Lincoln FC Foundation: William’s story
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/
