GUERNSEY ATHLETICS
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Welcome to the third edition of a
new page on the Tics website which will offer various members of the
club to wax lyrical on any football or sporting matter that takes his
fancy.
This time aeound it is the turn of our esteemed assistant coach and, he sincerely hopes, former player, Kevin Graham (pictured).
We started this season with relatively modest aspirations - to enter a team in the top league of local football and develop our young players. At times it has been a struggle just to get 11 men on the pitch but we've managed to be competitive in every game we've played (with perhaps one exception against St Martins).
As a result of a lot of hard work on and off the pitch, we now find ourselves with the foundations of a decent squad of young, hungry players who all want to improve and apply themselves in order to do so. The boys have been a credit to themselves and the club over the last few months and myself and Steve are reasonably happy with what they have achieved so far.
Performances recently have demonstrated that the players' understanding of the game is improving and we expect that to continue.
The long awaited services of Angus Mackay have certainly strengthened us, and I expect a lot more from him as he continues to build up his match fitness and understanding of the players around him.
All of our players have improved this year, but one person I will single out for a little praise is Tom Jenkins.
This is a player who packed in after 1 session of pre-season because he doubted he would be able to motivate himself enough to train and apply himself properly.
I think we're all glad he had a re-think as his performances have been excellent on the pitch. He has learnt a lot and responded to the coaching he's been given and his passion for the game and for the team are stronger than ever. He's a character who can get distracted and he'll probably admit himself he isn't as fit as he should be so there's still much more to come from him, but he has established himself at the top level of the local game this year and that's something we all take a little pride in (wooo!).
The recent Clydesdale tournament was a great success for us as a club and demonstrated that the club delivers on its promises - our players were treated like pro footballers for the entire weekend and they responded to that with some encouraging performances on the pitch. To be able to play against full time footballers and test ourselves against that quality of
opposition was terrific. Motherwell particularly were a very useful side - their ball retention and movement off the ball was outstanding and
something we can only hope to get near to. They also worked extremely hard when they weren't in possession - a lesson to all of our players I hope
they take heed of. I hope the players will take what they learnt over the course of the weekend and use it to improve further. We are all very
grateful to Clydesdale Bank International and James Blower in particular.
We wanted for nothing over the course of the weekend - thank you James.
Once again we saw over the course of the Clydesdale tournament weekend what a great support team the club has at its disposal. There aren't many clubs who can bring in a highly experienced physio to step in when their main man is otherwise engaged. Rod's support and work with Blake over the weekend again underlined how lucky our boys are.
Whilst improvement is always great to see, there is still a lot our boys have to learn and work on. Fitness levels are improving but we will continue to work with Mike and Blake to ensure that the players are in the best shape possible to allow their football to prosper.
So the half term report reads something like this
After a shaky start, you've knuckled down and we've started to see the benefits. Concentration is also improving (though there's still a couple at
the back of the class who might find themselves in detention if they're not careful). The upcoming coursework and examinations before the end of term will show just how far you've come so you need to work harder now more than ever if you want to pass our tests before heading off on your summer holidays.
Kev.
Previously
The thoughts of our lovable kit man Derek Webb
Derek did not know any of the Tics players four months ago.
He was, after all, the president of the Guernsey Table Tennis Association and no more than a neutral Saturday football follower, not minding which bar he enjoyed a Guinness when the ref blew the final whistle.
But when our chairman offered him the chance to get involved Tics as kit man, ‘Webby’ liked what he read about the Tics ethos and its plans and said yes to the offer to join.
He makes sure that the kit is clean, ironed and laid out on match day, and also for distributing the various training and pre-match uniform to the squad.
‘Webby’ has certainly been a big hit with the players, his natural humour having made him a firm favourite.
So four months on how has he found the early days of Athletics Mk 2.
‘It’s been brilliant, not a chore at all.
‘It’s been great to get to know the lads but also watch Steve and Kev working with the players at close hand.
‘The lads really have responded well and I can see a big improvement in all of them.
‘They have really knuckled down to it and apart from that Saints game, whih was on of those days, the boys have done themselves proud.’
‘Webby’, who if you did not know already has been the driving force of the table tennis revolution over here, said the Tics ethos is all important to him.
‘Development was the word that for me interested in joining.
‘We’ve managed to to that in table tennis and I love to see young players getting better before your eyes.
‘The Tics set-up is really professional and I think that’s not only good for our lads but Guernsey football.
‘I’m loving it.’
This time aeound it is the turn of our esteemed assistant coach and, he sincerely hopes, former player, Kevin Graham (pictured).
We started this season with relatively modest aspirations - to enter a team in the top league of local football and develop our young players. At times it has been a struggle just to get 11 men on the pitch but we've managed to be competitive in every game we've played (with perhaps one exception against St Martins).
As a result of a lot of hard work on and off the pitch, we now find ourselves with the foundations of a decent squad of young, hungry players who all want to improve and apply themselves in order to do so. The boys have been a credit to themselves and the club over the last few months and myself and Steve are reasonably happy with what they have achieved so far.
Performances recently have demonstrated that the players' understanding of the game is improving and we expect that to continue.
The long awaited services of Angus Mackay have certainly strengthened us, and I expect a lot more from him as he continues to build up his match fitness and understanding of the players around him.
All of our players have improved this year, but one person I will single out for a little praise is Tom Jenkins.
This is a player who packed in after 1 session of pre-season because he doubted he would be able to motivate himself enough to train and apply himself properly.
I think we're all glad he had a re-think as his performances have been excellent on the pitch. He has learnt a lot and responded to the coaching he's been given and his passion for the game and for the team are stronger than ever. He's a character who can get distracted and he'll probably admit himself he isn't as fit as he should be so there's still much more to come from him, but he has established himself at the top level of the local game this year and that's something we all take a little pride in (wooo!).
The recent Clydesdale tournament was a great success for us as a club and demonstrated that the club delivers on its promises - our players were treated like pro footballers for the entire weekend and they responded to that with some encouraging performances on the pitch. To be able to play against full time footballers and test ourselves against that quality of
opposition was terrific. Motherwell particularly were a very useful side - their ball retention and movement off the ball was outstanding and
something we can only hope to get near to. They also worked extremely hard when they weren't in possession - a lesson to all of our players I hope
they take heed of. I hope the players will take what they learnt over the course of the weekend and use it to improve further. We are all very
grateful to Clydesdale Bank International and James Blower in particular.
We wanted for nothing over the course of the weekend - thank you James.
Once again we saw over the course of the Clydesdale tournament weekend what a great support team the club has at its disposal. There aren't many clubs who can bring in a highly experienced physio to step in when their main man is otherwise engaged. Rod's support and work with Blake over the weekend again underlined how lucky our boys are.
Whilst improvement is always great to see, there is still a lot our boys have to learn and work on. Fitness levels are improving but we will continue to work with Mike and Blake to ensure that the players are in the best shape possible to allow their football to prosper.
So the half term report reads something like this
After a shaky start, you've knuckled down and we've started to see the benefits. Concentration is also improving (though there's still a couple at
the back of the class who might find themselves in detention if they're not careful). The upcoming coursework and examinations before the end of term will show just how far you've come so you need to work harder now more than ever if you want to pass our tests before heading off on your summer holidays.
Kev.
Previously
The thoughts of our lovable kit man Derek Webb
Derek did not know any of the Tics players four months ago.
He was, after all, the president of the Guernsey Table Tennis Association and no more than a neutral Saturday football follower, not minding which bar he enjoyed a Guinness when the ref blew the final whistle.
But when our chairman offered him the chance to get involved Tics as kit man, ‘Webby’ liked what he read about the Tics ethos and its plans and said yes to the offer to join.
He makes sure that the kit is clean, ironed and laid out on match day, and also for distributing the various training and pre-match uniform to the squad.
‘Webby’ has certainly been a big hit with the players, his natural humour having made him a firm favourite.
So four months on how has he found the early days of Athletics Mk 2.
‘It’s been brilliant, not a chore at all.
‘It’s been great to get to know the lads but also watch Steve and Kev working with the players at close hand.
‘The lads really have responded well and I can see a big improvement in all of them.
‘They have really knuckled down to it and apart from that Saints game, whih was on of those days, the boys have done themselves proud.’
‘Webby’, who if you did not know already has been the driving force of the table tennis revolution over here, said the Tics ethos is all important to him.
‘Development was the word that for me interested in joining.
‘We’ve managed to to that in table tennis and I love to see young players getting better before your eyes.
‘The Tics set-up is really professional and I think that’s not only good for our lads but Guernsey football.
‘I’m loving it.’