Vegard Riise Eikrem

This is my son, he has suffered with his confidence due to bullying so much it led to panic attacks, once even at training. As a parent this was heart wrenching to see, this past year though, as a parent I wanted to thank his teammates, coaches and club Cwmbran Town. They rallied around him, supported him through his lows and slowly but surely picked his confidence back up off the floor bit by bit. I can't put into words what they have done for my boy. To see him smile again, enjoy his football again is what we should be doing and we're so proud to say he is smiling and is loving life again, all because of his grassroots team. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. #Teamgrassroots #grassrootsfootball #GRF

𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗧𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛 I have a family, I have a job, I coach grassroots football. I work 5 days a week sometimes on a weekend, I sometimes work late, or I get up early for work. I fit in a training session or two each week to coach kid’s football. I eat my tea late or maybe not all. I forget to ask my other half how his or her day has been or my son or daughter how their day at school has been because I'm sending a message or two or thirty to arrange games, sometimes this can be as late as 9pm while our partners tell us "Get off your phone you been on it all night and since you got home along with a death stare". We search for grants, fill in the forms which can take hours, we look for sponsors by sending emails and talking to people sometimes done on our breaks and lunch breaks while working. We deal with player registrations, the club finances and keeping our costs low so your children benefit. Our kids want to be footballers but in the real world only 0.01 % of those that play grassroots make it, so let the kids enjoy it while it lasts because they will become old enough and decide to walk away because of the pressure we as adults apply. Just think when doing your job what would it be like if my boss was applying pressure all the time. These are our children, the generation of tomorrow. My game doesn't kick off till 11.30am but I get up at 7am, I take the dog for a walk because I won’t get a chance later. I get changed into my football gear, I go to do a pitch inspection to make sure the pitch is playable while you're sleeping, I mark out the pitches which can take a couple of hours, I put the nets up, the corner flags the spectator barrier up and I haven't even had a coffee or breakfast. I coach the game your children are playing in which can be up to 2 hours, I pack away and then I go to another game to watch my child play even though I have missed the 1st half of my own child's game, I sometimes don't even see my own child play because I'm coaching yours. When we can’t find a referee and nobody else will step up, we are the ones who then step up to do that job whilst trying to coach. Somewhere in-between the above I try to tell my family I love them, spend an hour in the gym to look after my mental health because I need to. Before we criticise those who do the above, take a moment and think "could I do all the above?" Remember our coaches are all volunteers and somewhere they are making a sacrifice. So, respect what they do, even lend a helping hand because without them there is no game for your children to play in. At Holbeck Moor JFC we are ever so grateful to our volunteers; they are legends of the game. 📷📷📷 #StrongerTogether #hmjfc #grassrootsfootball #GreenArmy

What a touch of class by Ace Academy. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ A year ago, Leighton suffered a horrendous injury. Tonight the whole club welcomed him back like the HERO he is.

This is my son Charlie, he's 15. It's important that everyone understands he isn't a ref, he's a child who chooses to ref. If he refs your game, please treat him how you would want your child to be treated. I'm so proud of him. Charlie's Mum ❤️ – at South Shields, England