One thing for sure, when I was first approached to do the Beacon article a number of years ago, the time gap although the same between each article, certainly now comes round much quicker, or is it just me!

          This time I think our first port of call must be to the Junior section, as I seem to have neglected them a little in recent articles.

The section runs teams from Under 9’s to Under 16’s, also with an Under 11 girls team, they also provide Saturday morning coaching and training sessions for the Under 8’s.

          As in all clubs, some teams are more successful than others, but isn’t the   important part participation, giving the parents and their children an affiliation with the club. At the last home first team league game Under 11’s, children and parents attended the game free of charge, which I thought was an excellent idea and may be there could be room for more of it, although the gate receipts are not  enhanced, it does mean bigger crowds, more atmosphere, and potentially an  increase in raffle receipts and few more refreshments sold. Another important and more relevant issue is giving the junior players and their parents a sense of being part of the club, which has to be of benefit for all.

          Anyway, as usual I digress, so back to the Juniors, as I said some teams are more successful than others, but a brief resume of their season is, the Under 9’s A & B team competed for the first time in a league and along with the Under 10’s played in the Mitchell Sports Mini soccer League. The Under 11’s played in the Ryedale League Division 3, under 11 girls team did the club proud by finishing third in the league and reaching the final of the York League Cup. The Under 12’s won the second division of the Mitchell Sports League, the Under 14’s did well in the first division of their section, the Under 15’s won the second division of their age section and the Under 16’s competed well in the first division of their section. 

          It is at this age group where it seems a club at our level has difficulty in keeping the players together, because the next age group for us is Under 19 and at that age it is a big step up for many boys, but there is no easy solution and I certainly do not have the answer.

          At senior level the team finished third, the highest position in the league for 17 years, not a bad achievement for Mark in his first full season, but of course he has now set the standard.

          The club failed in their application for promotion, not just on league position, but also on the tetchy subject of ground grading. The FA, in their profound wisdom, ‘moved the goalposts’ from our meeting with them last season, when they said our spectator facilities were adequate. Then they decided, later in the season, that we required 150 seats in one stand, instead of 2 stands each holding 100 people! Our average attendance is just over the 100 mark.

          Anyhow, on a happier note, the fence for the cricket side of the ground has been completed, and a big thank you should go to all the people who have assisted the club in achieving their target. The fence itself has been an excellent project, which the club should be proud of.

          Don’t forget, the panels of the fence are available for sponsorship at £60 each.

          My outside tip for the season is Newcastle, in case you had forgotten. They didn’t quite perform as well as hoped, but a good finish to the campaign has made things a little more rosy - what will be my tip be for next season, well come September and you will all know.

Alan Brenkley.