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onghoughton Rangers - Parish Council back sports facility

In a night of high drama, the Longhoughton Parish Council unanimously backed the Longhoughton Village Development Trust in its bid to build a Community Venue (including toilets, changing rooms, a kitchen and a hall), floodlit 3G astro-turf, a car park and 2 new 11 a-side pitches.
Chairman Paul Kiddell outlined the Club’s 5 year Football Development Plan whilst Club Treasurer and LVDT Chairman, Rod Munday, briefed the Council on the project.
Club coaches and supporters packed the room in a major show of support for the project which is rapidly gaining momentum.
The funds released by the Parish Council will be used immediately to employ a specialist architect to do the detailed design and get the project through planning permission and eventually to tender.
There is a fair way to go yet, and the Football Foundation bid will be crucial, but the outlook is very positive and I am confident that with our support the LVDT will succeed.
Many thanks to all on the LVDT, especially Donna Freeman, Stephen Marker, Sarah Gray and of course our very own Rod Munday, for all their outstanding work on this quite superb project.

LONGHOUGHTON RANGERS NAMED THE FA NORTHERN REGIONAL CHARTER STANDARD CLUB OF THE YEAR!

Following on from our success in winning the CS County award, we are absolutely delighted to be made the Football Association’s Charter Standard Club of the Year for the North of England. As ever, it is a fantastic achievement and huge honour for our rural club to win this award which recognises our outstanding contribution to football development in the region. Whilst we made it through to National final, we unfortunately just missed out on being crowned the English FA’s CS Club of the Year. However, we should take enormous satisfaction that, this year, our Club has been identified as being one of the top 9 clubs in the country. Well done everyone - you should ALL be very proud!

RECORD 160 PLAYERS FIELDED IN 14 TEAMS!

Another year of unprecedented growth has seen Longhoughton expand to 160 registered players playing in two NABC 11 a-side Sunday teams, 9 Glendale teams and 3 girls teams. In terms of numbers, it now appears that we are the largest youth football club between Ashington and Berwick. With limited infrastructure, especially in terms of winter training facilities, we have reluctantly introduced a waiting list at all ages, except for U-12 girls. The committee will keep this under review but we must ensure that we continue to offer the best quality coaching and competitive opportunities for our existing players.

LONGHOUGHTON HOSTS GIRLS RURAL FIVES LEAGUE IN ALNWICK

With our recently formed girls’ teams going from strength to strength, we are delighted to be hosting the Rural Fives Girls League at Lindisfarne School in Alnwick. Girls from Lowick, Belford, Wooler and Amble descend on Lindisfarne every Saturday to play in the U-14 and U-12 League. Due to the exceptional contribution of Carolyn Cass, Nicky Pennington and Sally Wood assisted by many parental helpers, the League has got off to a fantastic start and look forward to building on the success further. We still have room for a few more U-12 players so get in touch if you want to be part of our outstanding girls teams!!

Registration for Next Season

Season 2007-2008 registration and payment forms will be delivered to all current players over the next few days.

As with last season, parents have the option of paying up front (at a discount) or by monthly standing order. A discount is offered for those paying up front as many of our costs fall at the beginning of the season. Overall, fees have come down from last year with the abolition of the £5 signing on fee and continue to represent excellent value at around £1 per session /match.

All forms and payment must be returned by 20 August. The Club will base its Glendale teams and Rural Fives Girls teams on the players registered by the closing date. With the Club’s popularity being at an all time high, it is likely that a waiting list will have to be introduced at many age groups so please don’t leave it too late – thanks!

Plans for Next Season

Training is currently suspended for most of our teams (with notable exception of the NABC sides). We plan to reconvene in late August with our newly constituted teams; we will keep you advised.

The NABC U-15s managed by John Whittle and the U-11s managed by Danny Troy, will kick-off on Sunday, 2 September (good luck!!).

The Girls Rural Fives plan to kick-off on Saturday, 8 September at Lindisfarne Middle School with Nicky Pennington managing our U-12s and Carolyn Cass the U-14s.

The Glendale League provisionally kicks-off on Saturday, 15 September.

RAF Boulmer Tournament Sunday, 19 August

The Club is assisting RAF Boulmer in the running of a 7 a-side tournament which will be held at RAF Boulmer on the 19th August. The competition will consist of three groups of 5 teams representing U-15 and U-13 boys and U-13 girls (based on next season’s age groups). Our friends from Lowick, Belford, AE Phoenix, Amble, Seahouses and Alnwick have all been invited to take part alongside our own teams. Let’s hope for weather to match our recent end of season awards and BBQ.
LONGHOUGHTON NAMED NORTHUMBERLAND FA CHARTER STANDARD CLUB OF THE YEAR 2007!

A fantastic season for the Club has been rounded off with Longhoughton being awarded the prestigious FA Charter Standard Club of the Year for Northumberland. This is in recognition of the Club’s outstanding role in football development within the North of the County and its important contribution to the community as a whole.

In the past year we have grown from 65 to 120 players, supported by 22 FA qualified coaches whilst our girls and U-8s teams have shown that we can lead the way in allowing all groups to participate in the beautiful game.

When you consider all of the outstanding Clubs operating at the adult and junior level in this hotbed of football, you begin to realise what an amazing achievement it is for what started as a small rural Club. All of us - coaches, volunteers, players and parents - should be immensely proud of what we have achieved. We now go forward to represent the County in the next stage of the competition.

LONGHOUGHTON GIRLS TAKE-OFF IN RURAL FIVES LEAGUE!

Formed as recently as February, the girls section has really taken off with some 30 players regularly attending training. Such has been the success that the Club was able to enter two U-12s teams into the new Rural Fives Girls League which has just completed its first 6 week fixture programme.

The girls were a credit to themselves and the Club and competed well with other teams including the impressive Lowick girls who have been together for some time. Further, the U-14s have played their inaugural fixture, impressing with their commitment and determination against a highly skilled Lowick Team. Yet another success story for the Club, with huge thanks to Kerby for running the teams and Nighean and Becky for assisting in training!

LONGHOUGHTON GOES 11 A-SIDE !

The Club took a huge step forward on 23 May when it was accepted into the NABC 11-a-side league at the U-15 and U-11 age groups. The NABC League is undoubtedly the highest level at which Junior Clubs can play in the North East and contains such famous Clubs as Wallsend Boys Club.

It will be terrific to see regular 11 a-side football return to the village when the League kicks-off on 2 September. Prior to that, the teams will be playing a number of friendlies to get to grips with the offside rule, ‘Christmas Tree’ formations and such-like – good luck to all!

SPONSORED PENALTY SUCCESS!

The sponsored penalties have been a FANTASTIC success with an unbelievable £2550 raised to date. To put that into perspective, we have even surpassed our 2005 National Lottery Grant of £1845.

A huge thank you to all those players and parents who have worked incredibly hard to raise this outstanding sum of money for the club.

As previously mentioned, the money has allowed us to subsidise the jackets for all our players and pay in full for the Newcastle trip buses for the older kids and U-8s.

Furthermore, monies raised will enable us to subsidise end of season day trips for all our players whilst restocking our kit and equipment for next season.

Thanks again for all your efforts in ensuring that we provide our kids with the best possible experience in their formative years.

U-10s / U-12s /U-14s ENJOY AN AWESOME DAY WITH NEWCASTLE UNITED!

Sixty-one players accompanied by 6 coaches had an outstanding day at Newcastle United courtesy of Newcastle United Football in the Community (FITC). The kids’ behaviour throughout the day was exemplary and they were a credit to both themselves and the Club.

The Club was extremely privileged to use the First Team’s Darsley Park indoor 3G astro-turf facility where the kids were split into 4 groups for training by NUFC FITC’s Chris Terpcou and his highly capable team. All had a fantastic time which was enhanced by the unscheduled appearance of legends Terry Mc Dermott and Lee Clark who very kindly took time out of busy pre-match preparations to talk to the coaches and kids about the Club and its development. The impromptu visits were rounded off by first team striker, Shola Ameobi, who took time away from the physio’s table to present the Club with its £8780 cheque from the Football Foundation.

Following training, the Club travelled to St James’ Park for lunch and the game. Our ten top sponsored penalty fundraisers had the opportunity to act as ball boys and thoroughly enjoyed their 90 minutes of fame. They also enjoyed being close to the action when Stuart Pearce fully justified his ‘psycho’ nickname by giving the team water bottles a good kicking!

Whilst the result and performance was a disappointment, the day was a total success and all agreed even surpassed the high level set at last year’s Matchday Experience. A huge thank-you to FITC’s George Shipley for allowing us to take so many and to Chris Terpcou and his team for their first-class organisation and their infectious enthusiasm throughout the day. Most of all, well-done to all the kids for representing the Club in such a positive manner. Lastly, you’ll be glad to know that we’ve reserved 2 Match Day Experiences for next season so that we can take all those who wish to go.

Click here for PHOTOS!!!!

READ JOHN EGGLESTON’S ENTERTAINING THOUGHTS ON LEVEL 1 COACHING COURSE HERE

AN UPDATE ON THE GIRLS’ SECTION HERE

LONGHOUGHTON RANGERS AWARDED £8780 BY FOOTBALL FOUNDATION!!
The Football Foundation has awarded Longhoughton Rangers an incredible £8780 in support of the Club’s ambitious 3 year development plan, ‘Longhoughton Rangers 2010’.
The Football Foundation grant combines with the record Alnwick and District Sports Council grant of £1220 to make an incredible total of £10,000 which will make a huge difference to our rapidly expanding club.
Click here to read the full Football Foundation Press Release.

LONGHOUGHTON U-10 EAGLES WIN THE LEAGUE!
The superb Eagles have set the standard for U-10s football this season and finally won the league with a 3-1 win over Wooler. With the league still ongoing, they have won all of their games in style to take the title at the earliest opportunity - well done to all! See OLD News for more details..... LONGHOUGHTON RANGERS AWARDED £8780 BY FOOTBALL FOUNDATION!!

The Football Foundation has awarded Longhoughton Rangers an incredible £8780 in support of the Club’s ambitious 3 year development plan, ‘Longhoughton Rangers 2010’.
This plan will see the Club expand to cover the 6-17 age groups whilst forming girls teams beyond age 11 when mixed football is no longer permitted.

The Football Foundation grant combines with the record Alnwick and District Sports Council grant of £1220 to make an amazing total of £10,000 which will make a huge difference to our rapidly expanding club.

Naturally, we are all absolutely delighted with these grants and cannot thank the Football Foundation and the Alnwick and District Sports Council enough for their outstanding support of grassroots football.

However, despite receiving this fantastic amount we cannot be complacent. The grants are spread over 3 years and have to be used for very specific purposes (namely facility hire, coaches training and referee hire). None of it can be used to buy kit, equipment or fund trips but of course the grants will free up our other income to be used for such purposes.

Please take time to read the full Football Foundation press release here

FOUR MORE LONGHOUGHTON COACHES GAIN LEVEL 1 COACHING BADGE!

Congratulations to John Stevenson, Tony Threlfall, Paul Anderson and John Eggleston who all passed their final assessment on Saturday, 24 February to gain their FA Level 1 coaching badge. As you will appreciate, the course involved them all giving up large amounts of their own time to ensure that all our players benefit from first class coaching which has become synonymous with Longhoughton Rangers. I heard that during the practical drills, they all managed to turn back the clock (by at least a few hours!). Well done to all!

Speaking to the FA, it now looks as if our Club now has the highest concentration of FA qualified coaches in the county, with 18 coaches now qualified. An amazing achievement for our rural club.

GIRLS TEAMS

We’ve had an excellent response to our girls-only training, with 15 girls turning up to our first ever session which was run by our female coaches, Kirby, Nighean and Kelly ably assisted by local football development officer Katy Taylor. It was great to see so many girls enjoying their football in an area where there are few opportunities for them to compete.

As a result, we are confident that we can enter both U-14 and U-12 teams into the new Belford Girls League which kicks-off on 21 April. Before that we plan to play friendlies against other local girls teams – watch this space!
Sponsored penalties
See this word document for more details and forms for Sponsored Penalties in February/March

LONGHOUGHTON RANGERS GIRLS-ONLY TRAINING GETS UNDERWAY !

Longhoughton Rangers girls-only training starts on Thursday, 8 February in the RAF Boulmer Sports Hall from 6.00 - 7.00 pm. It will then run fortnightly, alternating with the U-10 Panthers.

Training is open to all girls in the current U-10 to U-14 age groups (school years 5 - 9) and all girls in the surrounding area are very welcome to come and enjoy football in a safe and fun environment. Note that mixed football is prohibited beyond age 11.

Training will be delivered by female FA qualified coaches supported by the Club’s highly experienced male coaching staff.

We plan to enter an U-14 5-a-side team (covering school years 8 + 9) into the new Belford based league which starts on Saturday, 26 April and continues on Saturdays until 26 May.

Anyone who is interested joining our exciting new girls section should contact the Chairman, Paul Kiddell, on 01665-577213 for further details.

Next season we plan to enter an U-12 (next year’s school years 6 + 7) and an U-14 team (next years school years 8 + 9) into either the Belford or Cramlington League.

U-12 HURRICANES WIN THE LEAGUE!

The U-12 League title race came to an exciting conclusion with the Longhoughton Hurricanes taking the title with a 1-1 draw against a resilient Longhorsley. The Hurricanes finished the League unbeaten and pipped Lowick Athletic to the Title by a point. Well done to all the players whose tremendous football has only been matched by their first class attitude throughout!

A further special mention to the U-12 Spitfires who continue to make great strides and can go into the exciting cup competition with renewed confidence. Good luck lads!

PARISH COUNCIL ENDORSE PLAN FOR LONGHOUGHTON FLOODLIT, ALL-WEATHER TRAINING FACILITY!

An EGM of the Parish Council held on the 29 January endorsed a plan backed by the Club and the Longhoughton Village Development Trust (LVDT) to push ahead with an all- weather, floodlit Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) for the village. This would be co-located with a community facility which will have changing rooms, toilets and a kitchen area to bring us into the 21st century! We are hopeful that the MUGA will take the form of a 60x 40m (ie. 7 a-side size), 3rd generation astro-turf pitch which will provide a first class, all year round facility for the Club as well as other local sports groups.

There are many challenges ahead, not least in the area of funding, but things are certainly moving fast in the right direction and we are extremely hopeful of a positive outcome. Rod Munday is the Club’s lead for this outstanding project and is working extremely hard with the Parish Council, the LVDT, the Northumberland FA and the Alnwick Sports Development Officer to ensure a positive result. We will keep you posted.
Alnwick and District Sports Council support Longhoughton’s 3 year plan!

Alnwick and District Sports Council (ADSC) have strongly endorsed Longhoughton’s 3 year development plan by awarding the Club an amazing £1220!! This is a key part of our 3 year plan which aims to develop new 11-a-side teams at U-15, U-16 and U-17 over the next 3 years whilst starting a girls only team for girls over age 11 when mixed football is no longer permitted.

The incredibly generous ADSC grant is the largest grant they have paid to a local sports Club and forms a vital part of our application to the Football Foundation for a further £8500 over 3 years in support of this new activity. A huge thank you to the ADSC for their full and generous support of grassroots football!!

Newcastle United day out!
The annual day with Newcastle United, featuring training with NUFC Football in the Community, lunch at St James and a Premier League match has been booked for Saturday, 31 March 2007 and will feature the Man City game. The day will be open to all the U-10, U-12 and U-14 squads; the event will not be open to parents. Details on costs and how to reserve a place to follow shortly!

Also the U-8s away day at Newcastle is booked for Saturday, 28 April. Details on how to reserve a place will be provided by the U-8 coaching staff.