Author: Stuart Wilson

VPFC are a friendly and inclusive, non-competitive football training club for primary school age children, both boys and girls from Reception to Year 6.
News

VPFC U7 girls take on Harpenden Colts A team

Our U7 girls took part in their second friendly match against a Harpenden Colts girls’ team on Saturday the 11th November 2023 at the Harpenden Town Stadium in front of a sell out crowd of 5 dads, 5 mums and 1 dog.

The team of Jessica, Neus, Georgina, Ava, Claudia, Sophie and Alice were taking on the A team from Harpenden this time but acquitted themselves brilliantly and showed how much they’ve improved. An early goal for Harpenden was equalised by a full length of the pitch dribble and shot by Claudia. The whole team then ran back the full length of the pitch to celebrate their first competitive goal!!

The second half was just as entertaining with great teamwork and many chances to score at both ends. All our goalkeepers were brilliant and much improved but a special mention to Jessica who saved with every part of body including her face and carried on after a short break. Great resilience!! Harpenden Colts took the lead again in the second half but after many near misses Georgina got VPFC on the scoresheet for a second time after some real intensity in their play in the final quarter. A great comeback, team spirit and refusing to give up gave VPFC a well earned 2-2 draw.

Well done girls – a fantastic performance from all.

News

U7 Girls Shine in First Friendly vs St Albans City

Saturday 14th October 2023
Author: Mike Hillary

Our U7 girls took part in their first friendly match against a St Albans City girls’ team on Saturday the 14th October 2023.

The team of Jessica, Carmen, Neus, Georgina, Ava, Claudia, Sophie and Alice were taking on a more experienced team who are already playing league games. With some of our girls only taking up football 5 weeks previous this was a fantastic performance that showed how hard they’re trying in training and learning really quickly in a game situation – the improvement even within this match from the first quarter to the last was incredible.

As a team they kept trying, some crunching tackles(!), working hard for each other and at least Alice and Sophie were unlucky not to get a goal for us against a very good goalkeeper and some woodwork! It was really nice to see them apply some of the skills they’ve been practising with stepovers, drag backs and even a Cruyff turn thrown into their performance. The most pleasing part for the parents and the coaching team was they all enjoyed themselves, despite conceding a few early goals, and kept passing, tackling and dribbling right until the very end of the 4th quarter. Standout performances from Jessica in goal and Sophie in midfield deserve a special mention.

Well done to the whole team on a fantastic performance.

News

From VPFC to League Football: Watching Our Former Players Thrive

As this time of year, the Herts Youth League season is winding down, and the thrill of the Cup Finals takes centre stage. Last weekend, the finals for the five Under 11 leagues unfolded at Herts FA’s County Ground in Letchworth.

I was lucky enough to be there to watch my son, Euan, and his team, St Albans City Youth – Romans, compete in the Larch division final. Just a stone’s throw away, on the neighbouring pitch, St Albans Rangers – Victoria were limbering up for their Oak division final.

Looking out at the two teams, I was struck at how many of these young players started out with us at VPFC, before going on to develop their skills and love for the game elsewhere. In fact, six of the thirteen Romans players first played football with us at VPFC. And the Rangers team? They were all VPFC players just last year and moved together to create a new league team. It was pretty impressive and exciting stuff to see them reach the final in their very first season in the league.

But the story goes beyond just these two teams. Having coached our U11 group until this year, I know the journeys of children from that group best. We’ve seen our players move on to various other local teams within St Albans. Five more of our alumni now play for St Albans City Youth’s West team; we also have former players at East, Central, and two of the girls’ teams; as well as Harvesters and Wheathampstead Wanderers.

The finals were a treat to watch. The Romans, trailing 1-0 at half-time, produced a near flawless second half to win 5-1 with some cracking goals. The Oak final was a tense and exciting game with Rangers ultimately coming out as 3-2 winners.

One of the things we’re most proud of at VPFC is how many of our players choose to take their footballing journey further. It’s why we’ve set up what I think is one of our best initiatives in recent years – our feeder club relationship with St Albans Rangers. In the past, families who wanted to progress to league football had to figure it out on their own. Now, we have a feeder relationship in place with Rangers where they will provide pitches, support and structure for any group of VPFC players that want to move together to form a new team.

That’s not to say we’re changing our focus at VPFC. We’re all about being a friendly, fun and inclusive football club for the local community. That’s perfect for many of our players. They come along, enjoy their Saturday session, and that’s just right for them.

But for those who decide they’re ready for something more, our link with Rangers offers a clear pathway into league football. And what’s great about this is that it doesn’t have to be a one-way street. Families can move to Rangers when they feel ready, and if they ever decide they want to return to the more relaxed VPFC setup, we’ll welcome them back with open arms.

Currently there is at least one ex-VPFC team at St Albans Rangers in every year group from U8 to U12. We think the more the relationship grows the better it gets. Luke Firmin, the manager of the current U8 team is already envisaging how he’d work together with a second team in his year. There is the opportunity to combine training, reducing costs and sharing planning time. Luke also envisions two teams working together as a squad, with players able
to move between teams to play in the team that best suits them.

As we approach the end of the current season, now’s the time to think about what you’d like to do now and beyond. Across several of our year groups there are considerations of possible league teams being formed now or in future years. Share your thoughts on our chat groups to help stimulate the conversations.

News

A Memorable Mascot Experience for VPFC Kids at St Albans FC’s Match against Dover Athletic

On Saturday, 25th March, Victoria Playing Fields Football Club (VPFC) had a fantastic opportunity to participate in a thrilling event with our local semi-professional team, St Albans FC, also known as the “Saints”. The young football enthusiasts from VPFC were invited to be mascots and form part of the guard of honour for the Saints in their match against Dover Athletic at Clarence Park Stadium.

Despite some concerns about the weather, the day remained relatively dry with even a few glimpses of sunshine. The match drew a great turnout, with over 2000 people in attendance which not only contributed to the great atmosphere but also a record in exceeding 2000 attendee’s twice this season (the first in their history). This attendance included more than 35 girls and boys from VPFC, proudly wearing their full club kit. The girls from our club received a special mention from the commentator, who dubbed them “Lionesses”.

This amazing opportunity was organized by Chris Hawkins (Head Coach, Y1) and the rest of the Y1 coaching team. Both parents and children had a fantastic time at the game, creating memories that will last a lifetime. My own son was eagerly counting down the days leading up to the game, and I know many other kids shared his excitement. Many children, including my own, described the day as “the best day ever”. Their excitement at being mascots was only increased by the St Albans City FC team holding out for a 1-0 win at home.

The remarkable turnout of VPFC members at the game highlights the sense of community that our club fosters. It’s important to remember that our club is run by volunteers, who are committed to creating a positive and engaging experience for all the children involved, why not come volunteer with us?

St Albans City v Dover Athletic – 25th March 2023
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Showing Off Our New Kit

Towards the end of 2020, VPFC announced a competition, challenging all our players to create a new design for our kit. It turns out not only do we have plenty of talent on the fields each weekend but there is equally heaps of creative flair amongst our members when they have a pen and paper to go wild with their imaginations.

The club received over 20 designs submitted to the competition which closed in early 2021 and there was a brilliant array of different styles and design options for the judges to review which made it a tough call from the committee

Like all good matches, there’s only one winner and we were delighted to announce the winning design came from the fair hands of Zach Veal from Year 3, with a design inspired by the St Albans Cross. The committee really liked the clear reference and connection to our home base in St Albans and the way the design flowed through and connected all parts of the kit.
Many congratulations to Zach!

Former VPFC coach Stu Wilson took Zach’s drawing and created a graphic designed interpretation of the design which was shared with the clothing manufacturers to life and we’re really pleased that the final kit has arrived and we’re able to show it off.

Perfect opportunity to do that came in the form of some friendlies for Year 2 and Year 5 teams. Don’t they look great!

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2020/2021 season comes to a close

VPFC wants to say a big well done to all the players for all their efforts in and around what has been more than an unusual football season and an equally big thank you to all our coaches, Duke of Edinburgh students who support the training sessions each week, the exec team and all those behind the scenes who’ve worked hard to ensure the season was another great one.

We’ve seen some brilliant play and enthusiasm working within the ever changing lockdown restrictions and we’ve added the necessary safeguard measures to ensure play could continue for as much of the year as possible. Therefore the club is super proud of how much each and every player has developed in the past year and we closed the season with a number of trophy and medal presentations to congratulate one and all.

We hope you all have a great Summer, keep practising those skills and look forward to welcoming everyone to the new season in September 2021.

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SMILE FOR THE CAMERA

Official club photographer joins the VPFC Exec team

A big and warm ‘Welcome’ to James Marson who joins the VPFC team as our first official club photographer. James’ role is to visually capture all the exciting and wonderful happenings at the club from the weekend training sessions to the friendly tournaments to the new developments within the club season after season. James is often on the side lines too watching his son, Sam play, but you can expect to see him with his official photographer bib on, roaming around each of our locations to capture the brilliant football skills, the coaches hard at work, the team sport and above all, the fun enjoyed from our VPFC weekly sessions across all of the club members – young and old!

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‘Le Tournoi’ – Celebrating Year 6 football

As our Year 6 football stars almost come to the close of their season and football journey with VPFC, they recently took up the challenge of a friendly tournament to celebrate all those techniques and goal scoring prowess they’ve developed over their formative years with our club.

There were three VPFC teams – VPFC City coached by Ralph Fernando, VPFC Saints coached by Andy Roughton and VPFC Rovers coached by Dave Buckley – and to complete the line up , a visiting team from Harvesters FC coached by Pearse Broderick for a morning of play in the June sunshine. Great fun and team spirit was had by all including fantastic support from families and friends of all the players, spectating with huge encouragement from the sidelines.

Head coach Tim Pointer commented on the tournament, “Having coached this group for six years, it was wonderful to organise ‘Le Tournoi’ for them as their time with VPFC draws to a close; and to see our girls and boys apply themselves to these matches with skill and purpose.”

All four teams played their three round-robin group games, with Harvesters FC and VPFC Saints then progressing through to the Final as the top two teams. In the final, Akeem scored for VPFC Saints in the first half, with Harvesters FC equalising in the second half.

So then it was onto the usual nail biting penalties just like those fine games in the Euros this Summer. Harvesters took the tournament with a 3-2 win – a dramatic end to a fantastic event staged in some glorious Summer sunshine and much fun was had by all.

The winning team of the ‘Le Tournoi’ tournament was proudly crowned as Harvesters FC with a prize giving ceremony as well as key prizes for star players on the pitch.

In true good sport VPFC would like to congratulate Harvesters FC on their win and a huge thanks to everyone for some great play and spirit on the field.

The club would like to give special thanks to our coaches of Year 6 – head coach Tim Pointer, Andy Roughton, Ralph Fernando alongside Dave Buckley, a former VPFC coach from previous years who came to lead one of the teams and another returner in Craig Learoyd who rejoined as a referee and our Duke of Edinburgh Award student, Erin who all made the day so special.

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Community At Its Best

Dedicated Storage facilities at the Normandy Road site          

We’re delighted to announce the official unveiling of our enhanced facilities at our third training location on Normandy Road. The site now has a dedicated storage unit to house our training equipment and high-quality metal-framed goals permanently located on site. The new facilities were recently officially opened by our club chairman Gordon Baisley and one of our head coaches Tim Pointer. Also in attendance was District and County councillor, Roma Mills who was instrumental in getting support from Hertfordshire County Council.

The unveiling by chairman Gordon Baisley

Not only is this an enormous help to our volunteer coaches as part of our Saturday morning training sessions but it is also a great example of the community spirit at the heart of our football club, as this was only made possible in collaboration with local primary school Aboyne Lodge, who kindly allow VPFC to use their facilities each weekend. In addition, the club received the generous and much appreciated support and contributions of the Football Foundation (which comprises The Football Association, Premier League and the Government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), Hertfordshire County Council and The 948 Sports Foundation.

We look forward to club members enjoying the Normandy Road site for years to come.

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We’re Collecting for St Albans District Foodbank

One of our players helps with the week’s collection

VPFC have started a weekly collection for the St Albans District Foodbank.

Massive thanks to everyone that has brought along donations already.

The St Albans District Foodbank runs 5 distribution centres across the district demonstrating that there is many locally experiencing food poverty. As a community club we’re keen to keep trying to contribute.

We hope it will become part of the routine, for members who are able, to add a can or packet to the children’s drink and snack bags on the mornings of our training.

We also invite others in the local community to drop off donations with us from 9:30-11:00 on Saturday mornings, during term time, at Victoria Playing Fields and The Brickie. We’ll make sure they are delivered to the foodbank warehouse.