Hat Trick - Derwent

Derwent FC are a local football club that are based in the Derwent ward of Chaddesden. The club was founded in 2004 starting with just two teams, a Senior team and an under 15’s side. In 2005 the Hat-trick Project was introduced to the area with one of it’s key aims being to help develop Derwent FC into a Charter Standard club helping to provide a sustainable legacy of Hat-trick.

In line with a development plan drawn up by the Hat-trick Football Development Worker the Derwent FC began their first steps into having a logical progression by starting an under 9’s football team that played in the Derby Mini-Soccer League. The team was run by Mat Blakemore for the season. At the end of the year the team were then taken over by either a parent of one of the players or a local resident from the Derwent Ward. The Hat-trick project would then put these volunteers through the FA Level 1 Coaching Certificate and their CRB checks.

Since then Derwent FC have continued to expand and progress by repeating this proven process so that the club now have teams running from under 9’s up to under 12’s, all managed and coached by fully qualified local volunteers.

There has been also much success for Derwent FC on the pitch over the past four years. The Derwent FC senior team completed a league and cup double in the 08/09 football season while last season the under 10’s last season also won the league and were victorious in numerous tournaments they had entered during pre-season.

Some of the major outcomes and success stories have been off the field though. Derwent FC has placed more than ten different volunteers through their FA coaching badges and they now manage and coach the junior teams. We are also one of the very few clubs to have a female manager in charge of the under 12’s and we are hoping this will encourage more females to get involved in the club, on and off the pitch.

Derwent FC has many dedicated volunteers that have helped raise lots of money for the club. We have held fundraising auctions, bag packing at Morrison’s, sponsored runs and nights out at the Greyhound track! All of these events have provided vital funds for the club and helped purchase new equipment, pay for league fee’s and all in all keep costs at a minimum for the players of Derwent FC.

Thanks to all this hard work from everybody involved with the club, from the chairman, the secretary, the coaches and managers we have now been able to apply for the charter standard club award. This would be excellent for the club and will hopefully allow us to improve even more.