Congratulations to Robins U7 Whites who were today presented with their trophies for winning their group in the N Wilts League Winter Trophy Event, their first taste of competitive football! The players played two group games against Cirencester and Cricklade, two very good teams, and did well enough to come out top of the group. Club secretary Teresa Trueman kindly arranged for the trophies to be collected this week so that they could be presented to the players after today's game, a great start to 2015 for the team!
The games were played either side of Christmas, and the club were notified earlier this week of the team's success, a testament to the way coach Philip Trueman has got the team playing in the first season of League football. And no-one could be prouder of the team's achievement than Phil, who commented "A massive well done to the boys on how well they have done, well done from a proud manager." A gallery of photos from today's game is available in our photos section here
U7 Whites follow in a track record of Robins teams doing well in the newly established Trophy Events with last season's U7s and U8s winning all their Trophy Events, while last season's U9s won 2 out of the 3 available, including a thrilling cup final in the knockout competition! This season, U10 Reds have won both their Autumn and Winter Trophy Events while Robins teams have come close in several other age groups and now U7 Whites join their colleagues in bringing silverware to the club! A full list of Robins FC league and cup honours can be found on our Honours page
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