doing it for the kids:
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Posted: November 20th 2008
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I’ve finally done it...dedicated a whole weekend to kids’ football.
Our new u5s training group is at 9.15 on Saturday mornings, which means yours truly laying out the ubiquitous cones from 8.45. They finish at 10, then it’s straight into the u6s. Then, as usual, it was off to watch my eldest (u15s) play for his Saturday afternoon team; Sunday morning with the u15s team I run, followed by the u11 girls and their lunchtime kick off.
It really was eat / sleep / football.
Both u15s won, though maybe not as convincingly as they would have liked. The girls fought valiantly but lost narrowly – story of their frustrating season. The u5s is sheer joy. The only blip came with the u6s, where despite the well-qualified coaches, one over-ambitious dad compared us unfavourably with the (ahem) “Arsenal Academy satellite training camp” his lad had attended a few weeks earlier. The Gunners covering all bases nationwide just in case, doing a bit of brand extension into the bargain... and convincing wide-eyed 6 year olds (and even wider-eyed 30 something parents) that they are tapping straight into Arsene’s secret methods...
I’m on a mission with the u5s. A mission to right all the wrongs I’ve seen in kids’ football over the last decade of involvement. Well not all of them, that is Trevor Brooking’s increasingly difficult job. But in my little corner, I really want to make a difference...wish me luck...