Tom’s 12-year journey with Brenford FC Community Sports Trust – From participant to volunteer

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Volunteering for his local Community Sports Trust was not something Tom Campbell (pictured far left) could have envisaged when he joined Brentford’s disability projects twelve years ago.

Tom, who has autism, joined the weekly football sessions to support him with his social and communication difficulties. His parents’ motivation for joining the project came from his difficulties in social situations; yet our ‘On the Ball’ project proved to be a turning point for Tom.

With football always being a personal passion, he found his vocation and, over the years, took on some leadership roles within the session.

The Trust’s ‘On the Ball’ project aims to tackle mental health problems on the heart of the football pitch. The ten-week programme supports children – aged 5-11 years old – who have autism or learning difficulties in west London. The project is delivered in partnership with Action Attainment, a charity in west London that is committed to enabling children with speech, language, communication and sensory needs to achieve and have active lives.

Speaking about the project, and the benefit it has had on him, Tom said:

“The Saturday morning football sessions have become a regular component of my week; I have been going for at least 12 years now. I have improved my physical fitness, coordination and strength, and it has given me something of real value to do on the weekend.

This project had such a profound effect on Tom that he began volunteering for the Trust three years ago – supporting the Trust’s disability projects and taking on the role of Assistant Head Coach.

“Volunteering has been a learning curve as I have learnt how to handle many different types of people from different backgrounds and different physical difficulties,” Tom said.

“I have also started going regularly to Brentford home games as a season ticket holder; this has become a major part of my life and I have become a passionate supporter and I love going to games.”

And Disability Manager for the Trust, Chris Tribe, believes that Tom has flourished in his role as a volunteer – becoming a role model for other children who have autism.

“When Tom first started, he was very anxious and reluctant to join in with the activities,” Chris said.

“Over time, his confidence really increased and in recent years, he has volunteered for us and become an avid Brentford fan and season-ticket holder. We look forward to working with Tom and his family as his journey into adult life progresses.”

Last year, Tom started full-time employment, and he credits his volunteering experience with helping him gain this role.  And despite him kick-starting his professional career, you will still see Tom coaching the Saturday morning sessions – giving back to the project that helped him all those years ago.

Teens from Yorkshire and Humber give up their time to tackle the big issues in their community

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A record number of over 200 teens in Yorkshire and Humber will be giving up their time to tackle issues such as homelessness, loneliness, cultural divides and mental health as part of Action Day, a national movement organised by National Citizen Service (NCS).

Action Day is an annual event which aims to showcase the true power of young people as NCS graduates use the skills and experiences gained on the programme to continue to make positive changes in their local area.

In 2018, NCS graduates from EFL Trust delivered over 130,000 hours of social action, raising over £100,000 for local charities in Yorkshire and Humber.

Highlights of Action Day will include;

  • Teens from Reds in the Community (Barnsley FC) hosting an open event for homeless people offering food as well as services such as job centre advice and haircuts.
  • Doncaster Rovers’ Local Youth Board hosting a ‘Country and Western’ evening to tackle loneliness in elderly people in Doncaster by integrating them with young people.
  • A group of teens from Hull renovating a house which is to be occupied by homeless people as well as distributing care packages to homeless people across the city.
  • Teens in Sheffield will be raising awareness of mental health at Sheffield Wednesday’s home fixture against Nottingham Forest. Across the other side of the city teens from Sheffield United will be handing out care packages to the homeless.

Mike Evans, Director of Operations at EFL Trust, says: “We are delighted to have so many NCS graduates involved in NCS Action Day to make a positive difference in their local community. The passion and drive that young people have to make a difference is inspirational, and I’m proud that so many of our graduates will be selflessly giving up their time to engage with issues in their local area.”

All teens involved have completed NCS with EFL Trust through their local football Club or youth organisation. After completing the initial programme, participants become NCS graduates who have access to a wide range of opportunities and support to continue making their mark in their communities.

To find out more about the NCS programme or to sign up visit ncsyes.co.uk.

St Joseph’s Catholic Academy win the 2019 EFL Girls Cup!

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St Joseph’s Catholic Academy won the 2019 EFL Girls Cup on Sunday, with both themselves and Mangotsfield School putting in a performance to be proud of at the iconic Wembley Stadium.

In what was an excellent contest and a fitting end to this year’s competition, St Joseph’s – representing Checkatrade Trophy finalists Sunderland – won 3-1 against their opponents, who were representing Bristol Rovers.

Before kick-off, there was a special surprise in store, as England international Jordan Nobbs gave both teams a pre-match team talk and posed for photos.

The game itself was the perfect precursor to the Checkatrade Trophy Final, with fans of both Sunderland and Portsmouth getting behind the girls. Jess Harvey gave Mangotsfield School the lead with a superb finish, but another well-taken goal, this time from Sophie Greener for St Joseph’s, meant it was level at the break.

After the interval, Greener also claimed an assist, with a piece of individual brilliance seeing her set up Eve Parker to fire home. Parker then scored her second to seal the win and the trophy, going through on goal and slotting the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.

Both sides received medals in the Royal Box after the game in recognition of their fantastic achievements in the 2018/19 Girls Cup, and St Joseph’s lifted the trophy to great applause around Wembley.

After the game, Greener said: “It feels amazing to say I’ve played at Wembley, and even better to say that I’ve scored. Meeting Jordan Nobbs before the game, someone who’s been here before, made us even more confident.”

Parker added: “Not many professional players get the chance to play at Wembley, so to play there at this age and score two goals is amazing. It feels like the whole journey has been worth it, it’s been amazing and it’s great to play with such talented girls.”

Alicia Berry, Assistant Curriculum Leader of PE at St Joseph’s Catholic Academy who was there on the day to support the girls said: “It’s hard to put into words how I’m feeling to be honest.

“I’m over the moon. It’s probably one of the proudest moments of my life to say that we have such talented girls and that they have had the opportunity to showcase their talents at a stage as big as Wembley. I’m so pleased for them.”

Everyone at the EFL Trust would like to congratulate both teams and thank them for their part in what was a memorable day for those involved.

Dec’s story: ”If you really want something and work hard, you can do anything.”

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Dec’s story

Dec Stone is a current student on the Bristol City Community Trust’s Sports Media course and is a member of the Community Trust’s Youth Council.

Dec, who is also autistic, was selected to be part of the Trust’s Youth Council – a body of eight young people who help to decide and shape the work that is conducted at the Community Trust – in the role of Media Manager as a result of his excellent social media skills.

Dec has now been a member of the council for nearly three years. Over this period of time, the council have helped the Trust to launch initiatives such as the Women’s and Girls football and fitness hub, and a Friday night social inclusion football session – which delivers football to 80 young people per session and has drastically reduced criminal activity in the area that it operates.

The work of Dec and the rest of the Youth Council has been recognized on a national level and has won both EFL and FA awards. In addition to this, the work of the Youth Council played an integral part in the Trust winning the award of Community Club of the Year in 2018 and retaining it in 2019.

When Dec first joined the Youth Council, he was quite an introverted individual who lacked self-confidence, however since then, he has grown into a confident individual and is a prominent member of the council.

Dec’s confidence has grown to such an extent that he now works on multiple Trust projects as well as holiday camps where he works as Lead Coach for several of the sessions.

Dec told Bristol City Community Tust that: “When I first started at the Youth Council, I was way out of my comfort zone. However, I did not let this dissuade me from perusing my goals, and I am so proud of all that we have achieved.

He went on to add that, “People shouldn’t really see autism as a disability or think that just because someone is autistic it means that they cannot do things. If you really want something and work hard, then you can do anything.”

 

 

“If I hadn’t done the traineeship I wouldn’t be in the position I am now.”

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After a long struggle to find work 23-year-old Daniel Halliwell has now gained employment at Rigalettos Restaurant at the DW Stadium thanks to a 12-week traineeship scheme with Wigan Athletic Community Trust.

A traineeship with the Community Trust aims to enhance the skills and experiences of unemployed young people, making them better prepared for further education or employment.

And for Kitchen Assistant Daniel, who is autistic and has always held a passion for catering, the scheme enabled him to pick up vital educational and work skills as well as improve his confidence and self-esteem.

He said: “I enjoyed the traineeship a lot because before I started it I didn’t know what to do or where to go for support with employment.

“Finding a job was really difficult and the opportunities didn’t really seem there for me, but I was referred to the traineeship after doing an employability course at Wigan Youth Zone and they thought it would be the best thing for me.”

The traineeship with the Trust offers placement opportunities in fields such as sports coaching, business administration, media and hospitality, while educational support, access to qualifications, job application support, Latics kit and bursaries are all also available to learners.

“I picked up lots of different skills during my 12 weeks on the traineeship, including gaining English and Maths qualifications and also completing a Health and Safety course which was really important for me because I wanted to work in a catering environment.  

“I was pleased to be offered a placement at Rigalettos Restaurant at the DW Stadium during my traineeship and was over the moon when it led to part-time paid work. I felt that I’d worked hard during the placement and was delighted to get a job.”

Daniel credits the support given to him by Latics as crucial in helping him to gain work and believes the traineeship scheme has helped to develop his personal attributes.

“My communication skills have improved a lot since I started working at Rigalettos and I feel like I’ve come out of my shell a lot more. I’m a lot more confident talking to people now which is important in a role such as mine.

“I’m in a real working environment now so it was important that I came out of my shell more and develop myself as a person in a busy kitchen.

“I got a lot of support from Wigan Athletic during my time on the traineeship and if I hadn’t have done it then I wouldn’t be in the position I am today.

“It’s a great feeling to be working at the DW Stadium and I get a real buzz when working on match days because it’s so busy and there’s a great atmosphere around the place.”

To find out more about traineeships visit: https://www.efltrust.com/projects/traineeships/

All Star event set to showcase EFL Trust Futsal scholars and coaches

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Following the success of last year’s EFL Trust Futsal All Star event, the best futsal scholars and coaches from the EFL Trust network will once again get the opportunity to showcase their talents at the iconic St Georges Park on Wednesday 3rd April.

The event combines the best players from the 26 EFL Community Trusts involved in futsal at EFL Clubs.

Each Club has the opportunity to nominate players and coaches to take part and represent their regional team (North, South West, Midlands and South East).

All the nominated players are aged 16-18 and are studying with an EFL Club whilst also playing futsal.

Whilst education remained their main aim, in the past, students such as Joe Kenny, Alex Turfrey and Nathan Davies went on to gain full international honours with futsal and travel the world.

Read Alex Turfrey’s story here

Mark Dick, National Futsal Development Manager at EFL Trust, said: “Last year’s event was a great success. 

“To play at the home of England Futsal at St Georges Park is a fantastic reward for students for all of their work both in the classroom and on the court.”

At this year’s event, at least one coach from each of the regional teams will have been a former player on the EFL Trust Futsal programme that has now gone onto full-time employment with their Community Trust.

Callum Avent, is a prime example of one of these coaches. As a former EFL Trust Futsal player at Peterborough United, Callum went on to securing full-time employment at the Club’s Community Trust after completing the course and undertaking a Futsal Coach Education at Level 2 and obtaining a UEFA B Futsal Licence.

Talking about Callum’s story, Nick Shepherd, Community Manager at Peterborough United said:

“Callum originally did work experience with us as a shy 15 year old, during this time he came out of his shell and had a very good work ethic. 

“He joined the EFL Trust Futsal games programme with Peterborough United at Year 12, despite not coming out of school with the best GCSE results. 

“During his 2 years on the games programme, Callum volunteered as a coach on the soccer schools programme and it became clear he had a keen interest and good potential as a coach. 

“He worked so hard at his education during the futsal course and ended 6th Form with very respectable results, and because of this we offered him a coaching apprenticeship.

“After two years, he has since become an integral part of our coaching staff and I am delighted to see him once again selected to represent the Midlands at this year’s EFL Trust All Star Event.”

The announced coaches who have been selected to represent their regions this year are:

North – Graeme Atkinson (PNE) and Declan Bacon (Scunthorpe United)

Midlands – Callum Avent (Peterborough United) and Duncan Gilchrist (Stoke City)

South East – Chris Day (Albion in the Community) and James Phillips and Ted Jones (Chelsea)

South West – Jordan Guard and Gary Bell (Bristol City) and Jack Richardson (Bristol Rovers)

Last year’s winners South West lifting the trophy

To watch highlights of last year’s EFL Trust Futsal All Star Event click here

Charlton Athletic first-team players take on Upbeats in swim

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Ahead of today’s World Down Syndrome Day, four Charlton Athletic first-team players took on the Charlton Upbeats in the second annual Players vs. Upbeats swimming race.

The Upbeats, run by Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT), are a Down’s Syndrome football team who regularly win tournaments up and down the country. The swim was to promote the upcoming Upbeats Walk – to raise money for the project – which will take place on Saturday April 13th ahead of the Addicks’ league match against current table-toppers Luton Town.

Last year the Upbeats, led by multiple international gold medallist swimmer Billy Birchmore, beat a Charlton team that included Jake Forster-Caskey and this year he and his teammates wanted revenge.

Forster-Caskey was joined at the David Lloyd in Sidcup by teammates Dillon Phillips, Josh Cullen and Chris Solly with the team led by Addicks boss Lee Bowyer.

The players edged out their opposition to the surprise of their manager. Bowyer said: “I think that is the first time I have ever put a team out that I have been scared that I am going to lose but it was a great race and I think another couple of lengths more and then the Upbeats probably would have caught us.”

Charlton first-team captain Jason Pearce managed the Upbeats on the day and he said: “The Charlton lads have worked hard for the last few months to be fair coming in the morning early and working hard, so they have done well but my lads, the Upbeats, will be back. We will be working hard and going back to the drawing board.”

Carl Krauhaus, CACT’s Head of Early Help & Prevention, who organised the event, said: “For me it just shows how the project has grown. With the support it gets from the club, our sponsors and the fans, we are looking forward to this year’s Upbeats Walk and I hope the fans come out and support this great project again.

“Last year was a great event but fundraising was down slightly, this year we want to have a bit of a push to try and get that level of fundraising back up which really secures the future of the project for the next couple of years because it’s an amazing project.”

The Upbeats Walk on April 13th starts at the club’s training ground in Sparrows Lane. Everyone that will be part of the event will travel nine miles make it to The Valley in time for kick-off in the club’s game against Luton Town.

Former players Robert Lee, Paul Mortimer, Bob Bolder and Simon Webster will be among those taking part in the walk.

Currently in its 11th year, the Upbeats programme is fully funded by your voluntary donations.

Rovers launch new Down’s Syndrome coaching for children

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Blackburn Rovers Community Trust have taken the opportunity to mark Down’s Syndrome Awareness Week and today’s World Down Syndrome Day by launching a brand new Down’s Syndrome coaching session for children.

The first session of its kind took place on Monday evening at the Blackburn Rovers Indoor Centre to coincide with the start of the worldwide week of awareness, with the intention of making football more inclusive for children regardless of any challenges that Down’s Syndrome might present to them.

The new offer is an expansion of the consistently popular weekly coaching for children with a wide spectrum of disabilities, which has been running throughout the season and is regularly attended by around 20 children aged eight to 16 (though younger children are also welcome with their parents or guardians’ consent if they believe that they will be safe in an environment alongside older children).

Matt Pilkington, disability sports officer with the club’s official charity, is excited by the opportunities that the new weekly concept – hosted every Monday from 5pm to 6pm – will provide to the wider community, explaining:

“The thinking behind our ever-expanding disability football coaching is to offer opportunities in areas where we’ve identified a local need, and a niche offering for children with Down’s Syndrome was definitely one of those areas.

“The response to this new initiative has been phenomenal and we’re receiving a very steady run of requests from families who would like their children to be part of this new offer, so we look forward to seeing how it grows.

“The recent fundraising at the Preston North End game through the ‘Bring A Pound To The Ground’ concept and a generous donation from the football club means that we’re looking to offer the chance for representative teams suiting children with a range of disabilities with the chance to play for Blackburn Rovers at tournaments or at one-off fixtures.

“If the demand is there, we look forward to potentially being able to field a Blackburn Rovers Down’s Syndrome side if the right opportunities are available, so the more families that are interested in getting involved, the better chance we have of being able to let children live that dream.”

To express your interest in securing a place for your child at forthcoming sessions – which are normally priced at just £3 per week – please contact Matt Pilkington via 01254 508256 or [email protected].

Lincoln FC Foundation: William’s story

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Today on World Down’s Syndrome Day, we highlight the fantastic journey of one of Lincoln City Foundation’s DS Active Football participants, William, who has been involved with the Foundation over the past 5 years.

William has been a part of Lincoln City Foundation’s DS Active Football and Multi Sports programme since 2014.

When William first began the sessions, his knowledge of football was very limited and he struggled to grasp the concept of the game and often wouldn’t engage in activities or remain focused.

Over time, under the coaching of Lincoln City Foundation’s Community Coach Dominic, William’s confidence flourished. Previously, William would be the first to give up, lose interest or turn down opportunities that are quite nerve racking or in the limelight, but not anymore.

He went on to represent Lincoln FC and play on Swindon FC’s pitch in front of over 7,000 supporters and has taken part in tournaments against numerous Premier League and EFL Clubs, cheering the Club to victory in front of 10,000 supporters.

Community Coach, Dominic said: “It’s fantastic to have seen him grow in so much confidence. His improvement has been a huge inspiration to us all.”

On Saturday, William also reached a huge milestone when he took part in a tournament against DS Active teams from Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Fulham.

Mark Smith, Inclusion Officer at Lincoln City, said: “Saturday was a real milestone for William. During a friendly match against Arsenal FC, he scored his first ever competitive goal. The pride and joy expressed on his face at that moment is one we wish to experience every single day.

“The pride from everybody involved in Williams journey to this point shone and spoke volumes.

“From everybody at Lincoln City Foundation we would once again like to extend our congratulations to William and can’t wait for more milestones to be reached as he continues his journey with us.”

https://twitter.com/LCFCFoundation/status/1108658930937409537

To find out more about Lincoln City Foundation visit: https://www.lcfcset.com/

To find out more about DS Active visit: https://www.dsactive.org.uk/ 

EFL Day of Action to tackle some of society’s biggest issues

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All 72 EFL Clubs to demonstrate the power of football in changing people’s lives

All 72 EFL Clubs will come together to highlight the work undertaken to tackle some of society’s biggest issues for the EFL’s Day of the Action 2019.

On Tuesday 19 March, EFL Clubs across the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two will each host events designed to showcase the very best of their work to tackle a diverse range of social issues, from homelessness and mental health, to community cohesion and the battle against plastic pollution.

Up and down the country, managers and players from the EFL’s 72 Clubs will also be attending events to pay special visits to participants and turn their hand to some of the activities taking place throughout the day.

  • In the Sky Bet Championship, Aston Villa’s Albert Adomah has been distributing essential supplies to homeless people in Birmingham. The Villa star joined the Outreach Angels – a group of local volunteers – to hand out hot food, toiletries and warm clothing
  • Bolton Wanderers’ will be showcasing their ‘Inside Out’ Programme which aims to reduce the risk of offending by 17-25-year-olds in the local area through positive activities such as sport and exercise
  • In Sky Bet League One, Luton Town caretaker manager Mick Harford will be welcoming the Club’s Every Player Counts disability players to the training ground for a unique coaching session whilst Walsall players will be giving out 300 tickets and t-shirts to local school children as part of the Club’s commitment to engaging with the younger generation of fans in the area
  • Cambridge United of Sky Bet League Two have been recognised nationally for improving mental health literacy in young people. The ‘Mind Your Head’ project raises awareness about mental health, tackles stigma and promotes good mental health, whilst crucially helping secondary school pupils understand and manage their own mental health, avoiding potential issues in the future

This is just small sample of some of the fantastic work due to take place during the EFL’s Day of Action by EFL Club Community Organisations – the largest network of sporting charities in the UK.  The EFL and its Clubs invested £80m in communities in 2018.

EFL Chief Executive, Shaun Harvey said: “The EFL Day of Action brings together all 72 Clubs to highlight the special role they play in enhancing the lives of millions of people around the country.

“The scale of ground-breaking projects across our network of Clubs continues to grow year-on-year and their delivery is integral to our aims of improving lives in a range of areas including inclusion, homelessness, education and health.”