Category: Club News

Partnership Extended Between The University of Derby And Mickleover Sports

The University of Derby and Mickleover Sports Club will celebrate the success of their new partnership this evening, ahead of the club’s match against Sutton Coldfield.

Hari Punchihewa, Deputy Chief Executive and Finance Director at the University of Derby, will be joined by Sally Akehurst, Head of Life Sciences and John McGrath, First Team Manager for Mickleover for a pre-match presentation. They’ll also be joined by Sport Management student Frank Tweneboa.

The partnership will see Sport Management students from the University’s College of Life and Natural Science help to create a marketing and media department at Mickleover Sports Club for the 2017-18 season, including setting up a YouTube channel and using social media channels to promote the club.

Students will also be tasked with planning and delivering an Equality and Diversity event to contribute to achieving the club’s inclusion strategy.

Speaking about the partnership, Hari Punchihewa said: “We are delighted to be supporting this work. It is a great example of the outstanding learning opportunities available to our students and the shows the impact we are having on the communities we serve”.

Mickleover Sports chairman Don Amott added: “We are delighted with our Partnership with Derby University. The grant gives us even more opportunity to engage with the students”.

#SportsRising

 

NEWS: Big Changes Coming To Mickleover Sports

After many months of planning, negotiating, and behind-the-scenes activity, the Mickleover Sports Club is about to undergo some major changes in its structure with a view to being able to push all three sports divisions (Mickleover Sports Football Club, Mickleover Sports Junior Football, Mickleover Sports Cricket) forward like never before.

To celebrate this, we are giving away 200 free programmes at Saturday’s home game against Hednesford Town (3pm) within which club chairman, Don Amott, will explain all in his matchday notes.

We are excited about the changes, and we hope you will be too, so please come down to the Don Amott Arena on Saturday for your free programme and to read the news!

#SportsRisingLikeNeverBefore #ExcitingTimesAhead

 

 

 

Whitby Town Game OFF

It is with regret that this afternoon’s game with Whitby Town has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

The game will be rearranged for a later date so please watch this website for details.

#SportsRising

Take A Flight Over The Don Amott Arena

We would like to thank Kev Clarke for permitting us to publish this excellent video of drone footage above the Don Amott Arena.

The footage shows the drone drifting on from the training field area before elevating and swinging above the football ground itself.

Thanks Kev!

 

Trentbarton Dugout Hits The Don Amott Arena

Trentbarton, the ‘really good bus company’ have furthered their support and commitment to the local community with the creation and supply of the all-new home dugout at Mickleover Sports.

Resplendent in ‘Sports red’ and ‘Trentbarton pink’, the new leather dugout seats are sure to make an impact on every visitor to the Don Amott Arena.

Sports chairman, Don Amott, had the following to say:

Our friends at Trentbarton have really come through for us and it is an honour to be working alongside them. Their reputation in the bus industry is second to none, and we hope that this partnership may continue for as long as they have been serving the local community.

A little about Trentbarton…

It’s not all about the buses at trentbarton. We believe, like any good company should, that people are our most valuable asset. From those behind the scenes, to the drivers who interact with our customers every day, every single member of the trent barton team is working towards a common goal – to ensure that you get really good service.

Forget grumpy drivers – we believe that our drivers are the best in the business, and regularly scoop the best accolades available, including Top National Driver, at the UK Bus Awards. In addition to our drivers, team leaders and service managers, you’ll also find extra people dotted around trentbarton land to ensure you get a fantastic travel experience, from people regulating our buses to keep them on time to our valet crew keeping buses free from litter during the day.

As one of the biggest employers in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire trentbarton is proud to be a local company staffed by local people. We’re also independently owned, meaning that every decision we make is made by those with an interest in the well-being of the local community and the efficiency of the local transport system. Market research is central to everything we do, meaning that you, our customer, are firmly in the driving seat when it comes to deciding how your really good bus service is developed and run, and we carry out numerous surveys each year to stay informed of what you expect, want and need from us.

Still, we’re not content with simply being run by locals. trentbarton puts itself in the middle of the community, getting involved in local events and even organising our own trentbarton roadshows for everyone to enjoy! We’re also dedicated to supporting the charities that are important to trentbarton land customers, including hard working, local good causes such as the Help for Heroes, Lewis Mighty Fund and Rainbows Children’s Hospice. There’s nothing we won’t do to raise cash for a worthy cause, including dressing up as superheroes, battling it out in a team bus pull and even getting our pinnies on for a bake sale! Because, as brilliant as ours might be, there are sometimes more important things in life than buses.

Everybody at Mickleover Sports would like to thank the great people at Trentbarton for their commitment to this and their ongoing support to the community – it really is very much appreciated by all!

 

 

FIRST LOOK: Trentbarton Partner With MSFC With ‘Bus-Stop Dugout’

We are delighted to announce our partnership with trentbarton, the ‘really good bus company’.

The first step of this partnership is the provision of quite possibly the best dugout in football – the bus-stop dugout! We have pleasure in releasing this early image of the dugout in production at the trentbarton engineering depot.

This forward-thinking attitude has seen trentbarton grow into one of the most recognisable, best respected bus companies in the UK.

We look forward to announcing the next step – the dugout being installed and ready at the Don Amott Arena. We will try not to keep you waiting!

Announcement: Mickleover Sports Third Kit Release

We are delighted to announce the new Mickleover Sports third kit.

The kit will be available for sale as usual at our commerce store, hosted by XBlades. You can visit our store here: http://www.xbladessports.com/your-club/mickleover-sports

Pricing is to be confirmed but will be very similar to the existing kits (home and away) available at the store.

Chairman Don Amott had the following to say:

“I am really pleased with our new third kit which I believe once again highlights the professional image that we are building at Mickleover Sports. We have decided to make this kit available for general sale through our valuable partnership with XBlades”.

Please check back for updates on the release date.

Brodie Litchfield Moves To Stocksbridge Park Steels For Record Fee

Brodie Litchfield, the Sports forward signed by John McGrath in the closed season has signed for Stocksbridge Park Steels on a permanent deal.

The fee (undisclosed) is a record fee received by the club and with other options in the position (Morrison, Thomas, Baskerville, etc) it is clear that this made good business sense for the club.

John McGrath and the club committee would like to wish Brodie the best of luck in his future. Don Amott, club chairman, had the following to say:

“He’s a very promising young player and we will watch his progress with great interest. We wish him well and would like to thank him for his service to Mickleover Sports”.

 

 

 

Working in Partnership – MSFC and the University of Derby

By *Lee Pridmore

I will start my guest column with a big thank-you to key members of the club including Keith Loring, Don Amott, Paul Coxon, Cassy Carruthers, John McGrath and Pablo Mills.  All have played an important role in the development of our (University of Derby) partnership with the club.

Personally, I started discussing ideas with Keith during the summer to explore how we could work together to mutual advantage.  I am pleased to say that as I write on this November evening tremendous progress has been made since those sunnier summer climes.

Without question Keith, Don and Cassy have enhanced the student experience by lending their expertise to assessing final year student presentations studying on our BA (Hons) Sport Management programme.  Students were tasked with developing the clubs brand and separately, how they would make the club more inclusive.  The ideas have been fed back to the club with the best ones likely to be implemented.  Examples include the need for greater visibility of the ‘club brand’ at the ground, red and black seating and for the club webpage to move up the Google search results rankings.  On inclusion, students talked about promoting the Kick It Out campaign more around the club, a wheelchair accessible bar and the use of rainbow laces in players boots to promote the campaign against homophobia in football.  In addition to this, students will be writing guest columns for the matchday programme in the coming weeks to showcase their excellent work.

We are also working with the club in developing internship opportunities for students particularly around the media and marketing areas.  For example, two students, Jack Lawrence and Andrew Duncan went on the team coach to Trafford and did a great job in keeping the community up-to-date on the tremendous win via the club twitter account.

Not only have the club officials supported learning activities they have also provided ‘prizes’ to incentivise our students in their efforts.  For example, tickets to a red carpet Great Gatsby screening and invitations to the club meal in December.  Personally, I see these events as important in students social and cultural development and in particular, learning how to dress and act in novel environments.

On the performance side, John and Pablo have been coaching the University teams, whilst the club trains on our fantastic 3G pitch on a Thursday evening.  John also delivered a sport coaching Masterclass to our students studying on the BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science, BSc (Hons) Performance Analysis and Coaching Science, BSc (Hons) Physical Activity, Nutrition and Health and Strength, Conditioning with Rehabilitation programmes.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the excellent team we have here at the University that provide us with support and a degree of freedom to explore working with external partners such as the club.  My thanks go to Ceri Heldreich (technical support), Kulsoom Rehman (senior lecturer in education and member of the race equality group) and Dr Andy Hooton (head of sport, outdoor and exercise science).

I know there are many more people working behind the scenes at both the club and the University putting in tremendous efforts in supporting developments (to many to mention here) so my sincere apologies to those I have missed out.  We look forward to developing the relationship with the club in the coming weeks and months ahead.  Come on Sports and good luck with the match today!

*Lee Pridmore (below) is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Management and Development at the University of Derby in the College of Life and Natural Science.

 

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