Congratulations to Robins U11 Reds who have emulated the success of their collegues in U9 Reds and U10 Whites in winning their group in the N Wilts League Winter Trophy Event, the second of the 2015-16 season.
The finale couldn't have been more dramatic as with 4 wins out of 5, the lads faced their final game of the Trophy Event campaign against a very strong FC Salisbury side who were undefeated in 18 months. Salsibury are new to the League this season and it's fair to say they've really raised the standard of the League, in fact they've set the bar for other teams to rise to.
Salisbury went into the game as clear favourites - undefeated in 18 months and needing only a draw to win the group, whereas Robins needed a win to equal Salisbury's points total and snatch the Trophy on the "head-to-head" rule
So, plenty to do but no pressure on our lads as we told them to just go out and enjoy their football, advice they took to heart as both teams played out a superb game between probably the two best teams at this age group in the area. In the end, Robins ran out the winners but both teams played some fantastic football in a fitting finale to the top group of the U11s Winter Trophy Event. The quality of football both teams played was a real testament to just how strong the league is at this age group, and a huge credit to both teams.
You can read all about the U11 Reds' successful Winter Trophy Event campaign in our mach reports section here and you can see a gallery of photographs from the whole campaign here.
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 U11s will play 3 Trophy Events of approx 6 weeks each, making around 18 weeks of competitive football across the whole 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 in total; while the U7s and U8s will also take part in 3 Trophy Events, but shorter in duration. 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 and then gradually increase the length of the competitions year on year until finally the players take on a full season-long league at U12.
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