Cadbury Athletic Football Club was formed in 1994 by Gaynor Walker, a former employee of Cadbury's, and initially comprised of two 11 a side teams.
In 1999, the Football Association introduced small sided football for players between the ages of 7 and 10. Games were to be played on smaller pitches, using smaller goals, and involving teams of 7 players. Cadburys decided to embrace this new version of junior football, and began to seek players and managers, with help from around the local Bournville community, to start the building process for what is now the ‘Junior Section' of the club that still exists today as the basis for the clubs involvement within the local community..
The ‘Junior Section' of Cadbury Athletic now comprises of 12 teams ranging from U7 to U16, with two further teams in its Senior section. Plans are also underway to establish a development section for 4 & 5 year olds in order to provide an introduction into Junior football and to the club itself.
Cadbury Athletic remains a major force in local football, and maintains its basic philosophy of providing children from the local community the opportunity to play football in a safe and secure environment.
The current team still has 2 members from the original team that started as Under 7's players in 2003/04 season, where they played their first season in Division A, under the management of Mark Busby. The team finisherd the season mid-table, and following the re-organising of the leagues, played their football for the next few years in Div B. In 2005, the team management changed to Tony Hunter, assisted by Noel Clarke. The team maintained their consistent performance finishing 5th in the league. In 2006,Noel took over managing the team, and found a new assistant Shaun Hunt. The team have shown improvement each season, and this season will play their football in Premier Division. They have added a new assistant coach, Danny McEwan to the management team.
Should kids in the Under 11 age group continue to play small sided football (as in Scotland & Wales) or should they make the step up to 11-a-side (as in England)?
Small sided football - too early to move up
11-a-side football - time to step up
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