Jay’s story: ‘I can’t thank Brentford FC Community Sports Trust enough for the support and career pathway they have given me.’

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Jay Reza, Finance Officer for Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, believes the support he has received from the Bees has been crucial in helping him to overcome depression.

After finishing College at 18 and due to his interest in football, Jay decided to do an apprenticeship with the Trust, with his preference being to gain real life work experience while studying.

It would be a move that would prove life-changing for the 22-year-old.

He said:

“It was fantastic doing the apprenticeship as it gave me the opportunity to specialise in my dream job in finance while also dipping my toes into other areas such as media and marketing.

Through training provided by the Trust, he became a qualified AAT Accountant and was offered a full-time position as Finance Officer.

From day one the staff at Brentford have given me the freedom to express myself and a platform to move up the career ladder.

“This is my first full-time job and I’m really enjoying it, particularly the fundraising part and helping young people to work within a safe and comfortable environment.”

Despite his stellar achievements, it hasn’t always been a smooth journey for Jay having suffered with depression. Discussing his experience of the illness, he said:

“Depression was nothing to do with my job, it was something that just happened at the time. I didn’t really understand what was going on. It was just a sinking feeling where I felt trapped and as if I was going in a downward spiral.”

According to Mind, the EFL’s new official charity partner, approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year, with Jay describing the support offered to him by Brentford FC Community Sports Trust as vital in helping him to get back on his feet.

“My line manager Jacky noticed that I seemed different to my usual self and spoke to me about it, she encouraged me to see a doctor. The staff were really understanding and gave me time to go to therapy regularly as well as managing the pressure on me during busier times at work.

“I’ll forever be grateful for the support they have given me. It helped me to understand what was going on and believe that it really does get better.”

Looking to the future, Jay hopes to develop his career with the Trust even further.

“I am hoping to get my Chartered Accountant qualification next, which would help to put me on the highest position I can be in accountancy. “I always try and look towards the next goal. Brentford FC Community Sports Trust have been absolutely fantastic in supporting that.”

Mind

Mind are the official charity partner of EFL. With over 21 million fans attending EFL matches each season (and 55 million watching on TV), this partnership is a brilliant opportunity for us to promote awareness and understanding of mental health amongst football fans, and to help more people living with mental health problems access the support they need.

Together we are harnessing the power of football to raise awareness of mental health, improve the approach to mental health in sport and raise funds to deliver life changing national and local support.

www.Mind.org.uk/OnYourSide

Text FOOTBALL to 70660 to donate £3 to Mind, and help make sure no one has to face a mental health problem alone.

World Cerebral Palsy Day: Mason and Zak Loving Football at Tranmere

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Saturday 6th October, is World Cerebral Palsy Day.  To raise awareness of the 17 million people across the world living with cerebral palsy and another 350 million people who are closely connected to someone with cerebral palsy we are focusing on Tranmere Rovers in the Community’s disability football sessions.  Rovers have provided two young fans with the opportunity to participate in the sport they love in a safe and friendly atmosphere.

Ten-year-old Mason and his friend, Zak, aged eight, both have cerebral palsy but that does not stop either of them putting on their football boots and playing the beautiful game.

“I love coming to the sessions and playing football with my friends,” admitted Mason. “We get to play matches too, so I am exercising on a regular basis. I started watching football when I was just three years old and I have now been attending the football sessions at Tranmere for the last four years.”

Explaining how he started playing football, Zak said:

“I played football with my Grandad in the park before my first session at Tranmere when I was six. I come along to Tranmere Rovers games now too and I watch football with my Dad. With the sessions, I love that we get to train and play matches against each other every week.”

The disability football sessions are run on a weekly basis at Prenton Park in the indoor Recreation Centre and each session is always busy with children enjoying the training sessions led by our fully qualified coaches.

The disability football sessions are open for children aged 6-11 years old on a Wednesday from 4-5pm, and on a Tuesday 4-5pm for children aged 11-16 years old. Both Mason and Zak hope by sharing their stories, it will encourage more to start playing the game.

Mason said:

“It is really good fun playing with people who have similar disabilities and do not let anything hold you back, go and have fun like we are doing!”

Zak added:

“It is a great chance to make some new friends. You have to take every opportunity play and if you ever think you are not good enough, you have got to just keep doing and enjoy playing as that is the important thing.”

Strong words from two young men, and Tranmere Rovers in the Community coach, Faye Jones, who runs the sessions, praised both Mason and Zak for sharing their stories.

“They are two great lads and they are an absolute pleasure to coach. They are both very enthusiastic and love playing football.  They are a real inspiration and they want to help more children to follow in their footsteps and play football or participate in any sport.”

Tranmere Rovers in the Community run disability sessions for all ages, for more information, please contact Faye via email – [email protected] or call 0151 6082354.

 

What we did this summer! Our NCS teens spent over 129,630 hours working in their communities, raising over £90,000 for good causes.

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This summer 1000’s of teenagers abseiled off mountains, canoed down lakes, made new friends and pushed their limits. They then learned new skills like first aid, budgeting and cooking, before spending time helping other in their communities.

These teenagers were taking part in the National Citizen Service (NCS) with the EFL Trust network of EFL football clubs and youth organisations in Yorkshire and Humber.

Across the region 4,321  young people aged between 15-17 took part in NCS this summer. These young people delivered an impressive 340 projects in their community and raised over £90,000 for good causes. NCS takes place over four phases.

Phase one is ‘adventure’ teens spend a week away pushing their limits with activities such as rock climbing, abseiling, and canoeing.  Rotherham MP Sir Kevin Barron joined a group from Rotherham United on a caving and abseiling trip, he said,

“NCS is fantastic. I wish we’d have something like this when I was young where you could get away for four days and learn about life outside the classroom”

A summer graduate who did NCS with Grimsby Town comments,

“I had the best summer ever! I made lots of friends and pushed myself to new limits that I would not have done without the support of my new friends and leaders”

Phase two sees young people split into teams, they will then learn life skills including budgeting, first aid and cooking.  This summer one group in Barnsley received a massive surprise when they were visited by youtube sensation Emma Blackery, Emma commented,

“Just seeing the team work from people that didn’t know each other a few weeks ago and to see how close they have become is amazing”

Here’s the full video of Emma visit

Phase three sees teams plan and create a community action project and spend at least 30 hours making their project happen, be it a fundraising event, time spent rejuvenating a local park or even a family fun day.

This year the 340 social action projects made a massive difference across Yorkshire and Humber. These included

A graduate from Barnsley sums up what the NCS experience gives young people

“I absolutely loved NCS! I met some amazing people and made so many amazing memories. I gained confidence and became a lot more independent. It was such a fantastic experience.”

Finally phase four is celebration or graduation. Graduates get together to celebrate their summer.  Dame Rosie Winterton, MP for joined Doncaster Rovers graduates at their celebration event, she said

 “It was a real pleasure to meet with the NCS 2018 Doncaster graduates.  Their shared experiences, the skills learnt they have learnt will last them a lifetime and give a real foundation for them to build on in their communities.”

 

 

Walsall Players Encourage Kids to be ‘Super Movers’

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Saddlers players Liam Roberts and Jordon Sangha visited pupils at Caldmore Primary Academy to take part in a BBC Super Movers live lesson.

The players joined the school’s Year 6 pupils as they took part in a Shapes and Spaces lesson, broadcast live from Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.  Super Movers is a partnership between the Premier League and BBC which aims to inspire primary school children to get physically active. The initiative provides resources that help children across the UK with curriculum linked activities.

The live lesson showed the children how to work out the likes of area and perimeter of shapes, as well as looking at symmetry and co-ordinates during the hour.

The group were then able to put their questions to Roberts and Sangha, in a Q&A session with the two Saddlers. Alex Moore, Premier League Primary Stars Officer, said:

‘It was good to be involved in the Super Movers live lesson and it was great to see the children enjoying it!“Having Liam and Jordon here has really helped the class engage with the activities and they interacted really well with Year 6.”

The Rising Stars of Community Football

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Rising stars from the world of community football have been formally recognised by the University of South Wales in partnership with the English Football League Trust for their efforts in promoting the sport across the UK.

Students based at Premier League and EFL clubs have emerged as regional and national winners in the 2018 USW/EFL Trust Student Awards after nominees were selected from students working towards the USW Foundation Degree in Community Football Coaching and Development.

Based at professional clubs nationwide, students are supported in completing their degree qualification remotely via a blended learning platform – an innovative approach that places the learner within the industry setting and enables them to apply their knowledge alongside study accordingly.

Launched in 2014 as a joint venture between USW and the EFL Trust to provide a solid theoretical and practical foundation of professional coaching skills, as well as opportunities to acquire nationally recognised vocational qualifications, the degree course also serves to identify up and coming industry talent through its annual awards scheme.

Starting with a shortlist of regionally selected nominations, the national winners in this year’s Academic Student of the Year and Professional Practice Award categories have now been announced.

In the Academic Student of the Year Award category Sheffield United’s Andrew Kempson was named as the National Academic Student of the Year for Year One students and Wigan Athletic student Sean Rowlinson was named as the National Academic Student of the Year for Year Two. Both candidates impressed the awards panel with outstanding grades and an unprecedented commitment to supporting their fellow students.

In the Professional Practice Award category Wigan Athletic’s Megan Dykes took the National Professional Practice Award for Year One students after demonstrating a considerable amount of time dedicated towards promoting community sports projects and her appetite for promoting her own personal development via the attendance at a number of varied sports coaching courses in addition to her USW commitments.

Across Year Two students it was Portsmouth’s Mark Corbett who claimed the National Professional Practice Award title. Mark has used his experiences to develop and promote valuable and enjoyable learning opportunities with learners to enhance their football ability within and around the Portsmouth community.

Course leader Jay Probert explained:

“These awards serve to highlight the wealth of up and coming talent the professional football environment has to draw on both via the University of South Wales and industry wide. As a pioneering course provider seeking to provide students with an ‘industry-ready’ approach, the team here at USW are heartened and delighted evidence of such dedication and commitment continues to come to light.”

Selected by a panel of USW academics with a combination of achieved grades and commitment to professional practice such as volunteering, coaching, work placement and other opportunities in mind, winners in the 2018 awards scheme also included the following:

Academic Performance Award

  • North West: Year One – Megan Dykes (Wigan Athletic); Year Two – Sean Rowlinson (Wigan Athletic)
  • North East: Year One – Andrew Kempson (Sheffield United); Year Two – James Peech (Sheffield Wed)
  • Central: Year One – Natalie Drury (Notts Forest); Year Two – Bradley Moore (Wolves)
  • South: Year One – Ryan Caws (Southampton); Year Two – James Miller (Portsmouth)

Professional Practice Award

  • North West: Year One – Megan Dykes (Wigan Athletic); Year Two – Katie Adams (Carlisle United)
  • North East: Year Two – Alex Webb (Leeds United)
  • Central: Year One – Jon Lewis (Cheltenham); Year Two – Rhys Taylor (Derby)
  • South: Year One – Ryan Caws (Southampton); Year Two – Mark Corbett (Portsmouth)

Sunderland AFC stars back New Community Hub

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Sunderland AFC management and players are lining up to support the North East’s newest sports, education, health and events venue – the Beacon of Light.

Throughout the summer, a string of Black Cats stars have attended a range of events and activities at the state-of-the-art facility, inspiring the business community and delighting hundreds of children and adults. The Beacon which opened this year will welcome around 6,000 people a week and act as a hub for people of all ages who want to take part in exciting programmes to improve their lives and prospects

Manager Jack Ross kicked off the new season in June at a special breakfast alongside SAFC legend Kevin Ball and corporate supporters on the EFL’s fixture release day where he discussed the exciting new era on Wednesday ahead of the League One campaign.

“I’ve been an ambassador for the Foundation for a few years now,” said former club captain Ball. “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the people whose lives they’ve changed and seen the Beacon go from vision to reality. “Our charity is setting the standards for other football club worldwide.”

Then, ahead of SAFC’s Carabao Cup clash with Sheffield Wednesday in August, Charlie Wyke and Tom Flanagan watched a training session with the Foundation’s Scholars on the rooftop barn before taking part in a Q&A.

Impressed by the Beacon’s facilities, forward Wyke said:

“The Beacon is fantastic. It’s a good opportunity for young players to showcase their talent and a brilliant place. If I was a young lad playing here I would definitely thrive off it.”

Later that month, Josh Maja and Luke O’Nien surprised more than 60 youngsters at a summer multi-sports course, joining in small-sided football games and trying their luck on the Foundation’s sports inflatables before posing for photos and signing autographs.

Rounding off the summer’s player visits, Flanagan and Jack Baldwin joined a Every Player Counts session, a fun weekly football session for people with a range of disabilities.

“It’s really important to engage the local community,” Flanagan added. “I’ve visited the Beacon a couple of times now and it seems to get better every time. People are so lucky to be able to be able to use it and it’s definitely something they should take advantage of. It will be great to see people benefitting from the Beacon for years to come.”

 

Families Can Cook Up A Treat With Stevenage

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Stevenage FC Foundation, in partnership with Stevenage Borough Council, Co-Op and North Herts College are launching a new FREE 8-week course for families to rediscover the fun in cooking.

The Community Kitchen project has been created to give families the opportunity to get new ideas on cooking healthy, fun meals without breaking the bank and most importantly, cooking as a family.

Sessions are being held at Marriotts School on Saturday afternoons, 4pm-6pm starting on 6th October and are totally FREE, with spaces for 6 families per course.

As well as sharpening culinary skills, families will also be given some top tips on topics like sugar swaps, planning meals, getting in your 5 a day and more.

Led by Stevenage FC Foundation, sessions will be delivered by Hannah Marsh who over the last three years has been the driving force behind the Get Active project in Stevenage to help improve the health and wellbeing of residents.

Stevenage FC Foundation’s, Joe Goude said

“The Community Kitchen is such an exciting project for the Foundation. Getting people thinking about ways in which they can make subtle tweaks to their time in the kitchen and enjoy cooking as a family is something we feel can have a big impact in the town. This isn’t a weight loss or physical exercise programme, just simply about coming together as a family and enjoying an activity that we all do every day.

“There’s a fantastic social element to it as well, getting families socialising with other families whilst taking part in a fun and friendly activity. The support we’ve had so far from the partners of the programme has been phenomenal and unprecedented for a new project of ours. We’ve received funding from Public Health, SBC and individual councillors as well as great support from Co-Op and North Herts College with creating the content. We’re really excited to get started”.

Stevenage Borough Council’s Sport and Wellbeing Manager, Joe Capon explains

““The Community Kitchen is a great local project. It’s not just about helping families to eat well and improve their cooking skills. It’s also about bringing the social aspect of meal times into family life, so families can reconnect over a nutritious meal and spending quality time cooking it together.

“It’s also educational for the children as they can get stuck into the food preparation and increase their knowledge and interest in where ingredients come from and how they go together.  With so many demands on family life now it’s sometimes hard to find the time to cook fresh all of the time, but with the right know how and a small budget, families can have a healthy meal on the table in 20-30 minutes.”

As well as support from organisations across the county, the project is part funded by Public Health Hertfordshire and has received support locally from Stevenage Borough Councillors Sarah Mead, Liz Harrington, James Fraser, John Gardener, John Mead and Elaine Connelly.

For more information and to get your family’s place on the first course please visit www.stevenagefcfoundation.com/communitykitchen or contact the Foundation via email [email protected] or call 01438 223223 (Option 6).

Newport County Search for Life Saving Donor

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MARROW FOR MARLEY CAMPAIGN COMES TO RODNEY PARADE

Newport County are opening their gates before their game with Yeovil Town early  this Saturday  in a bid to find a potentially life saving bone marrow donor for a six year old Marley Nicholls

Marley who has recently been diagnosed with a rare condition called Aplastic Anaemia.   The disease only affects around 30  to 40  children in the UK each year and without a bone marrow transplant the condition will be fatal within a few years.

On Saturday 15th September, Newport County AFC and Rodney Parade will be opening the gates early to host swabbing stations for Marrow for Marley, a campaign set up in aid of the six-year old. .

The swabbing stations will open from midday and will be located in the Stadium Marquee.  This can be accessed by coming through the main Rodney Parade gates which are on the corner of Grafton Road and Beresford Road.

The swab stations will remain open until 3pm and will re-open after the game from 5pm-6pm.  The process of signing up as a donor will take less than five minutes and the swabbing will take just seconds.  That’s just five minutes to find out if you can save a special little boy’s life.

Yeovil Town supporters will also be able to donate as a table will be set up in the Stadium’s Away Supporters Bar between 1.30pm-3pm.

Marley is a very special, fun-loving little boy and has captured the hearts of everyone who’s been touched by his story.  This is obvious from the fact people have flocked in their thousands to be swabbed in the hope that they are a potential donor.

On Saturday, Marrow for Marley will be welcoming anyone aged 17-55 to be tested to see if they are Marley’s match. (Please note that people with certain autoimmune and blood diseases are not able to be donors – information about this can be found online).

Marley and younger brother George will be joining the Club as special guests on Saturday and will be walking out with the team.

If you’re coming to the match early to get your swabs done, there will be family-friendly football-based activities taking place on the grass outside the Marquee from 1pm.  The use of the grass is weather permitting.

To find out more about Marley and to follow the progress of the campaign follow Marrow for Marley on Facebook  and Twitter.

Click Here To find out more about being a donor 

Latics ‘Life Changing’ Charity Reaches Work More than 12,000

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Wigan Athletic Community Trust have this week are delighted to release their latest report, which demonstrates the positive impact on more than 12,000 people in Wigan and the surrounding area over the past year.

The Community Trust works in partnership with Wigan Athletic to Improve Health, Enhance Life Chances and Create Stronger, Safer Communities. The charity were described as a ‘revelation’ and a ‘life-changing’ organisation in the report, and has three priority areas of work: Schools, Community Development, Training and Skills, and aims to:

  • Increase participation in sport across all levels of society – particularly those from underrepresented groups
  • Encourage young people and families to lead healthier and more active lifestyles
  • Improve the skills, aspirations and achievements of young people
  • Contribute towards increased community cohesion by improving the quality of life for young people and families.

Tom Flower, Head of Community at Wigan Athletic Community Trust, said:

“Last year we launched our new vision for the next three years, so it’s great for us to be able to look back on our work over the past 12 months to see the incredible results that have been achieved.

“Our work wouldn’t be possible without the support of Wigan Athletic, and national and local partners such as the Premier League, EFL Trust, PFA and Wigan Council, who I wish to take this opportunity to thank.”

Wigan Athletic Community Trust at a Kayaking sessions at Scotsman’s Flash in Wigan.

Phillip Williams, Chair of Trustees, said:

“On behalf of the Trustees I’d like to thank all staff for their continued hard work and for the way they conduct themselves with such passion when wearing the Latics badge. They’re a credit not only to the Community Trust but to the football club as a whole.”

First team players make hundreds of appearances at Community Trust events throughout the season, with sessions ranging from coaching pupils in primary schools to taking part in walking football activities.

Jonathan Jackson, Wigan Athletic Chief Executive and Trustee of the Community Trust, said:

“I’m extremely proud of the charity and the important part it plays in the day to day operation of the football club. This report is testimony to the outstanding work and commitment of its staff to improve the lives of people living in Wigan and surrounding areas.”

To read the Impact Report, please click here.

Free Bus travel helps thousands of teens on NCS

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Thousands of young people from across South Yorkshire have benefited from free bus travel when taking part in the National Citizen Service (NCS) programme thanks to First South Yorkshire.

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