one team per age group. An Under 6’s team also trains each week having great fun in preparation to enter the league when they reach the Under 7’s age bracket.
If you drive past Ashwell Rec on a Saturday morning you will see that it is a hive of activity, the two pitches there are almost always in constant use hosting matches from 10am to 12pm, and you’ll see the fun and excitement that the children gain from participating in this wonderful sport. The older age groups play at SmallGains Lane which is similarly at full capacity most Saturday and Sunday mornings on the bigger pitches. The Accies cater for all abilities, we take Lionel Messis and My Messys, it’s all about participation.
As we start the new football season can look back on the successes of the 2020/21 season:
The under 12 ‘s had an almost unbeaten record gaining promotion to a higher division.
The under 18’s season culminated in a thrilling Cup Semi-Final which they lost in the very last minute to deny them a fitting finale in a Cup Final.
Under 13’s reached the final of the Tri-Counties Cup competition and met Letchworth Garden City in the Final. There was a great atmosphere down at the Small Gains ground as the Accies took a 2-1 lead with 10–minutes to play and the large home crowd was getting very excited…..Letchworth eventually got an equaliser with less than 5-minutes left and then showed their strength to score a last minute winner (it’s a recurring theme!) to thwart the Accies It was a great occasion ensuring that a tough season of interruptions, finished on a high.
A new addition this year is the Accies Girls team which covers Under 10’s and 11’s who will participate in the Hertfordshire Girls League. The team is looking for new players to join the squad, so come on girls….give it a go!
Many of the teams are mixed with boys and girls playing together. There are also girls specific training sessions from Under 7’s through Under 12’s. These have included occasional visits from professional Ladies football players.
A few words from Billie who plays for the mixed under 13’s team: “My favourite part of playing for the Accies is that it is like playing with family. I grew up with most of my team through pre-school and school. It is a gift to be able to meet up twice a week to play a game we all love. I am grateful for the support from the coaches who give up their free time to support us.”
“My overall best moment of the season was being brought back together after lockdown, not just to play football but to see each other and start to return to some sort of normality.”
For more information about our youth football teams contact us via this website, or email info@ashwellacademicals.com
We are delighted to announce our new sponsorship deal for this season’s Under 13’s team. The Fox and Duck in Therfield, and Strand PR have stepped-up to support our local boys and girls football team by sponsoring our match shirts for the next two seasons.
Ivan Titmuss from the Fox and Duck said “We’re delighted to have joined forces with our Marketing team Strand PR and signed an historic sponsorship deal with the Ashwell Accies Football Club! The Fox and Duck, Strand PR, and the Ashwell Accies – what a dream team! Good luck to the club this season!
We were super excited to receive an invitation from Charlotte Crisp (Head of Youth Development and Cambridge United) to be mascots at Cambridge United’s game against Actonians in The FA Women’s National League at the weekend.
Not only did the girls from all of our age groups get to meet the Cambridge United Women players, they got to walk out with them at the beginning of the match, and also have a kick-about on the pitch before the game.
The girls had an amazing afternoon, and we are very grateful to everyone at Cambridge United for looking after us so well. I believe Cambridge United Women have a few more life long fans!
The Ashwell Accies are back for the 21-22 season !!
This weekend all of our age groups were back on the pitch …nearly 150 children from Ashwell and surrounding villages and towns, outside in the fresh air with all their friends, getting some exercise, and having lots of fun.
We are delighted to see all the boys and girls back on the pitch, and we are looking forward to the season ahead.
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