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Clarbie so close to three winners
Football missed out on the main awards this season but there were some wonderful nominations which saw Clarbeston Road well served since they had finalists in the ‘Unsung Hero’ category, the ‘Coach of the Year’ award and the ‘Junior (Under 16) Achievement’ section.
June keeps the club ticking!
June Harries, Steve Brown and the club’s Under 16 team were the respective nominations and it was highly appropriate that all three should receive a beautifully engraved glass trophy as their reward.
June has been Secretary at Clarbeston Road since 1998 and was one of those instrumental in obtaining sufficient grant aid and funds to develop the new ground and changing rooms situated neatly just outside the village – and since that further cash to actually purchase the ground as a real bonus!
People in the club would say that that the overall strides made by the club in the last decade, both at senior and junior level, have been down to June’s enthusiasm and commitment, resulting in Clarbeston Road receiving the coveted and prestigious ‘Welsh Club of the Year’ award in 2003 and again in 2008 from the Football Association of Wales Trust.
All of her hard work is done whilst running an egg production and livestock farm, with her husband Phil, another great Clarbeston Road worker, and there is no doubt that the lovely trophy will take pride of place in the Harries household – and deservedly so since June and Phil are such superb workers for Clarbeston Road AFC!
Steve shines as youth coach
Steve Brown has been a player and coach with Clarbeston Road for a decade and certainly discovered his niche in their coaching set-up as he built a team at under 16 level which played their hearts out to win the under 16 Pembrokeshire league and cup double and which scooped the West Wales under 16 cup for an epic treble!
One of the best things about Steve’s coaching is that he tries to involve everyone in the squad and gains as much pleasure from seeing a novice develop a little as working with the best players. As a result, some players have shot upwards as they have gained in confidence and pushed hard for places in a very strong side.
They showed the commitment that Steve demonstrates himself when they beat Tenby in the final match of the campaign to secure the lead, fought back from a deficit to secure the cup and were 3-1 down at Stebonheath Park in Llanelli before beating Llangyfelach 4-3.
He is very modest and unassuming as the club’s Director of Coaching and will rarely be seen in a photograph – but now looks after some of his former treble-winning squad again since they have moved on to senior football and Steve looks after the Clarbie second string.
Like June, Steve has played a part in the club being voted as ‘Best Club’ in 2003 and 2008 – and is a great credit to Clarbeston Road AFC for his thoughtful yet wholehearted approach.
Clarbie Juniors scoop the silverware
As mentioned above, Clarbeston Road under 16 team shone last season and their just desserts was the epic treble that thrilled their vociferous band of supporters who followed them everywhere. They certainly deserved to be at least finalists in this tough section.
Their talented squad was as follows, with positions and number of goals in brackets.
Luke Clarke Trevis (Goalkeeper – 0)
Josh Bower Rees (Defender - 2)
Ollie Burton (Defender - 0)
Osian Wyn (Defender - 7)
Sean Seymour Davies (Defender - 8)
Kristian Isaacs (Defender - 6)
Kristian Palmer (Defender - 1)
Greg Brown (Midfield - 9)
Rhys Dalling (Midfield - 20)
Charles George (Midfield - 3)
Jack Jones (Midfield - 10)
Michael Jenkins (Striker - 9)
Rob Shipton (Striker – 28)
Steffan Wiliams (Striker – 54)
WELL DONE LADS!
