You can bet your bottom dollar that whenever things are done for the right reasons, success will follow – it is as simple as that.
Hence, Stephanian Ottery will undoubtedly feel justified and vindicated that their move from the Cape District Football Association (CDFA) to the Cape Town Tygerberg LFA (CTLFA) last season was the right decision.
Needless to say, their quest for new challenges and growth paid dividends when coach Tony Paulsen and his Second Reserve team (pictured above) stamped their authority by winning the League and Knockout Titles at the CTTLFA.
Stephs, as they are better known, formerly participated in the Super League division when they were still based at the CDFA’s William Herbert-base for about 14 years.
The move to the CTTLFA meant that Paulsen’s senior team had to start from the bottom Second Division-tier.
Alas! This did not dampen their spirits nor blurred their vision as they stuck to their guns ultimately conquering the division in their debut season by winning promotion to the First Division.
The success also filtered through to the juniors when coach Duncan Bergman’s under-14 Premier Three team also won the league and cup double – an indication that junior football at the club is flourishing.
The girls’ under-14 and under-16 teams, coached by Nigel Zeeman and Melly Gabriels respectively, did themselves proud as well when both teams ended as runners-up in the knockout-finals.
Stephanian’s successes thus far at the CTTLFA is clear indication that the team is moving in the right direction.
Lance Janari, the club’s PR and Exco member, emphasized there are serious efforts done behind the scenes to take the club to newer heights.
“The club now has over 500 players with a total of 43 teams,” he explains. “We are also aiming to start a senior lady’s team for 2024. We encourage the fairer sex ranging from ages 17 to 39 years to come and join our club and help us to flourish.”
Meanwhile, the club’s president Bradley Searle said they acknowledge that there are areas that still need to be strengthened and attention, but by and large, the positive development has definitely overshadowed the negative points.
“We have reached the end of what has been an extraordinary season of football. From the onset of this year, we could not have imagined that our journey would be filled with such wonderful growth and success. What a year!” Searle stated.
“At our end-of-season presentations last year, the club executive presented you with a vision of moving to pastures new and very unfamiliar. Our migration to CTTLFA was a brave and daunting decision to make, but after our maiden year at our new Association, we cannot help but be thankful for how prosperous our transition has been.
“We have grown in leaps and bounds in all aspects of our operation. We have been able to accommodate the introduction of additional teams as new members entered our doors in search of a good footballing home.
“We took tentative steps in launching a girl’s football division and never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that it would prove to be such a tremendous success. The executive committee spent countless hours in discussion as plans were laid out for this season.
“Most of our decisions have proven to be fruitful as all challenges were readily dealt with. We are so proud as to how our entire community has come together from our under-7’s to over 50’s, from our outstanding coaches, from our referees, from our parents and players and from our hard-working executive committee,” Searle concluded.
The club will host its junior presentation on Sunday (29 October) at their clubhouse from 10:00 and it is open to the broader community.
