Giving a boost to Maulden Magpies footballers Bedford News

PHOTO: The Maulden Magpies Under-17 team received a team sport award through UK Power Networks employee Jim Dickerson who volunteers as a coach. The team is pictured in a team outside the day before the pandemic.

When Jim Dickerson volunteered to take charge of his then six-year-old son’s village football team, he never imagined he would still coach the same squad more than a decade later.

Jim now heads the Under-18 team at Bedfordshire club Maulden Magpies, including his now 17-year-old son Will, who like seven other boys has been through the same journey.

The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on the team’s finances, but now the Magpies are flying high again after receiving a £ 250 Team Sport award from Jim’s employer UK Power Networks who distributes electricity in the east of England.

Jim, who works as an engineer at Stevenage, said: “I started managing because Will, then six, wanted to play and there was no one else to do it at that level. ‘age. It was a temporary arrangement until they found someone permanent.

“Since then, I have gone from under-7s to managing under-17s ten years later. We’re actually playing for a year at the Under-18 level, still with eight original players from the first season and hosting our home games in the beautiful setting of Wrest Park.

“I still enjoy training even though the boys got a bit more difficult to deal with as they got older! I am helped a lot by the support of other parents who are always ready to lend a hand.

“This donation will allow us to purchase new training equipment for next season that we might find it difficult to buy otherwise. This is the third year that we have benefited from the program and everyone at the club, especially with the added challenge of the pandemic, is truly grateful. “

The Team Sport Award program encourages UK Power Networks staff to volunteer in the community and aims to promote healthy lifestyles, teamwork and the development of sporting opportunities.

Hundreds of community and sports groups have benefited from grants since the system was set up. In 2020, over 60 teams were awarded a combined sum of £ 15,500.