Providing a quality football experience to children in the Moray area is no small task. Incredibly, our club continues to grow year on year. In 2017 we expect almost 300 kids to be registered at Forres Area Soccer 7s. Who handles this workload? Volunteers. Forres Area Soccer 7s is one of the longest running youth football club and while many things have changed since we first started in 1993, we can only do what we do with the help of volunteers.
The First-Time Coach

Filled with dread before the season begins. “I’ve never played football, how could I ever help? It’s not like

I don’t care, it’s just I don’t want to look foolish.” There are too many of these examples of parents out there who want to coach but think it’s reserved for the elite football mad parents. The reality is most of our coaches are everyday parents that took the leap of faith to help out. What they find out is that Forres Area Soccer 7s helps every coach from moment they sign up. They receive  access to lesson plans, coaching advice and guidance from our Football Development Officer, and constant support from the board. At the end of the season, the club has an end-of-year party, awarding all the players, and receiving many thanks from parents. The first-time coach looks back on the season and sort of wishes it  would never end and can’t wait for the next season.

We are holding a fundraising bag pack at Tesco Forres on November 5^th. Times are still to be confirmed but we hope to be there between 10am-3pm. We don’t expect people t0 stay all day and if with enough helpers we can arrange shifts. We will need around eight children and four adults. Please email our treasurer Tommy Smith at Tommy@forres-soccer7s.co.uk to register your interest.

A GROUP of young football stars of the future got the chance to experience what it’s like to play in a proper football stadium at the weekend. Players aged between four and 12-years-old who are members of the Forres Area Soccer 7s were invited to Mosset Park, the home of the Forres Mechanics to get a taste of playing on a proper pitch. The youngsters were able to use the changing rooms, and entered the pitch from the players’ tunnel to whoops and cheers from the crowd. The event which was not held as a fundraiser also took in over £500 for the club through donations and a BBQ. Shaun Moat, chairman of the club which meets between February and October said: “We are overwhelmed with the turnout of children and supporters. It was fantastic to see so many parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles cheering on the teams. The children played very well and were a real credit to the club which prides itself on respect.”  He added: “I would also like to of course thank The committee of Forres Mechanics for allowing us to play. There was a real excitement among the children, parents and coaches alike.” On Saturday, Macleans Highland Bakery & Pedigreed Cars from the Super 5s section of the Soccer 7s played a game during halftime of the Forres Mechanics V Lossiemouth match Scottish Cup 1^st Round Match.

 

Shaun said: “The Mechanics have been very supportive of the Soccer 7s. We had two teams play a ten minute match at halftime on Saturday and again, it was a real boost for the kids. We hope to do this again in the future.”  Next week will mark the end of season for the Forres Area Soccer 7s.The weekend will start with a tournament at Grant Park and will finish with a celebratory party at Dyke & District Village Hall on the Sunday. “This has been an exceptional year,” said Shaun, “I have no doubt that we will be ending on a high next week, when the season come to a close.”

We are gearing up for a bumper end of season after scoring over £1000 in sponsorship, the chance for the youngsters to have a full match day experience and a party planned.

We have been invited to Mosset Park, giving the youngsters a chance to find out what it’s like to play in a stadium.

Shaun Moat,  Soccer 7s chair said: “We are so grateful to the committee at Mosset Park who are giving us access on September 25 so the kids can have a full match day experience and we want to make sure we can live up to that. We will have players from the Development 4 section right through to the older Soccer 7s playing that day. They will be able to use the changing rooms, run out from the tunnel and we will have tannoy announcements just as though it was a real football match. We want to make it as close to a real match day as we can.”

Shaun added: “The event is on September 25^th from 10am and instead of serving pies we will have a BBQ that day. It will be a great fun event and it will also be a chance for those who are thinking about joining the club to see what we get up to.”

Last month, the Soccer 7s received charity status and a sponsored walk secured over £1000 in funding for the club which is run completely by volunteers.

“It’s been a great few weeks for the Soccer 7s. We are still to receive some of the sponsorship money but so far we have raised around £1300. We were blown away by the level of support for the players and their families who did a seven mile walk from Half Davoch back to our pavilion at Grant Park.

“That just after we received charity status has been fantastic. We are really excited about the news that we have become a charity, it’s going to benefit the club no end. It opens up new funding streams for us and means we are eligible for Gift Aid and other charity rates. It also adds a certain level of kudos to the club in that we are able to now say we are a registered charity.”

However, Shaun added that securing coaches for the 16 teams has been more difficult and that they will be looking at how they can attract people when the new season starts next February.

“It has been tough. We are almost a victim of our own success as we have had more teams this year than ever before,” explained Shaun, “but that means we need more coaches and we do appreciate that it does require a certain level of commitment. We have managed and we appreciate all of the hard work that the board, coaches and other volunteers put in, but we are looking at different ways of structuring the coaching staff and training sessions to find a way that will work best for everyone.

“The great news is that we have managed this season and we will be celebrating our end of season on the first weekend of October. The tournament will take place in the park on Saturday October 1^st, followed by a celebratory party the day after.”

The Forres Area Soccer 7s received confirmation from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator that it had been successful in its bid to become a registered charity. Shaun Moat, chairman of the Forres Area Soccer 7s which meet every Sunday and is aimed at children of all abilities from aged four and up explained why it was important for the club to achieve charity status: “We are really excited about the news that we have become a charity. This is going to benefit the club no end. It opens up new funding streams for us and means we are eligible for Gift Aid and other charity rates. It also adds a certain level of kudos to the club in that we are able to now say we are a registered charity.” The Soccer 7s will return to Grant Park on August 21 after the summer break. It currently has over 100 children taking part from development fours which I aimed at boys and girls aged 4 to the Soccer 7s which caters for up to 12 year olds. The club is also in need of new coaches to mentor and train the teams. Shaun said: “We lost three coaches over the summer due to them having other commitments. If anyone out there wants to get involved they should get in touch. You don’t need to have lots of coaching experience, or in fact experience of football, you just need to be enthusiastic, and be able to encourage the young people we have playing for us.”

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club are coming to Forres in the summer to deliver a coaching course in partnership with us.

ICTFC Community Department will be running a Summer Hotshots course and will be open to children aged 5-14 years old. It will be at the club and use Grant Park pitches.

It will run from Monday 25th –  Wednesday 27th July and Cost between £15-£30

To Book call 01463 229330

 

 

We are looking for volunteers who want to help with the running of Forres Soccer 7s to join our board.

The board meeting monthly to discuss the club and any upcoming events.

Board members would help out on Sundays and with events

Interested, we have the following vacancies:

Club Secretary – Job Description 

Board Members 

 

To Apply – Please email Club Chairman – Shaun Moat – shaun.moat@forres-soccer7s.co.uk stating the position you wish to be considered for and what you can bring to the team.

With the increase of players in our Senior Section (Soccer7s) we needed to rethink the current set up. This meant we increased the teams and although we had one sponsor already in place it was a no brainer to approach our new supplier of the kits and uniform Rob and Amy Dodsworth at Dallas Designs Ltd at Elgin.

Rob and Amy have been a key part of the transformation with the high quality kits for this season. Dallas Designs Company Director Rob Dodsworth said “Here at Dallas Designs Ltd we appreciate the custom the local community brings us and have opted to use the sponsorship opportunity as a way of saying “Thank you”. Over the past few years we have committed to events such as, Speyfest, Piping@Forres, Speyside Stages additionally donating sports equipment/clothing to several of our local primary school teams. We endeavour to provide a high quality service to all our customers and hope that they see we appreciate their custom through our sponsorship of local charities, sports teams and public events.”

Dear Parent

Thanks for coming to support me today. As my friends and l play, l want you to remember a few things:

• I am here to have fun, please encourage me and all the other players no matter which team we play for.

• You are representing me; please do not embarrass me by being negative, shouting or swearing.

• Please do not stand too close to the pitch, this can distract me from my game and I can’t concentrate properly.

• Do not coach me from the side, my coach is here to teach me and too many instructions will confuse me.

• I think doing my best and learning to play is more important than winning.

• Do not ask me the score; ask me if I had fun.

• Praise me for good skills, sportsmanship, discipline and effort. These are the things that make me a real winner.
• Do not criticise my mistakes as I will be scared to try things again. Mistakes will make me better as I can learn from them.
• Please do challenge any spectators that behave the wrong way. Tell them that we don’t allow negative behaviour.
• We have a responsibility to look after our pitch, please do not drop litter including this leaflet. Take it home or put it in a bin.

  I hope to make you proud of me. Please make me proud of you too.

Next week is Sport Relief and we are proud to be the hosts of the 1st one in Forres and the only Mile event in Moray.

You still have time to register, just go to www.sportrelief.com and search for Forres. Online registration will close at 7:30pm on 19th March but if your’re waking up on the Sunday and thinking you wished you signed up. Don’t worry we will be able to take registration on the day.

On the day Life & Sole will be providing the warm up arena to make sure you are warmed up and ready to do your event.

 

There is 3 distances to choose from: 1 Mile, 3 Miles or 6 Miles and is a great event for the whole family to take part in. You can Run, Jog, Hop, Skip or Walk your way round the course, which has been designed by our friends at Forres Harriers

The course is Wheelchair and Pushchair friendly and all competitors will get a Sport Relief Medal at the end of it.

 

 

Members from the Forres Community Sport Hub will also be there with try a go events for all to take part in. They will be over at the Cricket Pavilion.