Upton St Leonards Under-13s are blazing a trail in the Cheltenham Youth Football League.

Before this season Upton St Leonards didn’t have any junior teams – they have two adult teams in the Stroud League – so the under-13s are certainly making a good impression.

They are setting a very fast pace in Division One which is a continuation of last season’s form when they were known as Abbeymead Rovers and won the Under-12 Division One.

“That was 9v9 but this season we’re playing 11-a-side,” said manager and lead coach Steve Small. “We made the move to Upton St Leonards because there was a shortage of 11-a-side pitches at Abbeymead for us to use, it was all very amicable.”

And they are looking to build on last season's success.

“The plan is to clean up this season,” continued Small, whose son Drew plays as a defender. “It doesn’t always work out but the aim is to win the league and the cup.”

Tom Manning is Small’s co-coach – his son Tommy plays as an attacking midfielder – and Small and Manning work well together.

“We did our FA coaching badges together,” explained Small, who also coaches Abbeymead Rovers Under-13s in the Severn Valley Youth League.

Manning coaches Heart of Gloucester Under-13s  in the same league but while they are rivals on Saturdays when the Severn Valley Youth League play their matches, they very much think as one on Sundays when the Cheltenham Youth League’s fixtures are played.

“We try to keep it simple for the boys but we like to play three at the back with a holding central midfielder,” said Small.

“We then have four across the middle with two up front.

“We’ve got some big players which helps and we’ve also got a strong bench, there are no weak links.”

There are 17 players in the squad and Small added: “They’re very receptive to what we’re trying to do. They’ve got good discipline and they’re a joy to watch.

“We’ll keep coaching them for as long as the boys want to do it.”

All the signs are that that will be for a quite a few more seasons yet.