This year the Under 8Es started the season strong. In the early rounds the boys won a lot of  their games by 7, 8 or 9 goals. This saw the team regraded to U8Ds status.

The games were tougher. A more even performance was witnessed.

At training, the boys each week practiced new skills which would come in handy during our weekend matches where I saw the fruits of their labor pay off. It may have been from an attacking throw in or a through ball which would result in our hungry Eagles to swoop in and score a goal.

The goals were often celebrated with a Cristiano Ronaldo ‘Siuuuu!’, a shirt over the head or even a 1980s ‘worm’ (often left for the dance floor).

The boys weren’t gloating, but their passion and love for the game brought out this excitement.

During the year, I personally saw a lot of growth from the boys. The passes became more accurate, the confidence running with the ball improved, the long shot and free kicks began to pay off, the fight for possession would often end up with a collision as they weren’t going to back down and team work led to more goals.

After the season was over we had won, drawn and lost an even amount of games, but the team was happy with their performance, and our committed family supporters were the ones showing up each week either bringing the boys to training or coming along to the game on the weekend and cheering us on with such positivity.

After the season ended the boys competed in a Gala Day. We surprisingly snuck through to the finals and had a really hard fought battle with our higher ranked opponents. Although we didn’t win that game it was close. The commitment and passion was present with a few of the boys using their sleeves to wipe away tears.

As the Boys Under 8 D Coach, I am very proud of the 2023 season. Bring on 2024!

Phil Macken