March Player of the Month
We're into the final straight of our season now, with only a few games left in various leagues, and some exciting cup games still to be played, but let's take a moment to recognise some of the great stuff we've seen around the pitches in March....
Mini’s:
Mini’s player of the month is a lad who came and was a rough diamond who just needed polishing and been polished he has.
He has taken on every bit of skill we teach and absolutely mastered them all. Dribbling with both feet, foot rolls forward, backwards and sideways. Ins and outs and step overs all at speed. A lot of the younger/ smaller players look up to him and he always helps put stuff away too. He’s going to be a massive player for the new under 7s next season.
Mini’s player of the month is Micah. Well done, Micah!! 👏🏼👏🏼 keep on practicing you’re going to be a star ⭐️⭐️
Under-7’s:
This month’s player of the month goes to a young man whose determination and perseverance is going to stand him in great stead as he gets older. As the saying goes “he’d run through brick walls for the team “. He started in October as a total novice to the game and every week works hard. He does everything I ask of him. His effort is unquestionable, all he wants to do is please. He is brave going in to tackles and is solid both when in goal and holding his own on pitch. Well done, Nathaniel. Keep it up!
Under-10’s:
Mason has great talent and a real football intelligence. We've seen glimpses of this in training and matches but over the last couple of months there's been a consistency of the higher-level performances we know he's capable of.
Mason has not only been a consistent scorer during this period, but he’s also provided assists and dug in with his defensive duties. He's working hard to improve his fitness, and if he continues this progress, his value to the team and future opportunities will increase further.
Well done, Mason, and continue the hard work.
Under-11’s:
Harry has been relied upon to play left midfield, despite being on his un-favoured side. But he has embraced it and is now owning the position. He's learning how to get the best of it from a creative and attacking perspective, but also demonstrates brilliant work rate to track back, and show great positional awareness when defending.
Until recently, Harry has been massively over-critical of himself. But with good support and encouragement around him, Harry has picked himself up, is knuckling down, working hard in training, his behaviour has improved, and as a result, he's regularly producing performances on the pitch that he can be extremely proud of himself for. (and I'm proud of him too!) But the absolute best thing about Harry recently is.... he's smiling, and he's enjoying himself and loving the game. Well done, Harry.
Under-12’s:
Our P.O.T.M is Harry Wakefield.
Harry has been with us since the two teams amalgamated last year.
His attitude is awesome on and off the pitch and he never complains about anything or anyone. Harry has really pushed himself since day one, but over the past few weeks, he has started to come out of his shell and be more vocal.
He never grumbles and even when he gets injured on the pitch, he will get up and push on, without complaint. Stephen and I are very proud of him. Harry has shown positive signs of improvement in training and in games. He gets stuck in and takes part in everything we ask.
I train with Harry before each match and have been advising different techniques to put into action which he has done each time during games. Harry has been an outstanding keeper for us. The volume of brilliant saves he has done has kept us out of trouble for sure.
Harry is a joy to coach and a great asset to the team.
Under-13 Panthers:
Aaron has amazed us this month. Not only has he maintained his energy and effort throughout this month. He's also been training with Peterborough United after a successful trail day. All this while observing Ramadan.
Aaron's pace, often, gets him into goal scoring positions and has done all season. But he has worked hard on his accuracy recently and is hitting the target much more than at the start of his Panthers journey. He is also now looking to see if there are teammates in better positions and has added assists to his game.
Aaron has been professional in response to our approach in making sure we help manage him correctly during Ramadan. He has also accepted playing in unfamiliar positions to help the team, when needed.
His confidence has skyrocketed and always comes off the pitch smiling. He is a credit to his family and a real asset for the Panthers.
Under 14 Tigers:
This month sees a first nomination for our youngest player. Reid should technically be in the year lower but has been playing up for a while now which means he's not the biggest on the team, and for a defender that can be a daunting thing. But... Reid is one of the most composed players on the team. He never panics, even when being charged down by kids twice his size, and he's been a rock for us all season long. In March, he brought the attacking side of his game to the fore, and my word that's something special.
Reid takes our corners, and without fail they're pinpoint accurate every time, giving us a real edge (if only someone would head the ball goalwards!). He's been practising this all season long, and now he's gotten so good, he even scored directly from the corner kick this month!
That 'dead ball' skill also came through with his free kicks this month, scoring one from the touchline 30-yards from goal in our recent cup semi-final win, and troubling keepers in every game through the month with his delivery.
That's all powerful stuff, but when you add in his interplay in moving the ball forward, and the new level of aggression he's brought into his play, there's no doubt at all that Reid belongs in this age group, and no matter how big the opposition, he's going to give them a torrid time trying to either defend or attack against him.
Well done, Reid.
Under 15’s:
Kai has been with us again since the start and is an integral member of the family. I think it would be fair to say he has had his ups and downs and challenges with his time on the team. To the point that he left us before the start of this season, we were all down about it and we managed to convince him to stay. Since then, he has been like a new signing and been the best version of himself.
His newfound confidence and drive was clear to see and noticed by everyone. This month he has played as a CB, a wing back and a striker, doing a job when needed. Whereas before it felt as if the shackles were on and he would be playing within himself, we now see the real confident Kai in training and in games and when he’s on it it’s a joy to watch.
He has flourished in and out of football and I feel has really found his feet to not just be a key player in our team but to also enjoy being that key player and play with a smile on his face - so important!
Well done, Kai, you are always first to training on Saturdays and so keen, always polite and growing into a fine young tiger/man! We could not be prouder of the effort and newfound confidence you have shown in recent times, its heartwarming to see. If you keep up with the consistency you will be unplayable son. Goodluck Kai!
As ever, some fabulous nominations there, well done to everyone who's been put forward by their coaches for their efforts last month.
Your winner this month has shown great resilience and determination to take responsibility for their own improvement. From the Under-11's, well done Harry!!
Aaron from the Under-13 Panthers and Harry Wakefield from the Under-12's gave him a very close run this month. Well done again to everyone.
