JUNE 2007 NEWSLETTER

Purbeck Panthers FC has just completed a 4th season providing football opportunities to children, boys and girls, adults and players with a disability. These teams have had mixed fortunes but the Club has been successful in its aims, that is, Purbeck Panthers FC is a Club for anyone & everyone regardless of age, race, gender, ability and even where you live.

I would like to thank all players and parents for their support and hope that you have had an enjoyable year. We all hope that you will rejoin the Club for the forthcoming season and support Purbeck Panthers through its 5th season. Membership is now due to be renewed and forms can be obtained from the desk at training, your team manager or from Debi or myself.

The Club has grown considerably from when it was formed 18th May 2003. It has achieved the highest FA award, FA Community Chartered Standard Status. Along with growth, has come new volunteers and parents joining the committee to aid in the running of the Club. Regrettably some have had to leave as their circumstances change. I would like to thank every volunteer and committee member, new & old for their contribution and valuable efforts in maintaining the Club and the achievements to date. Each year the Club grows, therefore it is essential to recruit new volunteers.

New children join the Club every year and as such new teams are required to be formed to cater for their needs. The FA are forever changing the age groups for Girl’s football, frustrating for the Club to accommodate but none the less and more importantly, it provides more football opportunities for the Girls to play football. Again, more volunteers are required to help make this possible. This posses the Club with the question: where do these volunteers come from? The answer is simple: you the parent! Those of us who run teams, help with fundraising events, sit on the committee, were all parents of children who played football. So come on, help your child and others to play and enjoy the ‘beautiful game’. If you have an interest and some time to spare please get in touch with Debi or myself and we can find a suitable role for you.

Our AGM was held on 8th May 2007. I would like to thank those who attended and welcome the members who were elected onto the Committee. As mentioned above we are always looking for new volunteers to expand the committee. You could represent your child/children’s age group. We are all looking forward to an exciting new season. Some changes have been made to the running of the Club with one secretary, Sara Haskins supporting the Chairman, Bob Ewan and myself. I myself will not be running a team, yet will be more hands on supporting all the managers and coaches with training. This with be a great benefit to the Club and all its teams. Being a qualified FA level 2 football coach and having attended the FA level 3 course last year although due to outside influences I was not able to complete the qualification, I can now pass on this knowledge and experience to all. I hope to complete the Level 3 in the near future.

I have provided you with some important information below regarding forthcoming events and future training times. I hope that you all will renew your memberships with Purbeck Panthers and look forward to completing another season with you all. Finally I would like to thank everyone for their support and efforts through this season.