Rovers' soccer schools teach football with fun.
Byline: NEIL MACDONALDTRANMERE Rovers' community coaches are taking a well-deserved breather after running 13 football courses during the summer holidays.
The club have been putting on two and three-day soccer schools for children aged five to 12 for the past 13 years.
Club community officer Steve Williams has been involved with every one and said the accent is firmly on having fun.
"The aim is to give the kids a taste of football and some basic coaching, " he said.
"Into that we throw loads of games like penalty shoot-outs and World Cup contests or superstar trials, where they get points for certain skills.
"They are managed by our 10 community coaches, half of whom are employed by the club and half who have other careers."
The younger children, aged five and six, can attend special Tots' courses.
"Because they are so young, we take it down to their level and don't expect too much from them.
It's important to remember that in alot of cases, this will be their first experience of playing football, " Steve said.
"It can be daunting to go somewhere where they don't know anyone, so we make sure they enjoy it and give them lots of confidence as well."
For the seven to 12-year-olds, the first 90 minutes of a session is taken up by organised coaching, followed by fun and games.
"We coach them first while we have their attention and seek to increase their knowledge of the game side-by-side with improving their skills and abilities, " explained Steve.
While most of the youngsters will come along for fun and go home remembering a great experience, Steve added every so often, one or two will stand out.
"We have a good relationship with Glyn Salmon who runs the School of Excellence for Tranmere.
"If we see someone who is talented, we will pass them on to Glyn and they will play for the club at youth level with the hope they will become a first team player in the future.
"Tranmere's YTS trainee Richard Sanna has been on one of our courses, while another - Matthew Hogg - is now with Liverpool's under 19s, " he said.
Steve continued that the standard of the younger players has increased tremendously over the past 13 years, because of the high profile of players like Michael Owen and David Beckham.
"They are catching on to football much earlier with the result that by the time they come on one of our courses, they already know some tricks and skills.
"It is great to see and our coaches get as much enjoyment out of it as the children do."
Steve added the club will be running more courses during the October half-term holiday week.
CAPTION(S):
MEET THE GANG: Tranmere Rovers community coaches Louie Edwards and Sam Scott with the children on one of the club's coaching courses and (right) Daniel Phillips, aged six, celebrates a goal with some friends at the Acre Lane venue
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| Title Annotation: | Sport |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Daily Post (Liverpool, England) |
| Date: | Sep 11, 2001 |
| Words: | 493 |
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