When Ian Lanning and Paul Sanderson agreed to take up the committee’s challenge to revive the club’s Under-18 section and put together a group of lads that would not only be competitive in their age group, but also have the potential and desire to progress into the club’s senior teams, few could have predicted how successful they would be.

However, wind forward nine months and the result of a lot of hard work and dedication from the management and players has seen the under-18 squad crowned champions of the Somerset Floodlight Youth League Central Division, dropping only five points and being beaten just once during the campaign, which meant that they finished six points clear of their nearest challengers, Odd Down.

The final game of the season took place at local rivals, Paulton Rovers’ ground, last Thursday evening, when goals from Morgan Skipp, Lewis Taylor-Smith and Nathan Cridge were enough to secure the points. After the match, the squad were presented with their winners’ medals and Captain, Ebner Heatley, accepted the Champion’s Trophy from the league officials, which was the signal to start the clebrations.

As if that wasn’t enough, the lads also finished as runners-up in the Roger Stone Memorial Cup losing a pulsating game against a generally older and more experienced Yate Town side, 4-3, in the final played recently at Weston-super-Mare’s Woodspring Stadium and although ultimately losing the game, they gained a lot of admirers for not only their very obvious skills, but also their tenacity and sportsmanship throughout.

With several of the boys having already featured in the club’s Senior and Western League sides and the majority of the under-18 squad being available again next season, the committee’s decision to invest in youth as a way forward looks to have paid off and the whole club can look to the future with a good deal of optimism.

Dave Wilkinson