Grassroots Heroes Celebrated at 2018 Awards
The Herefordshire FA Grassroots Awards 2018 took place at Hereford FC to celebrates grassroots volunteers across the county and applaud those who make a real difference to their communities.
Without volunteers football in the country wouldn’t exist so its important that as a county we get the opportunity to get all those involved in grassroots football to recognise a person, or team of people that have made a real difference, to their experience whilst playing or just being involved in the beautiful game. Winners are awarded at a county, regional and national level, so there is plenty of opportunity for grassroots football heroes across the country to be recognised for the excellent work that they do
We have been extremely proud this season that the Herefordshire FA received a high number of impressive nominations. The winners were selected from an independent judging panel. We would like to express our thanks to everyone who took the time to nominate and recognise a volunteer, club or league in the area and pass our congratulations to all of those who were nominated.
The Herefordshire FA Grassroots Awards 2018 ‘master of ceremonies’ Stuart Turpin who is a Herefordshire FA Council member and Head of Department for Games/PE (Juniors 4-11) at Hereford Cathedral School, was an excellent addition to the running of the Awards Night who helped the whole evening run smoothly and effortlessly.
We were fortunate to have ‘Guest Speaker’ and current Chief Executive of Westfields FC and HFA Committee member, Andrew Morris, give us a superb speech about how Westfields have evolved over the last 52 years since forming in 1966 and how volunteers are important to all teams at all levels but especially grassroots as they are the heartbeat of the clubs.
Photos from the event courtesy of Will Cheshire are available here.
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HFA Recognition Award - High Ground Maintenance Received for gaining 3rd place in the Southern League ‘Groundsman of the year award’. They have continually producing a pitch at Edgar Street fit for purpose regardless of the horrendous weather we had earlier this year, resulting in no games being called off. It is a great achievement by all at HGM who have always delivered especially this year and the also the last three seasons. |
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HFA Supporter of the year – “in memory of Pat Morrow” Sadly Pat is no longer with us but was much loved by many in the community. It was voted unanimously by the awards panel that Pat was the stand out person whose split loyalties for both Hereford FC and Westfields FC meant that she would regularly watch Hereford in the first half, then at half time walk across the road to Westfields via Prior Street and enjoy the second half at allpay.park. We felt it appropriate to award Pat with some flowers in the colours of her two favourite teams, something both clubs were delighted to allow with their blessings. To pick up the award for Pat is her nephew Dave Norton. |
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HFA Youth Volunteer of the Year – Jake Bevan Jake has worked closely with Westfields FC men’s 1st team, helping out with social media and videoing matches. At the start of the season Jake was a young 13 year old who has always set a good example and shown outstanding qualities. He doesn’t hesitate if tasked with something new and was a standout candidate to win the Youth Volunteer of the year. |
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HFA Volunteer of the Year – Simon Hall Simon is a dedicated, determined person who is the backbone of the volunteers at Hinton FC. He is the clubs Welfare Officer and is a shining example to the junior teams at Broomy Hill. He is the lead of a small team responsible in keeping the home ground looking tidy, whether that involves clearing the undergrowth and trees to cleaning the changing rooms after they have been used. A lot of his free time goes in to making Hinton FC a clean and friendly environment. |
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HFA Match Official of the Year - Zac Griffiths Zac is only 17 but is well known in Herefordshire football for his refereeing, he has always been committed and looked to be as fair as possible. He has always had good feedback form coaches and officiates with a smile on his face. Its not easy being an official but Zac has shown consistency and the right attitude on and off the pitch to make him the rightful winner of Match official of the year. |
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HFA Coach of the Year – Scott Myers Scott coaches for Orleton Juniors and as well as coaching three teams he is also the club secretary and likes to help in most areas of the club. The club have explained how Scott not only brings on local players skill levels and confidence but also installs the importance of respect towards fellow players, coaches and parents. He is striving to make the club better on the pitch but also off it. The feedback from parents is positive and they are delighted with the impact he is having on their children. |
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HFA Charter Standard Club of the Year – Ledbury Swifts FC Ledbury are a team that consists of 22 teams and 48 coaches and run both boys and girls teams. They also ran a successful tournament for many teams of varied ages this summer. A club with good facilities and good volunteers involved who enable the club to be well organised every week for training sessions and at weekends for matches. Ledbury include many local players in their teams who seem to be thriving in a friendly and great environment. They are a club who are always looking forward and looking to see what venture they can accomplish next. Importantly they encourage players of all backgrounds, abilities to be part of their club. |
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HFA Charter Standard League of the Year – Herefordshire Girls League The Girls League continues to offer girls from across the county with excellent opportunities to play competitive football. They organise a variety of cups, leagues and futsal competitions. The feedback from players, coaches and parents from the girls league is overwhelmingly positive. There is always a friendly atmosphere around the clubs on match days and the league has helped create a respectful relationship between all the competing clubs. Without the girls league opportunities for females in Herefordshire would be extremely limited and the impact the league has had over the past year and previous years have been huge. |
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the grassroots volunteers for the huge effort they put in and contribute to Herefordshire football week-in-week-out.
