Primary school children in south London are now enjoying free supervised football coaching sessions every Saturday—all thanks to a South West Trains guard
A Saturday morning at Battersea Youth and Sports Centre in London, and around 60 young children are practising their dribbling, shooting and tackling skills. These are free 90-minute football sessions, under the expert eyes of FA-qualified youth coaches, and the smiles, laughter and sheer enthusiasm out on the pitch show what an eagerly anticipated weekly event this is. So successful has the programme been since it was launched more than two years ago that, from a tentative beginning with only 12 or so kids attending a single session, it now covers two coaching sessions and two teams playing in an FA-affiliated Youth League. It has also attracted the attention of several professional clubs, including some from the Premier League.
The Junior Schools Football Challenge (JSFC) programme was established in September 2004 to offer children, aged five- to nine-years-old, living in Battersea and Wandsworth in south London, free supervised football coaching every Saturday. It was the brainchild of South West Trains guard Bill Evans, who was already involved in youth football and wanted to extend the opportunity of getting involved to more children, regardless of their circumstances or social background.
"This part of South West Trains' area does include a high proportion of social housing and accompanying disadvantaged families," says Bill, JSFC ‘s head coach and president. "To be able to offer these kids a chance of gaining all the advantages of organised sports for free seemed a really good idea. Knowing South West Trains' commitment to supporting local community sports schemes, we approached them for financial help and, to our delight, they responded positively."
The coaching sessions are designed to offer all primary school-age children—no matter what their ability, gender or background—the chance to have fun, do some physical exercise, develop their social skills and learn the values of teamwork. "The kids soon realise that it's better to work as part of a team," continues Bill, "so football helps build a sense of community."
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