Dynamos equipped for future after Bank-ing a boost
AN AWARD-winning Northumberland junior football club which has doubled in size in the last year is set to kick on again next season – thanks to the support of a regional employer.
Seaton Delaval Dynamos have set up new under-11, under-12 and under-13 teams in the last 12 months to go alongside their existing under15, under-16 and under-17 squads in response to a rapid increase in the number of local youngsters wanting to play the game.
The club has also started introductory training sessions for primary school children, the club paying for some of the players in the higher-aged junior teams to take coaching qualifications to enable them to running the sessions.
Now, to help it build on the progress made in the last year, the Dynamos have been awarded a £5,000 grant from the Banks Group’s Banks Community Fund which will pay for a wide range of new training and playing equipment.
New nine-a-side and 11-a-side match goals have been bought, while a bespoke training kit including balls, cones, bibs, ladders, poles and carry bags has been purchased for each of the club’s teams, along with some much-needed training goals.
The club was founded by husband and wife team Robert and Anna Milburn in 2009, becoming an FA Charter Standard club within six months and being chosen as FA National Charter Standard Junior Football Club of the Year in 2013. In 2016, it was named as joint national winner in the Grassroots Club section of the FA Respect and Fair Play Awards, an initiative which recognises leagues, clubs and individuals which show outstanding determination to ensure that the game is played in the manner it should be and which put respect, education and participation at the heart of everything they do.
Anna Milburn, secretary and coach at the Dynamos, said: “There has been a real explosion in the number of children wanting to play for us in the last year.
“We only had limited training equipment which coaches had to share and spend time getting from one session to the next. It was all well used and showing clear signs of wear and tear.
“With each team now having its own set of equipment for which it is responsible, coaches and players can spend more time working on their skills in training sessions, which will hopefully then translate into better performances in matches.”