All players had to have turned 6, so we only took a squad of 8; Oliver Luscombe, Frank Kitchen, Matthew Chick, Dominic Wade, Hayden Thompson (c), Chester Butler, Elliot Butler and Megan Le Mesurier. With only 8 players we were by far the smallest side in the tournament.

We opened proceedings with a 5-2 win over Westcliff, which we handled comfortably. Our second game was a "needle" encounter against Sevenoaks (needle because 3 dads from my son's school run the side, and 4 of his mates were playing!! Plus it was Sevenoaks!!) Again the pace and skill displayed by our boys and girl, were too much for the opposition. We now had a great chance of making the final.

Foolishly, before our game against Old Albanians I told the kids that if we won, we would be in the final, and win a trophy and medal. I then spent 20 minutes answering questions like "what colour will the medal be? Can we keep it?" Bad management on my part!!! Albanians were despatched and 6- 4 and we were in the final.

Bishop Stortford were our opposition in the final and were genuinely a very well drilled and coached side. We took the lead 5 times...only to be pegged back to 5-5 at the final whistle. Both coaches agreed to share the title as neither side deserved to lose! Our trophy was collected by our Captain on the day Hayden Thompson, who was also in most people's eyes Player of The Tournament, let alone our side!!

May I thank every player and parent who attended the festival. Every single player played very, very well. The handling drills we have practiced again and again over the last 5 months are now being utilised in match situations. But the key reason I feel we won the festival was our defence, and the way our 7 6 year olds have picked up and understood how to fan out on a flat defensive line was first class, great tagging by all!!

Graham Kitchen
Head Coach
Westcombe Park Under 6s