Sadly home fixtures and all Bolton Council Pitches are OFF for the weekend the 19th/20th February. The weather has been against us for the last few weeks but as a club we are not overly concerned for the completion of all fixtures. We have managed to play lots of games through November, December, January and the start of February. The league factor in that we would normally lose 6 to 8 playing weekends in a season and the fixtures all extend until May. No team will miss out on any fixtures as these will be made up at the back end of the season. We will be meeting with FA facilities team on the 22nd Feb to try and push for improvements in the drainage on the Pavilion. This may need match funding and we will update you al once we have discussed with Facilities team. We will also be putting our strong case forward for our own 3G as we are nearly at the FA threshold for a 3G pitch for 65 teams. We have a large number of U7s starting in April/May from the natural progression from the Little Green Dragons.
In early March we are also meeting with our newly appointed FA investment ready consultant were we are looking at everything to do with Moss Bank Junior Football Club from development plans to Charity status, and everything else that is incorporated in running one of the biggest grassroots football clubs in the North West. The club are in a good position given that the FA chose Moss Bank Junior Football Club out of around 80,000, over 10,000 clubs grassroots football teams across the English FA. That was whittled down to 500 who applied for the Investment Ready programme following a comprehensive assessment then finally looked at by the FA and our club being one of the final 200 clubs finally chosen. Again we will update our members once we have met with our FA mentor.
The New Lease Agreement for the Pavilion and Captains Clough is nearing completion and we are on the look out for a commercial Solicitor who can cast a eye over it before signing. Is there any solicitors in the club that could help us with this? We would be most grateful.
Our application for Girls Wildcat status has been successful and you will hear more in the next couple of Months before it’s official launch. Exciting times at the club with lots going on particular in girls football and the Euro’s coming to the North West for the Women’s Euro’s. We want to set up a recreational women’s team also and again we will update our members once we are back at The Pavilion in the spring. We are fortunate to have Kelly Boag as Head of the Girls section and she is very committed to providing girls football across the club and the North West. We also have a Walking Football Team and if there are any older members that wish to join the team please contact the club.
We have a superb set of volunteers at the club including over 90 coaches. Everyone plays a part in running of the club including the Head of Age Groups and welfare teams. We are also fortunate to have Goalkeeper Coaching provided by Nigel Hampson and Cat Whelan who both do a superb job for all our goalkeepers at the sessions. We take great pride in running the football club and are always looking for extra volunteers. This may not be full time basis and maybe only for consultation or support. We will be sending a skill set questionnaire to all our members in the coming weeks so we hope you can help us in some way no matter how big or small.
We have over the course of the season had various invites to Bolton, Man City and Man United for games and coaching. These are specifically been requested by Bolton, City or United on age groups and teams. Bolton, City and United have indicated that all Moss Bank teams will at some point over the season get the experience of attending a coaching session. We again will update the age groups/teams that Bolton, City and United are requesting. Teams will not miss out.
We would like our parent group to grow and support in organising events at the club. We would also welcome a mentor who could support a Moss Bank Junior Football Club Youth Council. There will be more updates to follow. We continue our partnership with Whysup and we hope to undertake some sessions on addiction in different forms, gaming, respect and teamwork in the summer months. We also recognise that our young members at the club have also experienced the pandemic and what this as done to their mental wellbeing over the last 2 years with the lockdowns and isolation. We are now seeing the effects of the pandemic on some of our young members and on this we have now appointed Alex Mort who is an experienced and qualified mental well bring practitioner. Alex is also an under 11’s Coach. Alex has over 15 years of working within Mental Health and over 8 years as a qualified nurse within Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS).Alex understands the importance that has a football club we offer a child a safe and nurturing environment to help a child thrive has a person and not just a footballer. Alex is currently an Advanced Nurse Practitioner at Wigan CAMHS so he has been able to gain a wealth of knowledge and resources that can be used to help your child. Alex will be available for advise, resources and signposting. Alex cannot undertake direct work with young people but we hope to utilise his skills and also to undertake some group work with teams and parents. Again we will officially announce this in the coming weeks with more detail and a video interview with Alex.
In the next few weeks our club shop online will also be open were you will be able to order goods directly. On some of the items there will be a waiting time as these will be, bespoke. Again we will announce this when it is up and running. Also at the end of April we will be starting our Moss Bank JFC Hatchlings group based at 0-3 year old babies and toddlers with a football and Moss Bank theme. Again we will announce this nearer the time. It will be run on a Monday morning at the club either inside or outside (weather dependent) and in the winter at a local hall.
Finally a massive thank you to all our members who continue to make the club grow and be successful. Its not just a football club it’s a community and without your involvement the club would simply not exist. Please keep supporting the club. Could we all follow the club on Social Media and subscribe to our MossBankTV channel on YouTube:
TWITTER: @mossbankjfc
INSTAGRAM: @mossbankjfcofficial
Facebook: Moss Bank Junior Football Club (2 groups)
Youtube: MossBankTV
Website: mossbankjfc.co.uk
Regards
Marcus and Andy