potters launch football roadshow

STOKE CITY'S Community Coaches are hitting the road to offer hundreds of local schoolchildren football skills sessions over the next two months.


The coaches will be visiting 150 schools as part of the Co-operative Bank Football Roadshow which has been launched to provide many benefits for Year Two children, which is a key focus group for the Football Club due to the success of the City 7s scheme.

Principal Club Partner Britannia, which is part of The Co-operative Bank, is the driving force behind the introduction of the roadshow following the success of school masterclasses which have been delivered with the Football Club over the past twelve months.
The Co-operative Bank Football Roadshow is a free initiative for schools and their children which is a joint venture involving Stoke City Football Club, Stoke-on-Trent Council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.

The Roadshow offers:

*A 90-minute football skills coaching session delivered by Stoke City Community Coaches.Children will learn key football skills and, for those who already play football in local teams, there will be the opportunity to further develop the skills they have already acquired

*A skills poster highlighting the key skills the children will practice on the day and a certificate

*A group photograph

*Free water from The Co-operative Food

Stoke City's Head of Community Adrian Hurst commented: "This is a fantastic initiative which gives schoolchildren the chance to gain football skills and get enjoyment out of playing the game at an impressionable age when they are developing interests.

"This is another example of the excellent support which we receive from our Principal Club Partner Britannia and presents us with the opportunity to build upon the interest among young people which has been generated by the Club's success in recent years.

"We have seen this in the large numbers who are signing up for our City 7s scheme and this Football Roadshow sits well alongside that in giving them this wonderful opportunity to develop their football skills and build a close link with the Football Club."

All primary schools in the council areas have been invited to take part in the initiative and the Roadshow expects to visit 150 schools between now and November.

Schoolchildren are presented with posters and certificates once they have taken part in the skills coaching session, while a group photograph will be sent to the parents of the participating children asking them for feedback about the project.