Encouraging the kids

[RampantDuke]

I started watching the Daggers in 1984 when I was 14 simply because me and my mates weren't allowed to go and watch Arsenal or West Ham (I am pleased to say there were zero Chelsea or Spurs fans in my year at Sanders Draper). It made us feel a bit more grown up and got us into the whole experience of going to football regularly. By the time I was 15 I was able to go and watch Arsenal every week so I did and at £5 a pop to stand on the North Bank it was very accessible. Even though I was a regular at Highbury I always popped back to watch the Daggers on Monday nights (remember that - anyone know why we always played midweek on a Monday?) or when Arsenal were away and I couldn't be bothered to go. For me the turning point was 1993 when I came back from a year travelling and they had got rid of terracing. Suddenly I couldn't sit next to my mates, needed to buy a ticket 3 weeks in advance instead of paying £5 on the gate and I had to pay £20 to sit down which was boring. The new Dagenham and Redbridge club was going through an exciting phase and I was hooked - haven't looked back to be honest and now pop along to the Arsenal 3-4 times a year which suits me down to the ground.

My point is If we can target 14-18 year olds who can afford/are allowed to come to the games, we may well lose them for a few years when they start earning and going to Prem games but I bet they will always have a soft spot for the Daggers and will more than likely get fed up paying £60 a go to see average foreign players on £100K a week strolling around looking bored and worrying about his next move or whether the club have bought him a f**king birthday cake!

Then, like me, they will see the value of driving to the game, parking your car 5 feet away, having banter on the terraces with true mates, getting a quick reasonably priced pint in the bar and being home 30 minutes later.

[RayleighDagger1986]

Is that a club rule or a league rule, re under 16's

[ARNU]

I first bought my son to a daggers game back in 2008,he was 10. Prior to that I'd been taking him to west ham and it was getting a bit expensive. He loved it and the players would sign all the programs he put in front of them. He'll be a bit embarrassed by this now but the players would always acknowledge him and we got loads of pics of him with any player you care to mention from the Tony Roberts era. I still treat him to his season ticket to this day although I'm sure he should be buying mine by now. He did go pretty much every away game to for quite a few years although he's calmed that down a bit now. So I don't know what the club can do nowadays to get that age group in. Dads are the answer I think. All his mates watch daggers, none of them embarrassed by that. Keep the dads happy I spose.

[SUSSEX DAGGER]

My youngest is like Joel has only ever supported and watched The Daggers, obviously he watches PL ON TV but he don't get what he gets out of the Daggers. So by using Joel , my Son and all the others that have commented on here it appears that getting Yoiungsters interested is not without hope.

Any business can get People through the doors with offers etc the secret is getting them back and more importantly they want to come back.

Still would like to see us move away from the 3pm Saturdays and try other times , my Son is now working and Saturdays off are very rare for him. He misses football massively and can only get to a around half a dozen Saturday games a season and mid week. Why we continue to try to compete with Higher grade football I have never worked out and would like to see a few Sunday games where we could promote a family day out with the only competition on the tv

[Alan]

Sunday games were tried couple of times when we had clashes with international games. Ironically, people complained that the Sunday games clashed with them/their kids playing football. The other thing, as you say, is that you would be competing with 2pm and 4pm sky games.

[Adrian]

Sunday games have normally felt weird. I certainly don't remember them being particularly well attended.

The club has tried the vast majority of things and they've not helped much.

I go because I got taken along when I was around 11.
I don't want to see us ending up over run with unaccompanied teenagers by making tickets rally cheap for them on the day.
We've already got immature idiots causing problems - we don't need more.

[Daggernewbie]

Sunday games have normally felt weird. I certainly don't remember them being particularly well attended.

The club has tried the vast majority of things and they've not helped much.

I go because I got taken along when I was around 11.
I don't want to see us ending up over run with unaccompanied teenagers by making tickets rally cheap for them on the day.
We've already got immature idiots causing problems - we don't need more.

So Adrian why have you put all teenagers in the same bracket,been unaccompanied does not mean they will cause trouble what about if they come along with their parent and the parent is one that causes trouble is that the teenagers fault ?

[mickeyblue]

look at the area we play in. the club has a very slim chance of getting any kids with a pound in there pocket let alone want to spend it on football.

ive brought my sons along from very young ages with eldest now coming with his group of friends. ive always brought his friends or when we do the promotion games all his football team and most do not come back.
13 year olds friends not interested yet
imo we need to target the dads with kids. no idea how tho.

success brings in fans, ive noticed last few daggers against racism day hasn't been that well attended as in the past.

[Adrian]

Sunday games have normally felt weird. I certainly don't remember them being particularly well attended.

The club has tried the vast majority of things and they've not helped much.

I go because I got taken along when I was around 11.
I don't want to see us ending up over run with unaccompanied teenagers by making tickets rally cheap for them on the day.
We've already got immature idiots causing problems - we don't need more.

So Adrian why have you put all teenagers in the same bracket,been unaccompanied does not mean they will cause trouble what about if they come along with their parent and the parent is one that causes trouble is that the teenagers fault ?

I haven't put all teenagers in the same bracket. However I have spent enough time living on this planet to be pretty confident that if we were to let a lot of unaccompanied teenagers into the crowd that some of them would end up causing problems.
Pretty sure we had a bunch a few years a go - wonder what they ended up doing...

There are also wider pontential problems, like what is something happens to one or some of them? Aggrieved parents could quite easily end up causing the club problems.

It's far too easy to just say let's make it really cheap for a bunch of kids to turn up when they want.

[Diggerthedog]

If we don't do something club will die on its arse. Club had an average supporter age of about 50. Sure some of us will bring our own kids but they will soon water down. It's right to suggest that kids will get bore of a certain age but you need to make sure the atmosphere is good enough to keep them into it. I went back the the sieve for a game last season bloody awful just old folk whinging. That won't bring them in.

[Daggernewbie]

Sunday games have normally felt weird. I certainly don't remember them being particularly well attended.

The club has tried the vast majority of things and they've not helped much.

I go because I got taken along when I was around 11.
I don't want to see us ending up over run with unaccompanied teenagers by making tickets rally cheap for them on the day.
We've already got immature idiots causing problems - we don't need more.

So Adrian why have you put all teenagers in the same bracket,been unaccompanied does not mean they will cause trouble what about if they come along with their parent and the parent is one that causes trouble is that the teenagers fault ?

I haven't put all teenagers in the same bracket. However I have spent enough time living on this planet to be pretty confident that if we were to let a lot of unaccompanied teenagers into the crowd that some of them would end up causing problems.
Pretty sure we had a bunch a few years a go - wonder what they ended up doing.

There are also wider pontential problems, like what is something happens to one or some of them? Aggrieved parents could quite easily end up causing the club problems.

It's far too easy to just say let's make it really cheap for a bunch of kids to turn up when they want.

Not once in your statement does it say you haven`t included all teenagers we have kids that are teenagers now coming over here now that cause no trouble.Plus anyone sixteen and over are classed as adults by the club and charged adult prices so how you say they need to accompanied :- club prices :- Juniors (10-16 year olds)

[Alan]

I've said several times that there's no point having the daggers against racism game in the bleak midwinter. Have it this time of year, when it's not a cold and miserable experience for youngsters.

[Adrian]

So Adrian why have you put all teenagers in the same bracket,been unaccompanied does not mean they will cause trouble what about if they come along with their parent and the parent is one that causes trouble is that the teenagers fault ?

I haven't put all teenagers in the same bracket. However I have spent enough time living on this planet to be pretty confident that if we were to let a lot of unaccompanied teenagers into the crowd that some of them would end up causing problems.
Pretty sure we had a bunch a few years a go - wonder what they ended up doing.

There are also wider pontential problems, like what is something happens to one or some of them? Aggrieved parents could quite easily end up causing the club problems.

It's far too easy to just say let's make it really cheap for a bunch of kids to turn up when they want.

Not once in your statement does it say you haven`t included all teenagers we have kids that are teenagers now coming over here now that cause no trouble.Plus anyone sixteen and over are classed as adults by the club and charged adult prices so how you say they need to accompanied :- club prices :- Juniors (10-16 year olds)

I also haven't explicitly said that I bracket them all together. That's just an assumption that you've made.
It was wrong.

[Daggernewbie]

Adrian showed this thread to a few who have teenage kids and they thought the same thing as me when they read this line your quote :- We've already got immature idiots causing problems - we don't need more.

[DI Mike Dashwood]

I got my daughter (6 at time) an ST in the Carling with me and my mates last season. At first I don't think she got it, and we didn't do many games in mid winter. However, I tried it again in Spring last season and she got right into it. We have good seats in front row just to the side of the home dug out and she is really into it. She has been asking all summer who has left and joined and is most upset Paul Benson has gone!!! I also promised her the new kit when out so we were up at the Club shop getting that a couple of weeks back.

We haven't been to a home game yet, due to cricket, but went to Maidstone yesterday and she enjoyed that (more on that in Arnu's thread).

I am not sure how to get more kids in generally. I think in terms of families and getting people in we have a bit of an identity problem (just my opinion). At Maidstone yesterday it was clear they have a real good thing going with getting families in and local people. It is a town (like a Chelmsford or Colchester on our side of the water) with a clear identity, a town centre, somewhere people know. Does Dagenham have that?? Dagenham is a town in some ways but I would say Dagenham, and Redbridge, are more areas. I also think a lot of people who used to go or who still go now (but are older) no longer live in the area so don't have that affiliation with the Club?? Just my views, but either way, not sure what the Club can do about it.