By Weronika Lecka, French and Spanish, First Year
The University of Bristol Women's Football Club (UBWFC) hosted their squad trials on the 16th and 17th September 2024, hoping to find new players that would join their range of available teams. The club also hosted Give it a Go sessions and team-specific trials. Here is how I found them and why you should follow UBWFC this year.
The UBWFC trials and their Give it a Go sessions were open to all students from freshers to returners and students completely new to football. Here is my interesting experience on why you should be following the University of Bristol Women’s Football Club (UBWFC) this year.
'The committee and team were very friendly and welcoming'
The UBWFC committee that were hosting the trials were very welcoming and friendly to all. After the warmup, they introduced themselves in order of seniority to let the freshers know everyone’s names and roles, from club captain to social sec and fundraising sec etc. It was also very nice to see them all wear matching committee shirts that had their roles written on them, so if any participant felt lost or worried then they could easily spot them in a pastel orange shirt with the Den & Terrance sponsor on it. There was definitely a community feel and friendly atmosphere as the girls on committee would often laugh at each other’s jokes and work together to set up exercises or drills for all participants to take part in.
At both the trials and Give it a Go sessions, the club had set up multiple drills to practice skills such as dribbling, shooting, passing and fitness. There were two members from committee stationed at each drill, where they encouraged participants to do their best and be confident in trying new things such as using a weaker foot or taking one touch of the ball instead of two. This allowed the participants to feel supported, encouraged and pushed to their best level of football, even if they didn’t have much experience. It was also nice to see the levels of inclusion, as groups were split evenly with no division of people depending on their football skill or level of experience.
The girls were also very supportive during the collective matches, as they had set up small 7-aside games for people to test their skills and bond with one another. They worked together to set up the pitches and goals, as well as showing support by circling round the pitches and shouting ‘nice!’ or ‘well done!’ whenever they saw someone play well.
I trialled on the 17th of September, as the club hosted two trial dates, which I see as welcoming and adaptive for people unable to take part on one of the dates. It was nice to see the organisation from the committee, as they made sure that everyone was registered, assigned a number and got a photo taken before warm-ups. The drills offered were passing, dribbling and shooting in small groups with small matches at the end. There was a very friendly atmosphere at Coombe Dingle that allowed participants to make friends with each other as well as the club committee members.
I also took part in the 4s trials on the 22nd of September, which was similar to the general club trials but more specific to the 4th football team, who are having their first BUCS season. We also had numbers and photos taken, but this time we were grouped based on our numbers. The club also celebrated the success of trials this season, mentioning that due to a record number of trialists, they were looking to create a 5th team that would be more social and available for those who didn’t get into the BUCS teams.
'Remember boots, water and please scan your UCards at reception.'
The club also interacted with freshers a lot through social media, encouraging them to follow the UBWFC Instagram and join the WhatsApp group chat, where they would be informed about the upcoming weekly socials alongside the discounted tickets as UBWFC members.
Another positive aspect of the club is that beginners are always welcome to try their football skills and meet new people. There are frequent Give it a Go sessions, with the most recent being the 29th September where beginners test their skills and meet new people through football. The event included a warm-up, tag rugby style games, shooting practice, foot tennis matches and practice matches. Beginners were integrated with club members or experienced players, which prevented them from feeling separated and left out due to their lack of playing experience. A beginner playing as a goalkeeper wasn’t sure what to do with the ball after catching it, one of the club committee members demonstrated to her that she can kick the ball straight out of her hands and encouraged her to do try the skill next time she caught the ball. When she did, there were cheers and shouts of ‘well done’ from players on the pitch.
Overall, it must be said that as a fresher, UBWFC were very friendly and welcoming, regardless of our playing level and quality. I would advise those who have thought about trying out football to attend one of their Give it a Go sessions next time at the Coombe Dingle Sports Complex and meet the team.
Featured images: University of Bristol Women's Football Club
If you have any more trial stories that you wish to share then email us at:
epigramsports@gmail.com
