South Shields V.I.F.C – A Club Reunited

In Lee’s article South Shields V.I.F.C – The Beginning he talks about the barriers disabled people face in their lives and comments “If by the setting up of this club then just one of the lads has benefited in terms of increased self-confidence and greater self-esteem, then for me it was all worthwhile” I am sure that I speak for anyone who has been connected with the club whether it be players, coaches, family or other supporters in saying that they will all take away at least one special memory about the club, or what they have seen even if they aren’t into football. I’m sure that in some way each player including myself has benefited as a result of being part of the club too.

Before I joined the club in 1996 I had just experienced 2 years of hell. After finishing school which wasn’t easy in itself, I started a 2 year Youth Training programme and faced one problem after another with the provider as a result of them not understanding my visual impairment, they told me I wasn’t capable of doing clerical work as a result of my visual impairment. At the same time I was experiencing difficulties in my personal life. Having what seemed like no where to turn. This led to me putting on lots of weight and getting more and more depressed. In the end I lost all my confidence and belief in my abilities as well as losing touch with most of my old school friends. Luckily this is when I heard about South Shields V.I.F.C. Joining the club really turned my life around, admittedly it wasn’t easier at first but having stuck with it through the first year I started settling in and found it easier to relax around the other players. In training the other players were really impressed with how I was playing in goal and people starting to say positive things gradually out weighed the negative feelings I had been feeling for so long. I noticed this new confidence was giving me confidence in other areas of my life too. Now almost 11 years on I am an Admin Officer at the DWP and was awarded a bursary by the Cabinet Office for having the potential to progress higher in the civil service (so much for not being capable of clerical work) Most importantly though I have a life back and have met some amazing people and had a really good laugh along the way. I have experienced things that even at school when I had bags of confidence I couldn’t have imagined possible.

Therefore when the club ended in 2002 it was a sad moment for me having got so much out of it. However it was later that I would realise how much I would miss the club and the players. The next season I agreed to play in goal for the Everton VI team that had just been promoted to the 1st Division. For various reasons I could only attend 3 tournaments for Everton. The following season the team had changed their name to Merseyside and I managed to make all the tournaments for them. We had an excellent team including 2 England players and finished 3rd in Division One. It was over this season that I realised just how special South Shields V.I.F.C was. And I guess the saying “You don’t know what you have until it is gone” made sense. Instead of travelling on a full minibus or train with the lads, having a chat or a laugh. Most the time I was sat by myself feeling bored. At the tournaments there wasn’t the same banter that I shared with South Shields. The team was expected to win every game and losing wasn’t an option. I stayed over with the lads from Merseyside at the December Tournament in Wigan where a Christmas party had been organised. Gone were the days of having a few drinks and a laugh with the team. The Merseyside players that did stay over were already in groups, and I didn’t feel like I fit into the groups. So Kate and I decided to forget the party and went for a few drinks in Wigan town centre instead. Some players may get a buzz from playing in a team with 2 England players and finishing 3rd in Division One and having to win at everything they do. But I would swap that anytime for the way we felt as a South Shields B-Team when against all the odds with 4 players, 2 of which were near the end of their football careers and a player who was over 20 stone we won 2 games in the Second Division in Exeter, beating London Sports who were top of the league 3-2. We were applauded off the pitch by players from other clubs. To experience that with your local team is much more special. Especially when you see how much it means to the other players on the team too who may never experience that feeling again. I guess the Merseyside players could say that I should have tried harder to mix with them and they would probably be right. But when your heart isn’t in it then there seems little point.

Having discussed with Lee my season with Merseyside and sensing that Lee wanted to still play VI football. I asked him if he would help me set the club up again. I had spoken to a couple of ex-players who were interested in this and Lee informed me that Lee Robinson and Wayne Potter had both enquired if the club was still running. Even if we didn’t have the strongest team in the league we felt it was more important to have a club in the North East for visually impaired people to come along to. Where apart from playing football they could socialise and support each other. And hopefully benefit in the way others have in the past from being part of the club.

As we thought the first 2 seasons we had in 2004 and 2005 was a bit of a struggle as we didn’t have a huge squad and managed to finish 3rd and 4th in Division 2. Although with a bigger squad available for the Ability Counts league we finished Runners-up in the Premiership division in both seasons. In the last game of the 2004 season, following a 5-5 draw to Middlesbrough we just missed out on finishing top.

In January 2005 the committee reappointed former coach Joseph Barron and since then the football side of the club has really took off. His enthusiasm and passion for the game has helped develop players and has made the team look and play more professional. As well as getting new strips sponsored by Printing.Com he has acquired training tops and also tracksuits sponsored by The Usha Indian Restaurant. The team has certainly shown the benefits of Joseph’s coaching on the pitch and I hope his enthusiasm for the team lasts for a long time. Neither Lee nor I quite expected when we first talked about restarting the club in 2003 that we would be challenging to win the 2nd Division of the BBS League this season (2006/07) winning all 4 games in the Telford Tournament. Despite the fact that the top team in the Division (West Bromwich Albion A) had won the 1st Division title the year before playing as Birmingham Sports. Or even that we would have finished as runners-up in the North Shields 5-a-side Cup. Beating a couple of first division teams, on the way to the final against Loughbrough. The Telford Tournament we went unbeaten in was special for the players who took part too as you will read in their player profiles.

But for me what the club is all about was summed up in the North Shields 5-a-side cup. Everyone connected with the club who was there to watch or play will remember for a long time the feeling when we beat West Bromwich Albion A 3-2 in the semi final after being 2 goals down. Guaranteeing we would be at least runners-up. Being 3 key players down we didn’t expect to do very well and relied on players of all abilities from within our squad. I hope Robert Dale won’t mind me singling him out but he hasn’t been picked to play many games for the club and mainly joined the club for the social side. To see how happy he was after the tournament. The fact he felt part of the teams success and the fact he has a medal to remember it by. Shows how South Shields V.I.F.C is more special than most football clubs and isn’t just about visually impaired people who want to play football.

Dave Seymour