Congratulations to Robins U9 Reds who have won their group in the Autumn Trophy Event, the first of the 2015-16 season. The team played in a 4 team mini-league in which they beat all 3 of the other teams to win their group, playing some really exciting football along the way in some tough games.
The first game of the Trophy Event campaign was the hardest - a tough tie against Forest Green Rovers went to extra time after the guys equalised with 3 mins to go in normal time, but they then went on to win the game in extra time. The team didn't look back from there as they then went on to score 19 and concede 0 in the following two games. The guys will now have a short break before we get back to it for the winter.
The idea of the "Trophy Events" is an FA initiative to allow younger age groups to gradually get used to playing competitive football. Previously, teams would go from playing two years of development/friendly games where no results or League tables were published, straight into a 20+ week season-long league competition. The aim of the Trophy Events is to introduce the competitive element gradually and intersperse competitive fixtures with development league fixtures.
So this season the U10s and U9s age groups will play 3 Trophy Events each consisting of 3-4 weeks of competitive football, making between 9-12 weeks of competitive football across the season as a whole, while the U7s and U8s will also take part in 3 Trophy Events, but shorter in duration, each comprising just two games. The aim is to give the younger age groups a taste of competitive football, but without the pressure a full season-long competition can somtimes exert on what are still very young players.
Further information on the FA's Youth Development review is available on the FA's main Youth Development Review page and locally on the Wilts FA website