Published: Friday 10 October

We all remember our formative steps in football and the people who gave us our first opportunity to take part.

For me, I can remember a bloke called Frank.

Frank’s coaching techniques were certainly of their time, and included us nine-year-olds being required to bring our slippers to training.

This was not to give us a relaxing evening off, it was for us to wear one slipper on our ‘good’ foot, or our ‘natural foot’, while we attempted to play football on the wooden indoor court. 

The method in this apparent madness was that we would be unlikely to use that foot due to its slippered status, and instead would begin to use our ‘weaker’ side, thus developing into two-footed players.

You know what? For me, it worked. Frank was a genius to me. Having met other players from that team (many went on to successful semi-professional football careers), the slipper technique gained mixed results…

The point being there is no set menu for training and helping young players during their first steps onto a pitch, slippered or not. But what we can do is set them on the right path.

And that is what us development coaches with Marauders are aiming to do with the sessions we lay on weekly for kids from age five upwards.

Yes, one of the aims is to eventually form teams from those youngsters as they progress, but our first and most important role is to help them develop a love for the game that can last a life-time.

As good old Frank used to say - a good training session is only a success if all the players come back the following week. If they don’t, you need to look at why.

Since September we have been holding sessions with the emphasis being on movement, play and skills, as influenced by the FA’s excellent Playphase playbook (we would recommend all parents of young kids give that a read).

On the face of it, this is just football, but we do our best in the hour per week, via sport and play, to help the kids: 

Children love games, so a lot of what we do is traditional kids’ activities progressed to football. For example, tig or tag - the age old game played by kids across the world - is not hugely removed from aspects of football when you add a ball into the mix, and is an excellent way to teach movement, avoidance, use of space and even teamwork.

But what happens in the practices during the sessions is only half of what we do. By treating the kids as valued people, by remembering their names, or what team they support, or asking them how school is going, it makes a connection which enables them to feel comfortable in the learning environment and hopefully makes it more likely they will enjoy themselves.

The sessions are also doubling up as ‘development’ for young would-be coaches too. A couple of current and ex-Marauders players have come along to either observe or help out. They have helped foster a real ‘community’ feel to the hour and show the youngsters that this club can be somewhere you can spend many years enjoying football. 

And now with our link agreement with semi-pro club Prestwich Heys, players could conceivably start with our Marauders development sessions and end up getting paid to play football when they become adults. 

Our sessions have now moved indoors for the autumn and winter and take place from 6pm to 7pm in the Unsworth Academy sports hall. Learning from the past, we realise some five year olds obviously aren’t hugely keen on standing outside in the rain throughout the winter. And the coaches and parents no doubt have similar feelings.

We look into as much detail as possible to make the sessions fun and appropriate - we are using futsals, for example, as they are far better suited to indoor football than the usual balls we use outdoors. This allows the kids to learn closer control with the less bouncy balls, while also honing techniques without balls flying about the sports hall taking the coaches’ heads off… 

Having started with six hardy kids the first week outdoors in September, we now have more than 25 players, who's parents/guardians have expressed interest. 

If you know anyone who has children who may be interested, please mention the sessions to them. Especially girls. We have a lot of boys, as would be expected, but we would love to form a couple of girls teams out of the sessions by the end of the season, ready for matches in 2026. 

We can promise fun and teamwork - but with apologies to Frank, we would not encourage the wearing of slippers… 

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Between schoolwork, hobbies, work commitments, other children, and getting your young player to training and matches on time — it’s no small task. (And yes, we’ve all been there when the shin pads or boots get left behind).

Whatever your load is, we congratulate you. We see your effort, and we say: well done.

But amid the chaos, it’s important to pause and ask: Is everyone safe? 

And that leads to the questions – what about safeguarding? Why does it matter — and why should you care?

My name is Alexandra Morris and I am a volunteer at Prestwich Marauders Football Club and one of my roles is safeguarding and welfare officer for all age groups.

My role includes making sure all our coaches are fully trained, ensuring they have completed FA-required DBS checks and supporting a club culture that follows FA safeguarding guidelines.

Because our club doesn’t have a single home base, I operate remotely and can be contacted by email. 

I work alongside our club committee — Chris Abbott, Angela Moran and Tony Howard — who share safeguarding responsibilities. Together we have policies designed to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm, neglect and bullying.

Wanting the best for our children is a natural instinct. We expect them to be in a safe, fun environment that helps them thrive. But safeguarding is not just the responsibility of coaches or clubs — it’s shared by everyone.

Safeguarding simply means ensuring that children and young people have a safe, positive, and enjoyable football experience — free from harm or abuse.

And as a parent you have a role in that. When joining a club, you should:

I highly recommend all parents do the the FA's Safeguarding Awareness for Parents and Carers course. It is free and takes just 25 minutes. It covers:

This is one of the simplest but most powerful ways to help keep your child safe.

Our shared goal is to provide football for all — regardless of age, gender, disability or ability — in a safe, supportive and fun environment.

You parents set the tone. Simple ways to do this are to encourage effort and teamwork — not just results; respect referees and opposition teams, avoid shouting instructions that contradict the coach and remember: children learn best in a positive, supportive environment.

Safeguarding isn’t just a policy — it’s a culture we create together. By staying informed, asking questions, and speaking up when something doesn’t feel right, you’re helping make football a safe, inclusive and enjoyable experience for every child.

Thank you for playing your part, and remember, if you have any concerns about safeguarding email me – the welfare officer – or speak to any committee member for support.

Together, we make football safe.
Alex
pmfcwelfareofficer@gmail.com

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Published: 8 September 2025

While little Sergio was in his trunks, dive-bombing holiday-makers at their all-inclusive in Turkey, the Prestwich Marauders pitch fairies came to life and our three sites got the love and attention they needed.

Most of the work this summer has been done at Sandgate Fields (behind Prestwich Heys - more on them another time) and Sparks Field, the venue formerly known as Pinfold Drive, which was, in turn, originally known as… Sparks Field (it was used as a sports ground by Prestwich Hospital staff, once upon a time). 

Sparks was out of action for most of the last year. It suffered in the wet weather and various parts of the pitch were bare of grass. The field has been seeded, vertidrained (more on that later), mowed and a demonstration was held to share knowledge on marking out pitches from scratch. This followed another Marauders coach lovingly returning a line marking machine to its 1970s glory.

More hard work was done on servicing the goalposts and ground sockets, getting nets in working order, clearing the cabin of years of rubbish (there is still more there — if anyone knows any out-of-work Wombles, get in touch…), and clearing away overgrown bushes and branches that made access to the cabin difficult.

The final touch was applied while Raptors played a pre-season friendly — a sign was installed to let the public know that Sparks is back in business and there is a football pitch to look after.

Coaches Alex, Paul, Stew, and others, have worked their socks off for the kids of Cheetahs, Raptors and Warriors to enjoy their new home this season. Thanks to all involved.

As for Sandgate… anyone who’s braved the field in their wellies in winter will have seen how it has traditionally resembled a swamp. Once the summer dissipates, the water descends, and it has been nigh-on-impossible to get football matches on there from October-onwards for the past three seasons at least. 

Climate change has played a part — the warming of the earth has led to more water evaporating into the clouds, and therefore rain falls heavier and quicker than it used to, which has led the poor drainage system to buckle under the deluges. 

This summer has seen a concerted and organised effort to try and deal with the issues. Bury Council has undertaken some outer-drainage works around the periphery of the field. And the club paid for vertidraining (this was also done at Sparks and St Mary’s Park). 

Vertidraining involves dozens of spikes being hammered into the ground at an angle, by a machine on the back of a tractor. The spikes produce holes in the grass that aid both drainage and aeration of the ground below. This allows for better quality grass and drainage due to removing compaction.

Volunteers (particular thanks to Jonesy and Dan, who often put in full days at the site) undertook several weekends of painting lines so that there are now two nine-aside pitches and a seven-aside pitch for use by our teams. A five-aside pitch is apparently in the offing, but we are letting the fairies rest their wings for now… 

Early indications have been good, with boys teams training on Sandgate with no pitch issues all summer. 

Girls team Phoenix under-11s have agreed to be the pilot team for testing how long the top nine-aside pitch remains playable by using it as a home ground for league fixtures for the foreseeable future.

We have had some help from partner club Prestwich Heys (more on them another time, honestly, don’t worry, it is coming…) and they have agreed to open the toilets in their Adie Moran Park ground on Sunday mornings for the girls to use.

A sign has also been installed at the opening of the dirt track that leads from Heys’ car park up to the field. Again, this serves to give the field ownership and to let people know the pitches are for Marauders’ use, while also helping visiting teams and spectators to know where to go.

We will be keeping a close on eye on how Sandgate performs as the weather worsens, and we are certainly not getting overexcited, as we have had a very dry summer, particularly compared to 2024. And far too many Sandgate bubbles have been heartbreakingly burst in the past.

St Mary’s Park (SMP) remains under the watchful eyes of head groundsman Mark Jones, who has somehow managed to get training on for his team every week during summer, apart from one. A new record for a grass roots team, we think…

Diamonds under-12s girls will be applying their silky brand of expansive, passing football to the nines pitch this season.

Meanwhile, the SMP sevens pitch will be home to our Hurricanes under-9s girls team. Coaches Pete and Justin will be fettling away merrily and if their recent friendly is anything to go by they are in for a decent season. 

Aesthetically, we gave our three signs a clean (here’s a great idea for an afternoon of fun for all the family — find the Marauders signs at SMP…) and we put up some stickers reiterating to the public (and other clubs) that the pitches are for use by PMFC teams only.

Having survived Prestwich Carnival and no longer under attack from Festwich, SMP drained really well last season, with hardly any games falling victim to the weather. We are hoping for a similar scenario during this campaign.

If you have not nodded off yet, well done… We will provide another update as soon as one of the committee members gets a spare half an hour. Fascinating future subjects to be broached include kits, Prestwich Heys (patience everyone, patience…) and the development of our next generation of budding Marauders.
Tony