Junior Football is alive and kicking in the Culm Valley if the events of Saturday morning are anything to go by as the young footballers of Bradninch and Clyst Hydon locked horns on the playing field of The Duchy Primary School. Clyst Hydon Junior Football Club was set up by Pete Rosenwald and he can now call on a large number of other parents and members of the Clyst Hydon School Parent Teacher Association to enable the young footballers of the village to learn the basic skills and take part in competitive Football. Finding suitable opposition is one of Petes biggest headaches, their numbers are limited, as indeed are so many similar groups that evolve in the areas smaller communities, and Pete would love to be contacted by other local teams who could provide suitable opposition. Clyst Hydon have a central "pool" of 9-10 youngsters taken from years 2, 1 and the reception class age group. They play under the banner of " Tigers " and they have a healthy following of "support" amongst which yellow and black scarves, the club colours, are visibly seen.

Meanwhile at Bradninch there is a thriving Saturday Morning Football Club being "driven" by the enigmatic Dave Henderson, himself an avid Crystal Palace Supporter and all round Football lover. "Bradninch Soccer AM Football Club" was started by Dave, named after the Saturday Morning football show that is aired on the SKY Sports TV Channel, a programme that Dave laments they all " miss " now that the Club is fully operational ! They cater for the age group 5-9, and hope to extend that next year, at present some thirty local kids get the royal treatment on Saturday mornings as there is now a large group of adults involved in the coaching and general "running" of the Saturday morning sessions. Arriving at a sound financial footing did not cause too much of a problem for Henderson and his "team" various donations came in, including one single offering of £350.00 from a parent !

One Saturday in December the two Clubs met at the Duchy School, the villagers arrived with 8 players, the hosts had their usual Saturday morning turn out and so two games were played. The first saw the Tigers take on the older age group of Bradninch Soccer AM and a close game was decided by a fine individual goal from the left foot of William Dunsford, a threat through the game, whilst the Tigers keeper Craig Owen saved his side going further behind with a fine stop to deny Dunsford a second. Frank Rosennwald and Jacob Wood caught the eye in the visitors midfield and Howard Blakeley did likewise for the home side. Game two saw the same eight from the Tigers take on nine of the younger age group of Bradninch players and another close encounter saw a game in which the young Bradninch goalkeeper prevented the Tigers getting the goal they fought so valiantly to score in an amazing goal mouth scramble. So game two ended 0-0 but there were no "losers" as such and what's more there was no sign of "flying pizzas", " Touchline remonstrations ", or foul and abusive language aimed at the referee ( who incidentally was Mr. Steven Trump of Bradninch - who manages the Bradninch Senior Side that play in the Intermediate Division Two of the Devon & Exeter League and is another of the "team" that helps run the Saturday morning football in Bradninch, yes, football is alive and kicking and giving a lot of youngsters in the Culm Valley communities of Bradninch and Clyst Hydon a great deal of fun.

BRADNINCH SOCCER AM is a group that operates out of the Duchy School in Bradninch on Saturdays morning between 10 and 11am. The Club is open to boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 9. Dave Henderson kick started the thing in 2001 and currently the group numbers almost 30 ! The organisation of the sessions needs to be seen to be fully appreciated and it is a credit, not only to the enigmatic Henderson, a fanatical follower of Crystal Palace Football Club, but also the large number of other active helpers who make up the " Committee ". They have a 'publicity sheet' which lists the chief members of "staff", Derek Kerr is Club Secretary, Dave Henderson is Director of Football, Mike Bamforth, Head Coach, Stuart Wall, who has the fascinating title of "Foreign Affairs and Overseas Development", and the heptagonal group is completed with Steve Trump, Financial Director, Jim Dunsford, Trainer and Tim Rees the Chairman.

The Club statement tells of the three main aims:

• To help our players develop their skills
• To foster teamwork and encourage team spirit
• To provide an enjoyable experience for all involved

To achieve these aims and get the best out of the Club, members must have high standards of behaviour. To this end we are introducing a yellow and a red card system. "Offences" will include:

• Leaving the pitch without permission
• Rudeness to an adult
• Non-cooperation during training

A yellow card will be given for the first "offence" as a warning. A second "offence" will mean a red card. Players receiving a red card will have to sit on the touchline for a period of time, before being allowed to rejoin the game. All cards will be wiped out after each session. We would be grateful if you could make your child aware of the system and remind him/her of it before she/he comes to a training session.

Parents are welcome to stay and watch the training sessions from the "bank". However it is a rule of The Duchy School that children are NOT allowed to play on the apparatus or ride their bikes in the playground - the school is not insured for this outside of normal school hours, and the Football Club cannot be responsible for children who are not on the training pitch. Please also note that dogs or other animals are not allowed in or on the School grounds.

All players must wear shin pads AT ALL TIMES on the training pitch - players without shin pads will not be allowed to play. At the end of each term, there will be a "kit exchange" to help raise funds for the Club - any old boots or bits of kit can be donated, and items will be available for a nominal cost.

So there we have it, Football is very much alive and kicking in Bradninch for the younger generation, if Football is your passion and you want to get involved - PLEASE DO - get along to the Saturday morning sessions, alternatively you might have members of the family who would benefit from joining the group and they too will be made MOST WELCOME, as indeed would absolutely ANY offers of help with funding, be that direct donations or ideas for fund raising.

Report by Steve Birley