About Us

This page provides a range of general information about the club, including details of when the club was formed, its current aims and objectives, its planned development and related initiatives, etc.

Club History

The club was formed in 1998 and comprised a single U10 team made up primarily of boys who'd played the previous season for Forest Glade FC, another local side. This side had a very successful start to their time as Dunton Dynamos, winning the League title. The picture below shows this team in 2003.

In the early stages, the club played at the Great Berry Open Space (known locally as the Pavilion). In more recent times, the club has moved its home venue to the field belonging to the Great Berry Primary School. The club has been working in partnership with the school to improve the footballing facilities available to the school and the local community. Brand new goalposts were bought in the summer of 2006 to replace the rusty steel items that had long since passed their "sell-by" date. This partnership was supported by the Football Foundation who generously provided a grant to help fund the project. Click here to read the full story.

The next stage of significant development saw the formation of a Dunton Dynamos Girls' team managed by Kerr Mellia. The first team started training on the Pavilion fields on a Sunday morning in October 1998. Although many of the players were still only nine years old, the team joined the U11 League and had a really tough first season together, coming last in the league but really enjoying the experience. The next season they stayed in the U11 league and became U11 champions, a significant achievement! In the summer of that season they also won the Hockley and Hawkwell U11 tournament.

The following season as U12s they were runners-up in the league, losing out to Leyton Orient. They played two 5-a-side tournaments during the summer of that season winning both of them - the Hockley and Hawkwell tournament at U12 and the Assandun Vikings at U13. The next two seasons saw the team win virtually everything in their sight as they continued to develop their reputation as one of the best all girl club sides in Essex. Many of the girls were signed-up by footballing academies which helped with their footballing development.

The club now has a range of teams at several age levels and has adopted the policy of recruiting new players (both boys and girls) at the U6 and U7 age level each season wherever possible. Many of the children playing for us attend (or previously attended) the Great Berry School, though we also have a small number coming from the Lincewood Primary School.

The club colours have always been predominantly red and royal blue though there have been a number of kit variations along this theme down the years. Nowadays, the club kit has become more standardised. The club badge is now printed / embroidered on the majority of club garments to give more "professional" look whilst playing and training. Local companies are encouraged to sponsor individual teams where possible to help fund kit and equipment.

In the winter of 2006, the club was awarded the Football Association Charter Standard Award. This award is given to clubs who meet the exacting standards of the FA in terms of coaching, administration and development. This is final proof (if proof were needed) that the Dunton Dynamos club is an excellent club at which to develop football and team-working skills in a safe, friendly environment.

In the future, the club will continue to encourage local children to take up football and hopefully play for us in one of our teams. We'll also continue to work with local companies and the Great Berry School to help improve the football facilities in our community. Please contact the club if you're interested in finding out more or even becoming part of the set-up.

How to find us

Our home pitches are on the school field belonging to Great Berry Primary School. The full address is: Great Berry School Field, off Wheatfield Way, Langdon Hills, Basildon, Essex. SS16 6SN. Entrance to the school is only through the wooden gates of Wheatfield Way. At the weekend, no other gates will be in use and are likely to remain locked.

Current objectives

An Annual General Meeting is the forum at which the objectives for the coming season are agreed and set. Regular (normally monthly) meetings occur throughout the year to ensure operational matters are kept in check and that progress is being made against the targets set. The key objectives set at the last AGM were as follows:

Achieve the Football Association Charter Standard award - now achieved thanks to the hard work of the small band of volunteers that keep this club running.

Develop the facilities available at the Great Berry School - a youth size pitch and mini-soccer pitch have now been created which meet the FA's requirements in terms of quality and dimension. New goalposts have also been provided through a partnership with the school and a grant from the Football Foundation. The post exceed the new goalpost safety standards introduced at the start of the season making them suitable for use in all conditions.

Develop a standard club kit - look at our "Club Shop" page on this website to see the results of this initiative. In future, all Dunton Dynamos teams will have a range of standard kit giving greater consistency across the club.

To maintain the financial viability of our club - this is obviously an ongoing task which is achieved through the efforts of our Social Secretary organising fund-raising events throughout the year, not to mention the excellent work done by our Treasurer keeping a tight control on the purse strings.