Freeport, Bahamas – History will be made at this year’s Sir Jack Hayward Grand Bahama Soccer Camp, now in its seventh highly-successful year.

It will feature the event’s first full-time professional female soccer coach. Her name is Sarah Green and she works for the London-based Football Association as part of its drive to take kids and turn them into international players of the future.

The camp’s 180 attendees split roughly equally between boys and girls but Sarah is at home coaching both and in fact leads mixed classes on a daily basis.

She follows a long line of top-line coaches the camp has attracted from the UK, the country where what is the world’s biggest sport was invented, including leading former international players and media experts as well as full timers. She will be working alongside Jamie Godbold who is returning after being lead coach for the last two years during which he has made himself a firm favourite with local children.

Jamie Godbold

Jamie is currently nursing a broken jaw, sustained scoring a goal for his league-leading team, for whom he has been leading scorer for several years, but will be fully fit for the camp.

Sarah is already well-qualified but is also well on the way to completing the range of courses which will lead to her earning the highest level coaching license granted by EUFA, the international governing body for soccer. She is also a player, having turned out regularly for the ladies team of the famous UK pro soccer club Nottingham Forest as well as being assistant director of its girls’ centre of excellence. She still plays midfield for her local team.

Her 12-year career includes, as does Jamie’s, time spent coaching in the US but it will be her first visit to the Bahamas and she is very excited. Speaking this week from the city of Leicester, where she is currently working, she said: “I am really looking forward to working with the local coaches and the children. I am also really looking forward to relaxing on the beaches afterwards!”

The camp runs from June 21 until June 25 and as usual will be hosted by the Freeport Rugby Football Club on East Settlers Way, using the extensive playing and practice pitches. Organisers are expecting the usual turnout of almost 200 kids for many of whom it is the high point of the year.

The price is being held at $175 for the fourth year in a row, reflecting the tough times people are experiencing on the island. For that the youngsters get lunch, fruit morning and afternoon, six hours of coaching a day as well as lunchtime swimming for those whose who want a cooling dip, two full sets of uniforms, and a monogrammed camp T-shirt, making it the best value summer camp package – and about a third of the cost of similar events in the US. And any surplus is ploughed back into developing youth sport on the island.

Registration forms can be found on this website (link below) and are also available from Town and Country in Yellow Pine Street, Freeport, and Animale, at Port Lucaya. They can also be had by emailing derek.archer1@gmail.com

We’re tired of waiting for GBFL to stir into action – so we ‘re starting our own summer league

Likely 7 a side – club members only .

Teams drafted (fixed) by a select committee during initial stages of world cup over a few beers – mixture of 15 year olds , good ‘uns and us old knackers in each side

Games on wednesday from 6pm to leave us free to spend sundays doing other things ( ie drink at SandBar) than waiting at the Y for an hour for another team and a ref to show up

hope for 4 teams

Registration starts tonight until end of May with season kicking off in mid june after kids summer camp

Sign up tonight or email mark if interested

> I have just received a note from his widow that Sid Mahony, our 2nd (greatly respected and affectionately remembered) President, died in 2009 aged 102 years!
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> He had been a member of Dolphin Rugby Club, Cork, Munster as a player before retiring. He then worked for Billy Butlin when Billy built the Resort in West End. Subsequently Sid worked in Freeport for Mr. Diamond whose properties he managed before returning to Ireland.
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> The last photo I have of him, aged 98, showed him in the company of several other former Dolphin players in their 90s – obviously something in the Guinness.
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> I’ve written suitably to his widow, Lilian.
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> Regards,
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> Christopher Cafferata
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> P.S. Sid came to every Freeport home match with oranges for both teams!

Loads of rugby this weekend at the Club…Schools Youth Cup on Saturday morning from 10am involving 4 schools and 6 teams. 2pm Freeport v Bucc’s and Six Nations Rugby on Friday afternoon at 3pm Wales v France….Saturday Monring at 9am Italy v Scotland and 11am England v Ireland….Big Weekend..Come out and support the club

-thought that would get your attention !!

Where to next  for  Grand Bahama  Strollers ? we’ve done abaco so where next

• back to brazil paul now teaching there and i’m sure spellman still knows a few nuns there

• houston – fingers and lol both living the septic life and both rumoured to be in great shape

• turks – sure bob would be happy to see us

• miami – our over 45 opponents are even older than us

• Dominican or cayman – the splinter group from the miam boys above ( ie the trini clan) looking for 5 to 7 intrepid travellers to join them on travels down south

Any other suggestions or do we need bert to make another impassioned plea at the next AGM ….

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama — From mountain climbing to barber shop singing – Mark Rawlings is a sportsman of many parts.  And now he is adding the role of ambassador to his repertoire.

The newly-appointed youth development officer at Freeport Rugby Football Club (pictured) is heading out into the schools with a mission to win young people and their physical education teachers over to a sport relatively little known on Grand Bahama but played by millions worldwide.

The 22-year-old Brit may be young but he has plenty to offer youngsters interested in taking up the sport.  He is a player himself, holds several coaching certificates and is a qualified referee.  He also has experience this side of the Atlantic having spent months coaching children in Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.

He wants to get more young Bahamians involved at the Settlers Way-based rugby club.  Contrary to many people’s belief the club is not just for foreigners and already most of the first team is Grand Bahama born and bred.   Mark wants to get the next generation of players started early.

He has already been to Bishop Michael Eldon High School and other schools will quickly follow.  Phase One of his “Start Rugby, Grand Bahama” campaign offers six weeks coaching for each school which takes part followed by special tag rugby tournament for senior kids in a month or two’s time in which youngsters will be able to show what they have learned in competition with other schools.

Each of those taking part will be invited for extra training at the rugby club on Monday and Friday evenings.

Once Phase One is complete he will turn his attention to the under-15 age group with similar coaching programmes and a competitive event at the end.

“This programme looks to develop teamwork, leadership and discipline in a fun and enjoyable setting,” said rugby club president Rob Speller.  “It will also improve the kids’ motor skills, such as passing, catching, and reading the game, all of which are transferable to and from many other popular sports.

“We want to involve parents and teachers in the organisation and coaching.  They will find it fun and it will help sustain the sport on the island for the foreseeable future.”

The Freeport club’s successes attract much less attention than other sports on the island but are outstanding nonetheless.  It won the 2008 Bahamas Cup as well as the 2008 Bahamas Championships.  Its facilities are the best on the island with extensive match and practice pitches and a clubhouse which houses changing rooms and showers as well as a social centre.  It regularly hosts visiting teams from the US.

“It’s been great to get started,” said Mark.  “I know the kids who take part will enjoy it and they will be getting coaching to the highest standards set by the International Rugby Board.  It is a contact sport and it is very competitive as anyone who comes to the club on Saturday to watch us play Kellogg’s Business School from the US will see.  But it also teaches anger management and leads to strong character growth generally.”

Mark has taken time off from the UK’s world famous Loughborough University where he is taking politics with media to help out in Freeport.  But the university is chiefly known for the large number of top class sports players and coaches who have begun their first class careers there.

He is used to pioneering projects.  In fact his coaching stint in Trinidad and Tobago was the first of its kind in that country and required a diplomatic approach as well as a lot of enthusiasm.

He ended up coaching primary as well as high school children, some of them disabled, as well more challenging students.  “One of the more rewarding and unique experiences was coaching in a young offenders institute in Trinidad where many of the kids had not played the sport before,” Mark added.

Dear Members, Friends and James Bond fans,

On behalf of the Freeport Rugby and Football Club we invite you to our first Annual James Bond evening “A View to a Thrill.”

This will be a major fundraising event to help in the ever present challenges of keeping our cherished non-profit organisation afloat in these financially difficult times.

Our Club has gone from strength to strength providing more and more young people with a stable and reliable place to practice their skills but providing this environment comes with an ever increasing cost.

These past couple of years we needed more space, we got it. We needed more equipment, we got it. We now need to be able to keep pace with the upward spiral in cost of everyday maintenance and unfortunately the need to rely on supportive, community minded people is necessary for us to keep striving forward as a club we can all be proud of.

With all that said we invite you to join us for what should be a spectacular evening full of fun, surprises and laughter…

Don’t forget, the more Bond trivia you know the better your chance of walking away with the Grand Prize.

It is important for us to know numbers in advance for the night so please let us know how many tickets you need by November 14th, 2009.

See you then,

Tony Johns (otherwise known as “M”)