SSCFA present cheque & signed shirt to Ronald McDonald House, Birmingham

Ronald McDonald House Charities keeps families together so children in hospital can get the love and comfort they need.

They provide ‘home away from home’ accommodation for families with children in hospital, somewhere free to stay for as long as they need to. Many families travel miles from their homes to this hospital so that their child can receive expert medical care. Often, children have to remain in hospital for months at a time, so for the families, staying close to their child can be a struggle. Without a local Ronald McDonald House, many parents have to sleep on a chair by their child’s bed, on a pull down bed if this is available, or pay vast sums of money for hotel accommodation.

In recent years two Shropshire Schools and Colleges Football Association staff have benefited from the charity’s house in Birmingham while their young children were being treated in nearby Birmingham Children’s hospital.

The first to benefit around three years ago was Mark Hignett (SSCFA Vice Chairman, Football Development Officer and Team Manager) whose five year old daughter, Bethan, was in hospital having a multicystic dysplastic kidney removed. As a result of complications during the operation, she needed to stay in hospital for longer than was anticipated and this is where Ronald MacDonald House came to the rescue and saved not only the expense of additional nights in hotels but also the time away from his daughter’s bedside to search for one on a Saturday afternoon.

More recently, Mike Thomas (SSCFA Team Manager and Secretary for Shrewsbury District Schools FA) and his family were overwhelmingly appreciative of the charity when his newborn daughter Mia was rushed to Birmingham for open heart surgery as a result of coarctation of the aorta. Complications during the operation led to little Mia being placed on a life support machine for ten days which resulted in an extended stay in Birmingham for Mike and his wife Anna. Ronald MacDonald House was able to help another family and offered a free room for the duration of their two month stay. Mike said “Ronald MacDonald House is a truly amazing place. Thank you to everyone there.”

Mark Hignett said “For these reason’s SSCFA wanted to show our appreciation to this amazing charity who take away the financial burden and ease at least one worry for families unfortunate enough to need to spend time with their children in Birmingham Children’s Hospital.”

The committee of SSCFA unanimously agreed that they would like to support the charity through their recent 90^th anniversary dinner at The Lord Hill Hotel on Saturday 16^th March and enlisted the support of the evening’s special guests (and former SSCFA representative players) Joe Hart, Billy Jones, Boaz Myhill and Bernard McNally. The four all signed a unique replica U16 County shirt which was framed in preparation for presenting to the charity on June 2^nd. The fundraising manager at RMH Birmingham commented that it would take pride of place in the House’s teenage room. In addition, a cheque for £300 was also handed over by Mia and Bethan on behalf of SSCFA from funds generated on the association’s evening of celebration earlier this year.

It costs £25 per room per night and the charity relies solely on charitable contributions. Other than beneficiaries of their service who return with donations, the majority of their funding comes from the staff of MacDonalds and the collection boxes that you see on the counter in their restaurants. Anyone wishing to contribute towards SSCFAs ongoing support of this charity can contact Mark Hignett on m.r.hignett@gmail.com

Shropshire Schools and Colleges Football Association (SSCFA) received a huge boost towards maintaining its commitment to football development through securing another Patron for the Association.

SSCFA’s reputation both regionally and nationally is highly regarded through its long established partnership with the Shropshire Football Association and in recent years, through the added investments by Sponsors and Patrons. Current Patrons include Joe Hart (Man City & England); Derek Passant (Joint Chief Executive Greenhous); Alan Hopkins (Director of Alan Ward Furnishings); Peter Forrest (Managing Director Pugh’s Shrewsbury) and Alan Jones (SSCFA).

The latest Patron is no stranger to the work of SSCFA, as for the past fifteen years Ann Thorne has been one the Association’s most loyal supporters. Both Ann and husband Howard (Director of Shropshire Homes) are Life Members of SSCFA.  This support is now set to continue, thanks to the support of the Lintel Trust which is chaired by Ann and who has accepted the invitation to become the first female patron of the Association.

Alan Jones (SSCFA) and fellow Patron commented “Ann will be a wonderful ambassador for SSCFA and will give added focus to the on-going development of the programme for girls which this season sees the introduction of a county U14 representative team.”

Photograph – Seen presenting a cheque to Bob McGrath (Chairman of SSCFA) is Dr. Ann Thorne, Chair of the Lintel Trust,  who becomes the first female patron of SSCFA. The presentation took place on Thursday 17th October at the Shrewsbury Sports Village on the occasion of the U18 Girls Festival. Seated on the steps are the teams from Thomas Telford School; Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology; Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and Bridgnorth Partnership  

Shropshire Schools and Colleges FA is in the process of securing sponsors for the eight county cup competitions for Shropshire’s primary schools. The first to come on board is the successful local community coaching organisation, Crossbar.

Crossbar founder, Gavin Cowan, commented  ‘It is with great pleasure that Crossbar Coaching can play a part in what is an amazing initiative for primary schools football in Shropshire. SSCFA has an excellent record  on player development for boys and girls and Crossbar, with a similar ethos to SSCFA,  looks forward to being able to play even a small part in what is a proven scheme of developing players’  Speaking on behalf of SSCFA, President  Neville Boulds enthused about the Association’s link with Crossbar “Under the leadership of Gavin, Crossbar has established itself as a leading provider of quality coaching for pupils and students within many of the schools in Shropshire & Telford and Wrekin and the Association is confident that its newest partner will further enhance SSCFA’s primary schools programme at the Greenhous Federation Centre which is now into its fifteenth season overall and for the last seven years,  at the Shrewsbury Sports Village

The Second Annual SSCFA Awards Evening took place on Monday 1st February and proved a great success

LIFE MEMBERS

DEREK PASSANT
Presented by Mark Dickson (SSCFA Vice Chairman) and Percy Mullaly (Chairman SSCFA)

MERIT MEDAL

DAVE FARBROTHER  

Presented to Sean Gorman (SSCFA Sponsor) and John Hatfield (President Shropshire FA)

Services to Coaching

RAY COLES

Presented by Colin Willcox (SSCFA Federation Centre) and Dave Timmins (GK coach Shrewsbury Town FC)

HALL OF FAME

DAVE EDWARDS 

Presented by Steve Wilderspin (Thomas Telford School) and Ken Roberts (Former Head of Talent ID STFC)

JAMIE TOLLEY

Presented by Lisa Sandford (SSCFA Administrator) and Alan Jones (SSCFA Finance)

Back row: Andy Reece, Will Smithson, Mark Hignett, Lee Ruscoe, Graham Dyke

Front row: Dominic Bradburne, Matt Lowe, Mike Thomas, Lisa Sandford

The second Annual Awards Evening will be held on Monday February 1st at the Shropshire FA Headquarters with a 7.00pm start for recipients of the awards, followed by all guests at 7.30pm.

The inaugural Awards Evening held in October 2008 saw Joe Hart become the first current professional player to enter the Shropshire Schools and Colleges Hall of Fame, criteria for qualification being a Shropshire county schoolboy becoming a professional footballer who goes on to represent his country from U18 upwards.

Entering the SSCFA Hall of Fame this year will be local professional footballers David Edwards (Wolves & Wales); Billy Jones (Preston & England) & Jamie Tolley (Hereford & Wales). Life Memberships have been awarded to Liz Nicholson (Corporate Director for Children & Young People’s Services), who is retiring at the end of March after a decade with the former county council and the new Shropshire Council. Liz will be joined by Derek Passant (Joint Managing Director of Greenhous) & Peter Guy (Advertisement Director Shropshire Start) & Bob Ellis (former secretary of the Shropshire Schools Football Association). Dave Ralphs (Vice Chairman of Shropshire FA) and Trevor Owen (Shropshire FA) also receive Life Membership.

2008 AWARDS EVENING – 21st October 2008

A wide cross section of the supporters of schools football in Shropshire enjoyed a very successful evening at the home of the Shropshire Football Association, with whom SSCFA has been in a formal partnership for the past 12 years.

Supporters included key sponsors and the media, together with representatives from Shropshire County Council and Telford & Wrekin Council

The Awards made were:

Hall of Fame
Life Memberships
Merit Medal

A distinguished guest was Joe Hart (Oxon Primary School, Meole Brace School, Manchester City and England) who became the first current professional to enter the SSCFA Hall of Fame. His attendance, during a very busy personal footballing schedule, was especially appreciated.

SSCFA celebrates a decade of sponsorship with Greenhous

Shropshire Schools & Colleges FA is delighted to announce the renewal of their agreement with Greenhous, sponsors of the County Federation Centre at the Shrewsbury Sports Village.

The SSCFA Federation Centre began at the Roman Road Sports Centre at Meole Brace in 1996. By 1999 it had become the flagship of the SSCFA’s annual programme and a long term sponsorship agreement was secured with Greenhous. The SSCFA Greenhous Football Centre is now ten years old and has become home to all the SSCFA primary schools competitions. Now operating at the Shrewsbury Sports Village, up to 240 boys and girls assemble each Wednesday evening throughout the season, attempting to reach the prestigious County Primary Schools Finals day, historically played at the home of Shrewsbury Town Football Club.

Speaking on behalf of Shropshire Schools and Colleges FA, Alan Jones stressed the importance of sponsorship to the work of the Association. “In recent years the SSCFA has expanded rapidly. Whereas for many years there were just two county tournaments, now there are over thirty but, with six county representative sides as well, finance has never been more difficult to obtain. Sadly, whilst the professional game may be awash with money, this seldom filters down to the voluntary sector. Schools’ Sports Associations are finding it increasingly difficult to manage and we are no exception. As a result the SSCFA is extremely grateful to a core of local businesses whose sponsorship and support enables the Association to remain very active.

In common with a number of SSCFA sponsors, Derek Passant, Joint Chief Executive of the Greenhous Group, represented Shropshire at football. An outstanding all round sportsman he proved a fine county goalkeeper and in 1976 made the tour party for the annual trip to Skegness for the ESFA U18 Festival. As a successful businessman with Greenhous he has been very supportive of local sport generally. Shropshire Schools and Colleges FA is delighted to celebrate the ten year relationship with Greenhous, and to put on record our gratitude. We hope that the Football Centre partnership will flourish for many years to come.”

A series of matches involving over sixty former county players to celebrate Alan Jones’s 65th birthday took place at the Shrewsbury Sports Village on Saturday 12th September

The occasion was marked by a special programme designed by former county player, Steve Crump. In the afternoon former county players from the 80’s 90’s and 00’s took part in the Dream Team Tournament organised by former county player, Matt Hammond & SSCFA’s Dave Farbrother.

The occasion also marked Alan’s move to the ‘back benches’ from where he will concentrate upon raising the necessary finances for the Association.

Speaking of the occasion Alan wishes, through the website, to place on record his sincere thanks to everyone who took part in the day’s events, and also to the many former students who made contact after the event!

“It was a memorable day all round and for once in my life I was speechless. The support from former county players was tremendous and emphasized the enjoyment which they had gained from representing their county. I am delighted to say that SSCFA continues to do well and much of this success is due to so many former county students & players who have returned to teach in schools and colleges within Shropshire.

A quick scan of our website highlights their contribution. Former Wakeman student Mark Hignett has taken on the role of Development Officer for SSCFA which incorporates the inter county programme which is led by a management team which includes former county students Steve Wilderspin; Dominic Bradburne; Mike Thomas; Will Smithson; Graham Dyke; Andy Reece; Kristien Wood; Peter Wilding & Graeme Nudds.

We have a great team of staff; an active partnership with the Shropshire Football Association and a wonderful set of loyal sponsors including our President Alan Hopkins and Patron Peter Forrest. With such support the Association will hopefully continue to serve its schools and colleges for several more generations of students.”

SSCFA is delighted to announce the appointment of its first ever Patron 

Peter Forrest, Managing Director of Pughs of Shrewsbury begins a three year commitment to the Association

Speaking on behalf of the SSCFA, Alan Jones was full of praise for his appointment. “From the moment of our first meeting in early New Year 2009 as a result of the Shropshire Star’s article highlighting the plight of the Association’s long term financial viability, I was very impressed by his calm and assured authority. Following further meetings it was clear that here was a man with an affinity with the local community as evidenced by his on-going work with a number of key community organisations. I feel sure that the SSCFA has appointed a Patron whose interest in our work will manifest itself through his genuine desire for children and young people to make the most of their precious lives.”