Year 11 Learner – A Born Leader
Year 11 learner William James decided to set up a football team after gaining confidence in his own abilities. The idea originally started when William helped and supported just one individual learner with his football skills and techniques. William’s aim was to expand this to a complete team and in 2016 the team was established and named the “B Ballers”. The name derived from B being the letter of the block in school that caters for many of our learners that need that extra support.
With the support of both Mr Owens and Mr Simpson they set up regular training sessions and the team started to develop. With the skills and knowledge from these two members of staff the team became a regular talking point in and out of school. Miss Long was welcomed on board who brought her fitness and organisational skills to the setup. At this stage it was decided to change the team name to the “Challengers” as we wanted our rivals to know we meant business.
The first game as a team was against Pencoed where CCYD Challengers triumphed winning 3-2. William couldn’t help thinking we lacked in some areas and still had room for improvement so he enlisted the skills of head skills coach Mr Pigott. To encourage fellow learners to the training sessions William told them they would have fun, be in a safe environment where they could develop not only their football skills but also their social skills, many learners are quiet and lack the confidence to engage in team sports so this was a fantastic opportunity to develop with like minded people.
The first game as a team was against Pencoed where CCYD Challengers triumphed winning 3-2. William couldn’t help thinking we lacked in some areas and still had room for improvement so he enlisted the skills of head skills coach Mr Pigott. To encourage fellow learners to the training sessions William told them they would have fun, be in a safe environment where they could develop not only their football skills but also their social skills, many learners are quiet and lack the confidence to engage in team sports so this was a fantastic opportunity to develop with like minded people.
The learners also develop transferrable skills such as listening, reading, resilience and answering questions when they discuss information and tactics on the team training board.
The members of the team have also bonded as a group, they talk about and discuss training, strategies and upcoming games and can be often be seen at break and lunch times as a group. Williams proudest moment came when they were presented with their our own team kit, he said “it makes us feel part of the school and we feel professional turning up to training and games, thank you”.
