The Leeds United Foundation recently invited Cath Hamill and Bridie Hannon along to a special educational workshop with young females participating in the Go-Ahead programme.
The workshop was delivered from Elland Road stadium and was focused around the topic of nutrition, giving the local youngsters the opportunity to hear from qualified coaches who also made each of them a healthy smoothie, take part in some fun games where they could showcase what they had discussed, and finally ask our Leeds United Women duo some questions around playing football competitively and what it takes to do that.
Chloe Greenwood, Women and Girls Officer at the Leeds United Foundation, said: “Go Ahead is a programme focused on engaging and empowering young women and females in secondary schools, mainly Year 10 and 11, as those are the ages that we established that there is a drop off in engagement and participation with them getting distracted by other things.
“Although we use the football element to engage the girls onto the programme initially, we also provide educational workshops and guest speakers to help with growing confidence and knowledge around various areas, such as nutrition, and also help them to get involved in different opportunities that can help with their development.”
Bridie Hannon added: “I think it is so useful to them, this element of education, it sounds cheesy to say but it really can be the difference between winning and losing. Preparation is so important for training and games, but it can also help with your sleeping, and your mental state as well as physically. The earlier you can start learning about these things, the better.”
Each school that gets involved in the Go-Ahead initiative receives a football activity programme that involves a one-hour session per week throughout the entire school year, along with the opportunity to take part in regular tournaments at West Riding County FA.
All young females participating in the programme also have the opportunity to be part of a community social action volunteering initiative, with the chance to learn about other elements of sport and attend referee and coaching courses, giving them the chance to then use their skills and support their local grassroots teams. This extra guidance will help the participants to increase their knowledge, experience, and overall enjoyment.
If you are interested in learning more about the initiative, or if you would like to register your interest for a local school, please email [email protected].
