|
|
GIRLS |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| TRAINING | NEWS | TEAMS | CAMPS | CONTACTS |
| EVENTS | GIRLS | COACHES | TOURS | PARTNERS |
|
|
|
There are now over 1 million girls playing organised football in Germany - around 30 of them play for the EFCB. Ever since we have launched our first girls' team at the club, the numbers have been growing rapidly. While we encourage our youngest girls to play with the boys for as long as possible, the older age groups, U11-U14, are part of the separate EFCB girls' section. Our most advanced girls have the opportunity to play in one of Berlin's competitive youth leagues. All other players participate in friendly games and tournaments throughout the year.
|
|
TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR U15 GIRLS
|
|
EFCB GIRLS FINISH SEASON AS THIRD
|
|
U11 GIRLS PLAYED FIRST GAME
|
|
INDOOR TOURNAMENT TO KICK OFF GERMAN-ENGLISH FOOTBALL NIGHT
|
|
GIRLS BENEFIT FROM NSCAA COACHING COURSE IN BERLIN
|
|
EFCB Girls in england
At the end of the 2008 season, our girls' team travelled to London to take part in a tournament organised by the Brockham Badgers FC, a fine local club based in Dorking. Over the two days, a staggering 192 teams with over 1500 young footballers entered into the European Championship spirit, with flags and faces painted - and some choosing to wear the shirts of their 'adopted country'. Around 3000 spectators also enjoyed the spectacle on Brockham's Big Field, nestling at the foot of the North Downs. The day before the games, the team had the chance to go sightseeing in London. Little did they know when they arrived at Buckingham Palace and saw the Royal Guard and a lot of police around. It was the Queens' Birthday celebration – and the EFCB girls were right amongst the many visitors and spectators. "How lucky can you be to travel to London and to visit the Queen - and actually seeing her in her carriage with Prince Philip? Not only her but the entire Royal Family! The Royal Guards followed us through St. James´s Park and the girls had the experience of seeing them up really close and were prompted to copy their marching, stepping smartly in their EFCB track suits looking like a regiment of sorts." (Beate - Soccer mum)
At night the host families, who kindly offered to house the team during their stay, had organised a BBQ. What a great way of socialising and making new friends! On the next day it was time for some action on the football field. Our girls played 5 games vs. Abbey Rangers, Brockham Badgers, Horsham Sparrows, Merstham and Scorpions Blue and finished the group as third. "The organisation of the event was superb.15 pitches for the various age groups, games around the clock, nothing left to be desired in terms of food, drink & side events. We found ourselves at pitch 13 where we were to compete. Lucky number, unlucky number - our girls did very well. Sophie was scoring a lot of goals. Katharina earned herself the fair play award and a ball because she volunteered to be in goal and did a fabulous job there.We came in 3rd just behind two teams with girls who play at a semi professional level at Chelsea and Fulham." (Beate - Soccer mum)
The girls returned to Berlin with a lot of stories and some fond memories. A big thank you has to go to our host families and the entire Brockham Badgers FC who helped to make the trip a wonderful experience for the entire EFCB group. The overwhelming kindness and hospitality shown to our players were exceptional. We hope to see you all in Berlin soon.
"Thank you EFCB for your kind gifts - my boys wore their Germany caps to school today and are now busily stuffing their faces with the gummy bears! The boys and my daughter (who will be dedicating her Berlin mug to the exclusive use of hot chocolate - her favourite) will be putting the scarves and caps to good use having made a collective decision to now support Deutschland in the Euro 2008 Finals. From what I could tell from the standard of football your girls displayed, they should have got through to the knock-out stages. Their ball control and passing was far better than most. They just lacked a bit of physical weight." Jason Rabbets (Tournament Director)
|
|
GOALKEEPER PROBLEM SOLVED – NEW SEASON HERE WE COME
|
|
OPEN GIRLS' ROUNDS
Michael Stolz (EFCB coach): 'It's important that girls outside the club structures get more opportunities to play. Very often they don't get the same chances as the boys, whether it's at school, during the breaks or in the park in their spare time. Generally, there seems to be a rising interest amongst girls in football these days. The key is to encourage them to practice and play from a young age and on a regular basis.'
|
In recognition of their great improvements last season, the U15 girls’ team picked up the EFCB Team of the Year Award 2009. Finishing last season as third for the second time running, the award also reflected their commitment to training and games. Meanwhile, the girls earned a lot of praise for their impressive performance during a recent indoor tournament, the Bezirkspokal Steglitz/Zehlendorf, which involved some of Berlin’s finest clubs. The EFCB finished in 3rd place, just behind winners Hertha 03 and on points with the runners up, Stern 1900.
Our girls have played another cracking season. They finished 3rd out of 9 teams in their C-Junior U14s league, the highest ranking of any EFCB team for the second year running. For quite some time it looked like they even could challenge for the title but a string of disappointing results towards the end of the season meant they also lost their runners-up spot, despite having had a 10-point cushion with six rounds to go. Not being able to field a full team on a couple of occasions cost them dearly. Overall, all the girls made good progress and should be proud of their achievements. They scored 50 goals in 15 games, the second best in their division. The aim for next season should be to show more consistently throughout the year and prepare for 11-a-side football the season after. (And practicing the National Anthem again – We Will Rock You works fine already). Our girls finished off their exciting season with a tournament in London where they came close to reaching the final and a friendly match vs. an African selection in preparation for the Open African Championships in Berlin.
After months of hard work on the trainings pitch, our newly formed U11s/U12s team finally played their first friendly game. Despite loosing 1-4 to Internationale FC, the inaugural game can only be described as a very positive experience. The next matches are already set up and include tournaments at Union Berlin and at the Berlin International Youth Cup in May. From September 2009 on, the team is going to enter the Berlin youth league programme.
In November our U14 girls hosted an international 5-a-side indoor tournament which kicked off a dedicated evening of German - English football events. The tournament was special in many ways. While the playing surface and the 5-a-side format was a new experience for our players, competing alongside some of the best girls' team in the region was definitely a challenge. Turbine Potsdam, a household name in national and international women's football, was the favourite and the girls from Brandenburg didn't disappoint. With great technical football, pace and competitiveness Turbine swept through to the final where they beat Hertha Zehlendorf 5-1. The John F. Kennedy SC finished the competition 3rd, The English Football Club ended up 4th and 6th, FC Internationale came in 5th, Berlin British School FC 7th and the Berlin International School finished 8th. The trophies were handed out by Fredi Bobic and TV presenter Shary Reeves. Both were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the teams and the fair play displayed by the girls.
It's one of the most frustrating experiences in youth football. You turn up for a league fixture and the opponent doesn't show up. This is exactly what happened to our U14 team on October 4th. But luckily there was a happy ending. The EFCB had scheduled a coaching course for the weekend with the American instructor Frank Tschan, who represents the North American Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in Europe. Game observation was part of his programme but since there was no game, Frank spontaneously decided to run a training session with our girls instead. The 90-minute session was very beneficial, not just for our girls, but also for the 15 coaches watching attentively. And while the team had a very busy morning after all and received a lot of praise from all observers, the coaches made their way back into the classroom to complete the 21-hour course required to obtain an Advanced Regional NSCAA coaching diploma.
Our girls confirmed their fine form displayed recently in the league with a 3rd place at our annual Berlin International Youth Cup in May. The EFCB girls lost only one game against Türkiyemspor who finished 2nd in the end. The tournament was won by FC Internationale while the British School, the JFK and the Berlin International School shared 4th, 5th and 6th. One very positive aspect of the Youth Cup was the fact that we only conceded two goals in the 5 games we played. This was down to our good defensive work but also to our new goalkeeper, Isabelle, who made a good impression on her first assignment.
With only a few league games left, we are already planning ahead to new season which starts in September. For now, we have registered a girls' team for the C-Junior age group which allows players born '94, '95 & '96 to compete in the league programme. We are also in the process of building up a team eligible to play in the D-Junior bracket for players born '97 & '98. In the coming weeks we would like to invite new players for tryout sessions. So if you are interested in practicing and playing with one the EFCB girls' teams, just get in touch. Our regular training takes place on Wednesday afternoons, 16.45-18.15, in Zehlendorf near Hüttenweg/Clayallee.
In order to encourage more girls to play football on a regular basis, the EFCB has come up with a new project. It's called Open Rounds and offers girls aged 7-13 to participate in series of mini- tournaments, either as a school team or just as individual players. On the day the girls get divided into teams according to age and playing level. The rounds are organised by the EFCB in association with our international partner schools such as the JFK, BIS and the BBS who fully support the new programme.
The first two rounds took place in February and April 2008. The dates for the next rounds will be announced soon.