Football Focus Issue 73 | Page 84

Thirsk Falcons Juniors FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/FOOTYFOCUSMAG Thirsk Falcons Juniors FOOTBALL CLUB Thirsk Falcons Juniors FC has been established for over 30 years and is one of the largest sporting clubs in the area. It is a popular leisure choice for boys and girls that provides a perfect opportunity for children and adults in Thirsk as well as surrounding villages to take part in regular outdoor sporting activity thereby improving health, confidence and well being. Thirsk Falcons Seniors has been established since 1948 and has enjoyed unrivalled success in both the Harrogate and Teesside league, most recently winning the intermediate Cup Final on penalties earlier this year. The two clubs have now joined forced and have restructured as Thirsk Falcons FC. The vision is to bring semi pro football to Thirsk and to run one club that encompasses the breadth of junior football from Fledglings to U18’s with a clear pathway to a strong senior section playing high quality football that the whole town can get behind! The club is high profile; well known and respected; it helps to forge strong friendships in players from a wide range of schools as well as supporting strong community cohesion with the involvement of hundreds of parents who continue their support, often for many years. Falcons also looks to engage boys and girls at an early age into a structured, disciplined, sporting environment, nurturing their talents and providing a focus for their energy! Being part of the club and their respective teams instils a sense of pride. Education is not just about exams; it is well documented that sporting activity can play a huge part in building confidence, increasing self esteem and teaching life skills for the future. We actively encourage parents and carers to support the club providing t he opportunity for adults to train as refs/coaches/match day helpers. This provides children with great role models. As with maintaining any sports team or community group, the club relies on the passion and enthusiasm of volunteers who have their own demanding day jobs, families and lives to live! Keeping that momentum going as well as managing your own teams and their expectations is pretty demanding. However, seeing a team get to a cup final, watching the comradery and friendship flourish amongst the players, training being put into practice on match day and brainstorming with like minded individuals on the future of the club and bringing that to fruition is extremely rewarding. Our teams have enjoyed great success in the leagues and tournaments that we take part in across Teesside, Harrogate, York, Hambleton and Richmond areas. Gaining Community Club status, numerous promotions, having excellent cup runs, being finalists, conducting team tours and being one of the only English partner club’s linked with Celtic FC have all ensured the club continues to progress and move forward. One of our U13 players has even taken part in the FA’s recent first ever national advertising campaign to promote the new national education programme Premier League Primary Stars which aims to use football to inspire a strong work ethic and an interest in core subjects such as English and Maths. Whilst the club is going in the right direction and there is a lot of excitement and anticipation for the future there is still much to be done! The club has seen rapid growth in the junior section and is committed to providing high quality football in a community context. A measure of this is that several of our players have gone on Photography By JD Phtography Studio 84 Issue 73