2017/18 was a successful season for Steel City Wanderers LFC and with the club continuing to grow the future is looking very positive. Football Focus Magazine recently caught up with their Chairman John Smith to find out more about the club.
FF: How long have you been involved and what first attracted you to the club?
JS: I have been involved with this club for the past twenty years. I first came here when my daughter started playing for them at junior level and then progressed to the First Team. She has just completed this season over 400 first team appearances for the first team. We as parents just like to help out where we can.
FF: What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your role?
JS: The most challenging part of my role is pre season with organising the club’s tournament, as well as the affiliation and registration that comes with it.
The most rewarding aspect of my role is seeing players enjoy playing the game they love and progressing to become better players.
FF: How’s the general mood down at the club at the moment?
JS: The mood at the club at the moment is very positive. We have recently acquired four new coaches in a very short space of time that has gelled very well with our current coaches/volunteers within the club.
Everyone involved is enthusiastic and all have the same goal – to grow the girls in a fun, safe and happy environment. Two seasons ago we moved to the FA Parklife HUB at St Georges Park Thorncliffe to become the only totally independent female FA Partner club in the country (there are no male players here).
FF: How would you say the season has gone for the club so far?
JS: The 17/18 season has been very successful for our club. The club has seen a 33% increase in growth since the 16/17 season. Each team has also been very successful with top half table finishes and one team getting through to the semi-finals of the County League Cup competition.
As well as this we have tightened up a lot on all aspects of safeguarding, to ensure all our girls and volunteers are in a safe environment. We have also introduced a 12 month agenda for the club, which not only raises funds but brings each team together and helps us to ensure that each individual involved within our club is part of the ‘Steel City Family’. We have also forged partnerships with the local County FA, The FA and the local Universities.
FF: What do you think has been behind the club’s success?
JS: The club’s success is down to the support, encouragement and help from the volunteers and parents involved within our club. Without them none of what we do would be possible. Whether it be down to holding a fundraising event or bringing the oranges on game day, it all helps the smooth running of the club and that happy, fun environment for everyone to be part of. We do have the attraction of us being an all-female club, but ultimately it is down to the incredible efforts, enthusiasm and support from everyone around us.
FF: How important is youth football to the club?
JS: Youth football is massively important to us at Steel City Wanderers LFC. Youth football is where we have focused on developing the link through to senior football to allow natural progression. We get to see the girls develop into women and become footballers. We help to guide them and develop their personality as well as their skills within the game. As a footballer you need to be compassionate, focused, disciplined but most importantly a team player and at Steel City we encourage the girls to take on these attributes, which has seen some fantastic friendships and successes as a result of this.
FF: Would you consider yours to be a community club?
JS: At Steel City we are very much a community club and always have been, but it is not constrained to where we are based, we welcome players and volunteers from all over the world. We hold fundraising events on a regular basis, which has helped us to develop relationships with the local community and businesses.
We are also known for welcoming all different types of footballers at various levels into our club. They all have the same interest and that is to have fun. That for us is what matters – that the game is fun and enjoyed by all.
FF: What do you believe could be some of the biggest challenges the club may face in the next 5 years?
JS: The biggest challenges the club may face over the next five years would be funds. It’s hard to get funding for grassroots football. We want to make sure we maintain low subs to be able to accommodate for all financial needs, and to be able to encourage girls from all areas and backgrounds to play, however we also need to make sure we maintain a safe, secure and reliable facility for the team to play.
FF: What are the clubs ambitions for the next five years?
JS: Over the next five years we want to maintain our high levels of coaching and safeguarding within football, as well as continuous growth and succession for those involved. We will continue holding events within our community. Women’s football is rapidly increasingly in popularity and we have the means to be able to provide the safe and fun environment that we want all girls to be a part of whilst involved in the sport.