I can honestly say 100% that becoming a part of Darlington Young Bulls Football Club (DYBFC) has been the best decision I’ve made in recent memory.

Being 36 now, a husband, a father of two young children and with a busy job working in the NHS, I rarely find opportunities these days to do a great deal outside of work. Also, having suffered a number of knee injuries in my younger days, playing football has been something I’ve avoided for the last decade. My energy levels have suffered as a result and although I consider myself very fortunate to have such a loving wife and kids, my enthusiasm or passion for things other than family has been lost somewhat in recent times – apart from watching my beloved Leeds United of course!

My Young Bulls journey started at the beginning of the 23/24 season with my son (Charlie) joining the Under 10s team. His passion for the game has only developed in the last couple of years, originally from watching the odd bit of football on TV, playing Fifa on the Nintendo Switch and collecting the Premier League sticker album (I might have had some influence on the last one!) His interest then channeled his focus into playing the game too and he’s now at the point where he is the happiest when he has a ball at his feet, be that in the back garden, at the park or in the house (despite my repeated reminders that the living room isn’t a football pitch!)

At the start of the season, the Under 10s were on the lookout for a whole host of new players, effectively being a brand new team, and with Charlie’s best friend having already joined up, he couldn’t wait to get started. I on the other hand was somewhat apprehensive. Selfishly, up to this point in my life as a father, I had effectively managed to ‘safeguard’ my weekends with not a great deal getting in the way of me and Sky Sports on a Saturday and Sunday! Charlie joining up with the team immediately gave me panicked visions of early morning starts, travelling to various unheard of pockets of the North East and standing in the cold, wind and rain – at that point, I didn’t want to be taken away from my warm house, TV and sofa!

A few weeks in to watching the team – the call was put out to all asking for one of the other parents/guardians to join the coaching group to make a team of three. My initial reaction, which is my usual go to response in life, was to cower into the background, say nothing and hope that somebody else would volunteer. However, after giving this some thought for a day or two, I decided to step forward and I took the plunge – I’m so glad that I did!

Fast forward to today and my whole outlook has changed. What I was initially resisting, I now absolutely love – Tuesday nights training and Sunday morning matches are now what I look forward to the most. Throughout the week, conversation in our house always comes back around to DYBFC – “how do you think we did last week, who are we playing next, are we home or away, what do you think our chances are” etc. etc.

Having only been part of the coaching team for a few months, I can honestly say that the other two guys on the team I already consider to be two of my closest friends who I know I can call upon for anything. We work so well together and the bond we’ve established with the players over the course of the season is second to none – we are very fortunate to have such a lovely group of kids and parents/guardians. It is still early days for us and we are learning as we go but looking back to the start of the season to where we are now to see how far we’ve come as a team is something we can all be so proud of.

I’ve signed up to complete my Level 1 FA Coaching badge in March which the club are fully funding for me. I don’t expect to instill a new coaching philosophy on the back of this – the other two coaches are much more accomplised than me – my job on a matchday tends to be running the touchline as linesman or running off into the distance to retrieve the ball that’s gone out of play! I don’t expect to become the next Pep or Klopp either but anything I can learn to bring any bit extra to the team I see as a worthwhile exercise.

I now see this as a dedicated commitment for potentially another 5 or 6 years at least, seeing Charlie through primary and secondary school; having gone from not wanting to be involved at all – I hope this never ends!

#UpTheBulls