Groby Juniors Football Club

Groby Juniors Football Club proposal for Stamford Park

2021 If you’re a visitor to one of Groby’s parks you may have enjoyed seeing Groby Juniors football teams in action. They have many teams and really appreciate the permission to play on the parks, as without it they would have struggled as a club to get all of their games played. At present the Under 7s and 8s play 5 x 5 on Beacon Fields, the 9s and 10s play 7 x 7 on Stamford Park, the 11s and 12s play 9x9 on Marina and the 13s – 15s play 11 a side on Quarry Park.

For years the club has searched for a suitable site that they could call ‘home,’ but without success so far, and this means that their facilitities are severely limited. “At present the major obstacle that the club faces is that we have no toilet facilities or indeed anywhere where we can store the equipment that we use, goals, flags etc,” explained a spokesperson for the club. “Permission to place either a porta cabin or a container on either Stamford or Marina park would allow us to overcome these obstacles. Our preference would be on Stamford Park, situated close by the Sycamore Drive car park, as that is more centrally located and also has access to the larger car park.”

The request was discussed at the Parish Council Estates Committee meeting and members were told that following a site visit with the Chairman of the Club they felt that the request should be agreed in principle, subject to a more detailed proposal being acceptable to the Council. A site just inside the entrance to Sycamore Drive car park was considered as it is not overlooked by any houses, doesn’t obstruct anybody’s views and has trees behind it. The structure would include separate changing facilities for girls and boys and a chemical toilet. It was thought that this position might enable utilities to be connected at some time in the future, and would also carry a reduced risk of vandalism because of its visibility.

It was suggested that neighbours should be consulted and no final decision taken until full details have been provided. The Club believes that the proposed accommodation is vital to their success in expanding the club, especially with regard to girls football. May 2021

Groby Juniors a key player in Community Hub proposal

In January John Caswell and Paul Chick, who represented The Groby Juniors Football Club, outlined the challenges the Club faces and their vision for the future at a meeting to consider the creation of a new Community Hub.

It's a project that would be led by the Parish Council but still have Groby Junior's needs at its heart,whilst also providing community facilities, including perhaps a bowling green. Full details of the proposal are available on the Parish Council website.

At the meeting John and Paul didn't just talk about why the Club supports the initiative. They spoke enthusiastically about what they do and the philosophy of the club which has been established for many years and is well thought of in the football community.

Groby Juniors was formed in 2003, initially with 10 all male teams. It now has 7 girls teams and 16 boys teams. There's also an Academy focussing on fun and games for players too young for a team. These youngsters are supported by 29 Football Association qualified coaches and 42 adult volunteers. The club also runs 2 tournaments a year for teams from the county and also attracts teams from outside of the county. It runs a Girls only tournament which is held in high regard.

The club is organised on an amateur basis, and arranges for all coaches to attain the necessary coaching levels set out by the FA, for children to enjoy their football in a fun and safe environment. The philosophy is to enjoy, develop and succeed. The focus is on development of the players player's skill, physical, psychological and emotional growth, as well as focusing on a high level of team work.

An equal opportunities attitude means that no matter what the child's skill level there is place for them within the club, no-one is turned away. The club's ethos of focusing on "kids enjoying football" has resulted in an increase in player numbers and a bi-product is that the club has teams that play at different skill levels within each age range. Not all clubs work this way, some are more focused on winning and encourage players to look for pastures new if they do not meet their minimum standard. At the other end of the scale some players move to Groby Juniors if they feel they have outgrown their existing club.

Expansion plans

The club plans to expand over the next 5 years, but there needs to be a step change in the facilities available in order to realise the vision of 'football for everyone,' not just boys and girls. “Currently we cannot offer disability football, veterans football or walking football,” John explained, adding that they also had difficulty in offering the facilities young people deserved once they reached their mid teens. “Small, sometimes poorly drained, pitches and inadequate changing facilities fall short of their expectations.”

As part of the plan to grow further, one area of particular focus is girls football. Currently opportunities are provided to play up to Under 18's whilst it is possible for boys football to run to Under 21's. The club would like to see the girls teams compete in open age football. In order to encourage players at the older age groups Groby Juniors wants to be able to offer midweek floodlit football as well as Saturday mornings with the Midlands Football Alliance. Clubs in nearby villages are not as well advanced in the development of girls football, so there is a large catchment area waiting to be developed and plenty of grant funding available to help. This year's Girls Tournament, which attracts entrants from Solihull, Worcester, Luton, Manchester, Grimsby and beyond, is already half full.

Whilst the Brookvale Groby Learning Campus has served the club well, additional facilities are now required as football is played on all the space available on a Sunday morning, so much so that it is having to play at various other sites within Groby. The school changing facilities do not fulfil the FA requirements needed for the future plans.

Brookvale Groby Learning Campus at full capacity and in order to expand it is vital to find other areas to play on within the Groby area. A new Hub would also provide a place that could be called home which would give a real sense of identity. With a marquee floodlit pitch and all weather training area it would inspire existing players as well as attracting new ones.

The search for a suitable site has gone on for years, but high land prices have blocked the club's aspirations. “Grants are only available for building costs,” John explained, “we cannot obtain grants to acquire land.”

Groby Juniors Football Club is an organisation which balances aspirations of winning with a philosophy that football is for everyone whatever their skill, gender, age or disability. And when Paul Chick says “it's about putting smiles on faces,” that's something most would agree is worthy of support. February 2019

Football to continue on Stamford Park?

August 2010 The trial this year of the return of organised football to Stamford Park is considered to have been a success. In a public consultation exercise 250 households were asked for their views. Nearly 95% did not respond, and of those who did only 3 objected. The Parish Council decided that the football club should be offered a permit for the 2010/2011 season on similar tems and conditions.