Throckley Magpies
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Throckley Magpies
FOOTBALL CLUB
M
y name is Paul Waters and I am a coach for my local football club,
Throckley Magpies FC. Andrew Robson and I have coached a
team of young lads for seven seasons, taking over the team when they
were under 8s and watching them grow and develop. They are now
Under 14s and it remains a pleasure and a privilege to work with them.
My son, Lewis, joined The Mags
as a 5-year-old when Neil Goodall ran
sessions for “Tots” at a local sports hall.
A friend asked Lewis to come along and
he was hooked from day one. Andrew’s
son Philip joined a little later as the boys
had started school together and they
soon encouraged more pals to join.
The boys soon found themselves on
the Throckley Magpies “Tots” team and
Andrew and I enjoyed cheering them on
from the side lines. However, when their
coach found it increasingly difficult to
give up his free time, we took the plunge
and stepped in as coaches.
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We now run teams on both Saturdays
and Sundays. Our sons still love to
play and the team is well supported by
parents, grandparents and friends. We
have 23 boys across both teams and feel
that our football is of a decent standard.
Since taking over the team, we
have enjoyed many successes and
our sponsor’s office has a number of
trophies. Our high points range from
winning the league to becoming cup
winners, winning tournaments and
having our lads voted as “players of the
tournament” in successive years.
We have an ethos of playing as a
team, supporting and encouraging
each other no matter what the result of
the game may be. Andrew and I try to
always be positive and encouraging and
it gives us great satisfaction to see the
boys working hard for each other.
They realise that nobody makes
mistakes on purpose and if a mistake is
made, their team mates do not need them
to point this out! I feel that this leads to
a happy, positive environment where
everyone in the squad feels valued and
can play confidently.