Seasons 2008-09-10 - The Devils Trust Community Soccer School Project

Since September we have been operating a different sort of community football scheme. What makes our scheme unique is that it allows anyone to take part and it is completely free, which means the credit crunch will not impact any families ability to join in.

We have run a pilot scheme at a local school and it has been a resounding success. Our intention is to use the pilot to obtain a grant to enable the scheme to be adopted by more schools in the locality.

There was an end of term tournament where pupils received certificates and a few deserving pupils were rewarded for their effort with footballs. Thanks also to their parents, plus TBCC staff and students for helping to make the tournament a real community success.

The Trust is proud to be associated with UEFA Level B coach Sam Shearman, Southgate Primary School and their progressive PE co-ordinator Gemma Docker.

Sam and students.

Sam told the Trust of her delight at the success of the scheme "what was great is that it was enjoyed by such a diverse group of kids, they are all different but all got something really good out of it. I even recommended one child to a local professional club, but getting them all enjoying playing football together is really what it is all about".

Gemma said "the pilot project exceeded all expectations and was so over-subscribed that we split it into two groups with a total of 29 pupils taking part. It was so nice to be able to offer such a popular extra-curricular activity to all pupils. Nowadays it is a real bonus when there is no cost involved".

While we are submitting a grant application, the Trust will happily fund the extension of the scheme into spring term. We also welcome any contributions, donations and sponsorship to help us to ensure that the kids of Crawley benefit from the continued success of this great project.