COMMUNITY CORNER: Coaches kick off Respect campaign (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

COMMUNITY CORNER: Coaches kick off Respect campaign

6:00am Saturday 19th January 2013 in Sport

SWINDON Town Football in the Community coaches have been delivering the npower Respect message and the What’s Your Goal campaign to 1200 children in schools across Swindon.

The Respect workshops use young people’s love of football to encourage tolerant behaviour within their day to day lives.

Swindon Town, along with 71 other league clubs, aim to deliver a positive message to the next generation. The Respect campaign also tackles bullying issues with children expressing thoughts and fears through role play and group discussions.

Sarah Law, a teacher at Ann Edwards Primary school in South Cerney said: “The children really listen to someone from the football profession, especially our local team Swindon Town whom many of them support.

“Both girls and boys in the classes listen well to a coach who has also delivered excellent football sessions.”

The What’s Your Goal programme gives hundreds of young people a chance to experience the world of football and develop their skills by spending a day shadowing a football expert or taking on a work experience placement in a wide range of roles over four days at a professional club.

One of last year’s entrants in the campaign, Shannon Fernandez, worked as a community coach on the Easter development course at Lambourn and is now a first-year football and futsal scholar and has already achieved his Level One FA coaching certificate.

Swindon Town are now set to offer lucky year 10 and 11 students the opportunity to apply for similar community coach roles as well as posts within the PR and groudstaff departments.

Community development manager Clive Maguire said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for five students to spend a week at a professional football club and gain an insight to the day to day life at the County Ground, as well as the different roles within the football club.”

For further information either project, contact Maguire on 01793 421303.