Here at Garmendale, we are firm believers in the power of youth and the business has always invested in apprenticeships. Many of our key staff members started their life with Garmendale as fresh-faced apprentices, who with training, investment and ongoing effort from both sides have progressed to build real careers with us.

The same applies to grassroots football. Still one of the most popular sports amongst young kids and their families, it’s easy to access and great for kids fitness as well as fostering team spirit and collaboration. Very few footballers will ever make it to the very, very top of their game, but of those that do, all will have played at the grassroots level first.

So, when we were approached by Trowell FC to get involved with their under-8’s, we jumped at the chance. They are a chartered standard club, so their commitment to training at every level is assured. It fits well with Garmendale, not just for the reasons above, but also because our very own Managing Director, David Shelmerdine began his own sporting early years in and around the playing fields of Trowell too, on school and cub scout footballing duty. We’re already proud sponsors of Ilkeston RUFC Colts for all of the same reasons.

By 12 years old, David had switched to Rugby, playing for Nottingham Rugby until his late teens. Talking about the Sponsorship David said

“It’s great seeing kids being so active and working together in teams. But it’s also great when you see a team like this with both girls and boys of mixed ability having great fun and winning together too. The commitment to training and teaching them the skills they need is always more work than it first appears, so we’re delighted to help in our own way by providing the team with a great training kit. We wish them every success for the rest of the season and beyond”

 

Despite the team being so new, the results so far have been excellent. Winning their first game 12-1, they went on to win their second game against the (former) best team in the league with a 6-2 away win at Loughborough in front of the Chairman of Notts County FC.

Here’s the team and their coaches in their cool new training kits.

The Trowell FC Under 8’s team sponsored by Garmendale Engineering