Coach Kieran Finds His Opportunity At Swindon Town FC Community Foundation
After becoming disillusioned with college, Kieran dropped out and found himself unable to find work in the fallout from the global pandemic.
He had previously completed a Level 3 Sport Development and Fitness Diploma at his school’s Sixth Form and left to go to college to complete the extended diploma. However, he found himself simply repeating the work he had already done in Sixth Form. Fed up with treading old ground and not achieving the personal development he was promised, he stuck it out for a year before deciding to try his luck in the working world.
Unfortunately, the working landscape had been drastically altered by the pandemic and with many companies letting staff go rather than take anyone new on, Kieran had to look to Universal Credit to support himself.
When the opportunity to work with Swindon Town FC Community Foundation arose through the Kickstart programme, Kieran jumped at the chance.
“I love football and I love Swindon Town, I’ve been a fan all my life. This is what I want to do, so I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity.”
Since joining the Foundation through Kickstart, Kieran has been assisting with two areas of the business: coaching and helping to maintain Foundation Park – the Foundation’s sporting facility.
“Since being at the Foundation, I’ve learnt a lot about coaching: different drills, ways to set up sessions and ways to make sure every participant is included. It’s also been really interesting learning more about how the facility is run, from keeping it clean and tidy, to making sure it’s prepared and set up for whatever activities are taking place that day.”
Kieran hopes that his experience working with the STFC Community Foundation will put him in good stead for finding future employment.
“Working with the Foundation will be a great thing to have on my CV, and combined with the general skills I’ve been able to develop, such as communication and time-keeping, I’m in a much better position than I was when I started. I’m finding it a really useful experience.”
