No. 01
Turn Up Tuesdays
Seven o'clock every Tuesday. No squads, no sign-up and no standard. Small games on half a pitch, then tea on the bench.
First month free, then £3 on the night or in your membership.
Women's football · Ton Pentre
Back after 20 years? So are half of us.
Or never played at all, or just wanting an hour out of the house. Bring trainers. The first month costs nothing, and nobody picks teams.
Which session is yours?
Two questions, and an honest answer. Nearly everybody should start on a Tuesday, including people who think they shouldn't.
Six ways in
From a walk with a ball to Sunday league.
No. 02
Development squad
A proper Thursday session with a coach and a friendly about once a month. For anyone who wants more football but not league football yet.
First month free, then £15 a month membership.
No. 03
League team
Our first team plays eleven-a-side in the valleys women's league, Sundays at two. Thursday training, a real fixture list and a very vocal bench.
First month free, then £15 a month.
No. 04
Walking football
No running, no contact and no ball above the waist, in the hall at Pentre on Friday mornings at eleven. A lot harder than it sounds.
First month free, then £3 a session.
No. 05
Mums and kids sessions
Half an hour of playing with a ball alongside your children, aged two to seven, with a coach and some cones. Grandmothers, aunts and dads all welcome.
£2 a family, first month free.
No. 06
Socials
Quizzes, curry nights, an annual trip that nobody talks about and a Christmas do. You do not have to play to come. Many don't, any more.
Whatever you eat and drink.
Your first Tuesday
Here is the whole hour, so you can stop imagining it.
- 6:50
Park by the railings and walk down. Bethan or Jade will be at the gate and will know you are new from the look on your face.
- 7:00
A slow warm-up, mostly walking, mostly talking. Nobody touches their toes unless they want to.
- 7:15
Passing in small groups. You will miss it. So will the woman next to you, and she has been coming for six years.
- 7:30
Small games, with the coaches picking the sides. They change every ten minutes, so nobody gets stuck.
- 8:00
Finished. Tea on the bench in summer, in the changing room in winter. Stay for it, because it is half the point.
The rules
We made them because of what put us off.
Nobody picks teams
Coaches split the sides on Tuesdays, so nobody gets picked last. Ever. That was somebody else's PE lesson in 1994, and it will not happen here.
Stop when you want
Walk, stand and get your breath back, or go and sit on the wall with a cup of tea. Nobody will ask you if you are all right more than once.
Bodies welcome
Knee supports, heavy periods, the menopause, a recent baby, an old hip. Somebody here has had it, and the coaches will adapt a session around you.
It is still football
We are not pretending. There are goals, it matters when you score, and it will be the best hour of your week.
- £0for your first month
- £3a session after that, if you pay as you go
- 6different ways to be involved
- 7pmTuesday, Cae Dderwen. That is all you need
Knees?
Then walk it. On Fridays, in the warm.
Walking football has one rule that changes everything: one foot on the floor at all times. Friday mornings at eleven, in the hall in Pentre. It's harder than it sounds, it's mostly women in their sixties, and the kettle goes on straight afterwards.
Walking footballIn their words
What it did for them.
I was forty-six and I had not run for a bus since the nineties. I sat in the car for ten minutes on the first Tuesday. Bethan came and knocked on the window.
Girls were not allowed to play at my school. I am sixty-three and I scored last Friday, and I told everybody in the Co-op.
I went after my divorce, because my sister made me. I am still terrible. I also now have about thirty friends I did not have before.
Questions people ask
I have not played for twenty years. Is it too late?
No. You are in the majority. Come on a Tuesday and you will find several other women who said exactly the same thing on their first night.
I have never played at all. Is that all right?
Yes. Nobody will explain offside to you unless you ask, and it barely matters on a Tuesday.
What do I need to bring?
Trainers, or boots if you own any, and clothes you do not mind getting muddy. A water bottle and a coat for afterwards. We have spare boots and shin pads.
What will it cost?
Nothing for the first month. After that, £3 on the night or £15 a month for membership, which also covers Thursdays. Nobody is turned away for money.
I am not at all fit.
Good. That is what Tuesdays are for. You can walk, stop and start again as often as you like. If you have a heart condition, a recent baby or a new injury, a word with your GP first is a good idea.
Can I bring a friend?
Please do. Half of the club came because somebody dragged them. She gets a free month as well.
Turn up on Tuesday. That is genuinely the whole plan.
Seven o'clock at Cae Dderwen, in whatever you have got. Your first month costs nothing. Bethan will find you at the gate, and nobody will ask you what position you played in 2004.