Danny Laws SCSFA Head of Coaching August 2020

Laws appointed to new coaching role

DANNY Laws is the new Head of Coaching of Suffolk County Schools’ FA.

DANNY Laws has taken on the new role of Head of Coaching of Suffolk County Schools’ FA.

The highly-respected 47-year-old is Director of the AFC Sudbury Academy and Senior Coach of the club’s first team.

He has previously managed at two of Suffolk’s other leading non-league clubs, Leiston and Needham Market.

Having played in the SCSFA representative teams as a youngster, Danny said of his appointment: “I am delighted to be appointed the new head of coaching at SCSFA.

“I have a long association with Youth football both with Suffolk County Schools’ FA and also Suffolk FA dating back to representing both as a player and latterly as a coach.

“With quite a bit of experience in representative football I hope to add value to all the teams by supporting the coaches to whatever they need and ultimately improve the enjoyment and enthusiasm of the young players representing our county.”

Craig Power, who is an AFC Sudbury Academy Coach and is manager of Sudbury Sports FC, has been appointed joint manager of the Under-14 Boys’ team with Owen Hammond.

Craig said: “It is an honour to be selected to lead the U14s as this is the first opportunity for players to represent their county.

“I believe as a county, Suffolk has some extremely talented footballers and our aim will be, firstly to ensure we are assessing players from all points of the county through our extensive recruitment and trial processes.

“From here a squad of 16-20 players will then be selected and our aim will be to be competitive in all league matches. The national cup presents a unique opportunity for the players to test themselves outside of East Anglia and will create further experiences for the players and I certainly hope we can embark on a national cup run.

“Working alongside Danny Laws at the AFC Sudbury Academy he still speaks fondly of Suffolk Schools’ FA winning the English Schools’ FA National Cup at the old Baseball Ground in Derby.”

Owen, who is Manager of Leiston FC Under-14s Eastern Junior Alliance side, said: “I am very proud to have been selected as the U14s Representative manager alongside Craig Power.

“I know the age group really well and there are some very talented players, so I am sure we can achieve great success. I can’t wait to bring these players together and form a competitive team with memorable experiences for all. “

SCSFA President Michael Hallam said of the new appointments: “I am delighted to secure the services of such experienced, quality coaches with such vast knowledge of Youth football in Suffolk.

“It is indicative of how far Suffolk County Schools’ FA have progressed over the last few years, that we now can attract this level of qualified coaches.

“I am extremely excited on behalf of all the promising footballers within the county who will individually benefit from these appointments and for those players to experience the sense of pride and commitment in representing Suffolk.”

SCSFA Chair Robert Peace added: “I am very excited about the new additions to Suffolk County Schools’ FA which is a continued sign of our intent to provide the best structure for young talented players to represent Suffolk. I look forward to the upcoming season and beyond working with the new members to SCSFA.”

If you believe you know a talented footballer in the U14-U16 age groups, boys and girls, who would like to be considered for one of the representative teams please get in touch with Ruth Ward via email email ruth.ward@suffolkfa.com

Details are currently being finalised to hopefully run trials during September.

SCSFA also run a schools’ county cup competitions throughout the season for all senior schools from U12-U18 sides. The knockout competition usually starts when schools return in September.

SCSFA Secretary Ruth Ward said: “We are currently waiting on guidance from the SGO’s to see when we will get the go-ahead to run these competitions.

“These competitions are a great way to get greater involvement from players and gives all schools the chance to compete against each other, with finals week usually taking place in May.”

Following the recent AGM, which was held via a Zoom meeting, the appointment of Danny Laws is one of two new positions to the committee.

Suffolk FA Mini-Soccer and Youth Football Development Officer James Morley will be Football Development Officer.

The below team of committee members and team managers has been put in place for the forthcoming season:

Committee Members

Chairperson – Robert Peace

President – Michael Hallam

Vice President – John Tunaley

Treasurer – Richard Lawson

Secretary – Ruth Ward

Football Development Officer – James Morley

SFA Council Member – Robert Peace

Head of Coaching – Danny Laws