Presentation Evening 2019
Our annual presentation evening was once again held at The Sharnbrook Hotel on Friday May 10th.
With the end of season highlights playing on the big screen, around 160 supporters, management and players from the 1st, Elite, Strive and MAA and Academy U18 squads enjoyed a 2 course buffet giving them the chance to reflect on the season which was followed by the presentation of the annual awards.
Chairman, Ralph Burditt opened the formal part of the evening by thanking all the players, management, coaches, sponsors, supporters and volunteers for all their hard work over the 2018-19 season and looked forward to the 2019-20 season.
Academy U18 Awards
Matt Vernon reflected on a successful first season for the new Academy U18 squad. Having finished 2ndin the Northants Senior Youth League and scoring 36 goals, the squad still have the final stages of the Jaymann Shield to look forward to. Matt then presented the following awards:
Manager’s Player of the Season – Alex Greene
Players’ Players of the Season – Oliver Lemmon
MAA U18 Awards
Manager Darren Purse was unable to attend the awards due to other commitments but his squad was still well represented and, in Darren’s absence, Luca Purse was given the responsibility of reflecting on the season and presenting the awards for the MAA U18 squad.
Ken Dobbs Young Player of the Season – Kyle Ansell
Players’ Player of the Season – Louie Barratt
U18 Strive Awards
Manager Howard Willmott reflected on a steady first season for the U18 Strive squad and looked forward to the new season and the challenges that will bring before presenting the awards for his squad.
Manager’s Player of the Season – Owen Morton
Players’ Player of the Season – Fraser Cordon
Elite Awards
Richard Maxwell then reflected on another season of improvement for the Elite squad and looked forward to further improvement next season.
Manager’s Player of the Season – Raj Badiani
Players’ Player of the Season – Tom Steeples
1stteam Awards
Manager, Andy Peaks then took to the stage to reflect on a good first season at Step 3 for the 1stteam. Firstly he thanked the many volunteers who have helped out at the Club without whom it would have been difficult for the team to achieve success. He also thanked all the sponsors, supporters, Board members and his management team for their support before turning to his players.
April Player of the Month –Nathan Hicks
Presented by Ryan Thomson from Auto Windscreens
Supporters’ Player of the Season – Tom Lorraine
Presented by Jon Ward and Adrian House
Tom was unable to attend due to the imminent birth of his first child. Many thanks to Sam Brown for accepting the award on Tom’s behalf. (Footnote: Tom received the award during the Academy Presentation Evening – as seen here),
Players’ Player of the Season – Zack Reynolds
Presented by Sam Brown and Adrian House
Manager’s Player of the Season – Nathan Hicks
Presented by Andy Peaks and Adrian House
Golden Boot Award – Tom Lorraine
Presented by Andy Peaks to Sam Brown who collected the award Tom’s behalf
Special Award – David and Teresa Hales
Andy Peaks, his management team and players are very grateful to all the volunteers who work so hard behind the scenes for our Club. Among those volunteers are David and Teresa Hales who ensure that the kit is clean and ready for matchday. At the end of every season, the lads club together to give David and Teresa a small token of their appreciation and this season was no exception.
Special Award – Kelly Freeman
At the end of the season, Kelly advised the Board that she would be leaving the Club. Kelly has been with us since the Club was formed and joined as a newly qualified sports therapist working alongside Colin Hodsden with our first Under 18 squad. Kelly took over as our Lead sports therapist looking after the first team in 2013. Kelly is leaving to concentrate on her career in clinic in Rushden and leaves with our very best wishes for the future.
Volunteer of the Season – Ollie Mortimer
Chairman, Ralph Burditt, then presented the Volunteer of the Season Award. This award is always a difficult one to choose and the decision gets harder each season. Ollie has worked tirelessly to provide matchday commentary on Radio Diamonds this season including an 11 hour round trip just to bring commentary for one fixture, his efforts are greatly appreciated by supporters who tune in to listen.
Finally, Ralph thanked Stacey Hawkins for her hard work in organising the evening and James Waller presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
A very enjoyable evening was had by all and we’d like to thank everyone for making the evening such a great success.
Special mention to everyone at The Sharnbrook Hotel for hosting the event for us, to Club sponsors Auto Windscreens and Fuelsell and, especially, to Adrian House at PW House Jewellers for their dedicated and continued support.
Pictures courtesy of Malcolm Swinden Photography Copyright Mal Swinden ©2019. There are more pictures from the evening on Mal’s webpages here.
