LATEST NEWS
OCT/24 🚀 Evington Youth Club: A Year of Rising Stars, Big Wins, and Unstoppable Energy! 🌟
What a year it’s been for Evington Youth Club! From basketball triumphs to football heroics, our young stars have been on fire, achieving incredible milestones with passion, dedication, and heart. This past year has been nothing short of amazing, and we’re excited to share some of the standout moments that have made us so proud!
🏀 Capreese Cropper: The 15-Year-Old Basketball Prodigy!
Let’s talk about Capreese Cropper—our basketball coach who’s nothing short of a sensation! At just 15, Capreese was selected for the Riders Under 16 Premier Team after two years of hard work and dedication with the Riders. Not only is she an incredible player, but her coaching skills are second to none. Every Saturday, she brings wisdom and leadership beyond her years, guiding young players who are often the same age as her. Watching her in action is an absolute joy! Capreese’s energy, talent, and passion have truly transformed our basketball sessions. We couldn’t be prouder!
But that’s not all—thanks to her coaching magic, two of our very own members, Ayaan and Noor Sheikh, have also been selected to play for the Riders! Ayaan will be joining the Under 12 boys, and Noor will be tearing it up with the Under 13 girls. Their commitment, drive, and hunger to improve have been nothing short of inspiring. Watching their skills grow week by week has been a privilege, and we can’t wait to see them shine on the court! Ayaan has mentioned “Basketball practice under Capreese has been amazing and I have learnt a lot and enjoyed myself.” Noor has said that”Capreese is very friendly and very nice, she always encourages us to play at our best.”
⚽ Football Takes a Turn: When a Teenager Saved the Day!
And then, there’s football! The excitement, the enthusiasm, the energy—our young players have been unstoppable this year. But one moment that truly stands out is when 14-year-old volunteer Heer Pata (now 15) saved the day. One evening, when our football coach couldn’t make it, we were preparing to cancel the session. But guess what? Heer had already taken matters into her own hands! 💪
Parents and kids alike were amazed as Heer confidently took charge, running the entire session like a pro. When we walked into the Sports Hall, we found her leading with ease, and the young players were eagerly following her every move. Heer, who started volunteering as part of her Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award, has learned so much from helping our coaches. Her leadership and quick thinking turned a challenging situation into a roaring success. As Heer says, “Volunteering at Evington Youth Club has introduced me to amazing new people and strengthened my sense of community.” What a superstar!
🏅 Challenges Day: A Day of Medals, Champions, and Unforgettable Moments!
The grand finale of the year? Challenges Day on 29th June, of course! Our young people gave it their all across basketball, table tennis, and chess, with plenty of medals to go around. The atmosphere was electric, and the competition fierce! But the big winner? Eshan Sheikh—the eldest member of the Sheikh family—who dominated all three challenges and walked away with the title of Overall Champion. His skill, focus, and determination were simply unstoppable. What a well-deserved victory!
🌟 A Year of Superstars
From incredible coaches like Capreese to fearless volunteers like Heer, and rising stars like Ayaan, Noor, and Eshan, the past 12 months at Evington Youth Club have been a whirlwind of achievements and unforgettable moments. And we’re just getting started! Watch this space, because the best is yet to come!
JUL/24 🎉 Evington Youth Club CHALLENGES DAY 🎉
The Evington Youth Club Challenges Day was filled with close and competitive matches across all activities, showcasing the incredible talent and determination of our young participants. The intensity of the chess, table tennis, and basketball challenges kept everyone on their toes, with each child giving their best effort and displaying remarkable sportsmanship. It was truly amazing to see the enthusiasm and dedication of the children as they pushed their limits and supported one another throughout the day. The spirited competition not only made for an exciting event but also highlighted the growth and camaraderie within our youth community.
🏅 The Chair of the club Zoya Shaikh was delighted to make all the presentations to the winners.
Huge congratulations to all the young people who took on challenges in chess, table tennis, and basketball on Challenges Day, especially...
🥇 Overall Champion: Eshan Sheikh
Medal Winners:
🏀 Basketball:
Hasnain Shaikh (2 medals)
Noor Sheikh
Eshan Sheikh
Ved Pata
Harlem Williams-Taylor
🏓 Table Tennis:
Eshan Sheikh
♟️ Chess:
Gold: Sathsara Dissanayake
Silver: Nibraz Khan
🎟️ Raffle Prizes:
Donated by TESCO: Sathsara Dissanayake
Donated by ASDA: Jayendra Parmar (Trustee)
Many thanks to all those who helped organize this very successful event:
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Main Organizer: Shireen Chouhan
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Basketball Coach: Capreese Cropper
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Chess: Louis Marshall
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Table Tennis: Yas Adam
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Tuck Shop: Louise Jones and Gail Jones
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General Support: Jagdish Pata
A huge thank you to TESCO and ASDA for their generous gifts and support. 🙌
Wonderful News! JUN/24
Huge congratulations to AYAAN SHEIKH and NOOR SHEIKH who have just been selected to play for the Leicester Riders in the next season.
They are pictured here with their coach, CAPREESE.
After nearly twelve months of regular attendance at the weekly coaching sessions run by Capreese at EYC, Ayaan (11) will be joining the under 12s boys’ team and Noor (9) will be joining the under 13s girls’ team.
Capreese, herself, has been playing for the Leicester Riders for the last two years and has now secured a place in the under 16s premier team for the next season.
Congratulations and best wishes to all of them.
The Lord Mayor wows children at HAF camp
“I was so excited and thrilled to meet the Lord Mayor of Leicester. I was happy that we made pizzas together and he called us experts as we were instructing him on how to make a pizza. I also got to see his car with a small flag on it”. This was how Hasnain Shaikh told his family about the Lord Mayor’s visit to Evington Youth Club on Thursday 14th April. The children were making their own pizzas for their lunch and the Lord Mayor joined in with gusto, asking for their advice at every stage. They had huge fun together.
The Lord Mayor was visiting Evington Youth Club partly to see the Easter holiday activities provided by the Council’s HAF programme but mainly to say a formal thankyou to Wickes of Thurmaston for their amazing donation to the club of a brand new kitchen without which the whole programme (and the pizza making) could not have taken place. Russel Smith, the Manager of Wickes, Thurmaston, was enthusiastic in his support for the project as part of the new Wickes Community Programme and was delighted to be there to accept the Lord Mayor’s thanks on behalf of Wickes.
The HAF programme is being run by the City Council to provide activities and meals for children during the Easter holidays. Richard Moore Sports CIC was responsible for organising the event at Evington Youth Club and the children who took part clearly had a lot of fun. They are now hoping for more events like these in future holidays.
New Roof Appeal fully funded and complete!
Evington Youth Club now has a wonderful new roof which has made all the difference to the activities it can offer. We are extremely grateful to the large number of our supporters who have made this possible.
The Trustees would particularly like to thank all those who contributed to the roof fund:
Market Harborough Building Society Charitable Trust
The Maud Elkington Charitable Trust
The Florence Turner Trust,
Charity Link Small Grants Scheme
Leicester City Council Ward Funding
Donations through our Just Giving page - several of which were anonymous
Other anonymous donations, given separately.
Altogether, £19,170 was raised - a fantastic total.
Many, many thanks to everyone!