The Salopian Summer 2023

SCHOOL NEWS 67
are heralding a new era of sporting excellence and we’re
excited to see what they achieve next season.
Our Senior girls started their campaign travelling to Malvern
College for their first away match. The gusty winds at the
foot of the Malvern Hills quickly blew away their first game
nerves but, despite hitting the woodwork, they lost 1-0. It
seemed only fitting then that we hosted Malvern College in
a return fixture for the Seniors’ final 11-a-side game of the
term. Yet Shrewsbury found themselves 1-0 down at half
time. With the shouts of ‘Salop’ and encouragement from the
supporters the girls had accumulated and a rousing half-time
team talk, the girls courageously turned it around. To show
how far they have progressed in their abilities, confidence
and resilience, the girls came away with a well-deserved 2-1
win! Through teamwork, discipline and determination, this
team have etched their names into the annals of Shrewsbury’s
sporting legacy.
Quality staff is the key to running our successful development
programme. We are fortunate to have retained some of the
very best people to work with our boys’ and girls’ sides this
year. Former professional players, UEFA Pro Licence, UEFA
A & B Licence coaches all work across A team/1st XI squads.
However, it’s not just the top squads that require quality level
coaching; it is a priority for us to staff each team with the best
quality staff available. The new 3G Astro will offer another
exciting dimension to our programme next season and give us a
wonderful state-of-the-art facility that can be used in all weathers.
I am hoping this facility will take our football provision to the
next level through one-to-one coaching sessions in students’ free
periods, and always having a quality surface available in which
to develop a possession-based playing style.
Our desire to offer the very best development programme
continues to be our primary focus. A player-centred
approach is key to developing players who have a love
of the game, a willingness to improve and a desire to be
the best players and human beings they can be. Football
in the independent sector is improving every year, as was
evident in the performance KCS Wimbledon produced
in the Boodles National Cup against us this year, despite
them losing the game. The so-called non football-playing
schools are becoming fewer, with a number of new ‘football
academy’ programmes being launched in several high-profile
independent schools. As a result, we need to ensure we are
staying ahead of the game. As a school we need to continue
to develop a culture of excellence within our programme at
all levels. If we do this, we have shown that we are, on our
day, one of the strongest football schools in the country. We
wish all our 2022/23 leavers the very best with their future
footballing pursuits and we hope to see them back at School
as part of the Old Salopians squad in the coming seasons.
Steve Wilderspin
Director of Football