DEFENDER ON HAND AT PLPS SESSION

DEFENDER ON HAND AT PLPS SESSION

First-team player offers tips on defending to young students.

Conor Shaughnessy paid a visit to Thorner Primary School recently to take part in one of their Premier League Primary Stars (PLPS) sessions.

The outdoor lesson, which was delivered with the support of a coach from the Leeds United Foundation, was based around the art of defending with the pupils taking part in small games and regularly taking breaks to discuss tactics and talk about their ideas around how to defend as a small team.

Pupils were also able to speak to the Republic of Ireland Under-21 star one-one-one to gain tips on how they could improve their skills with the defender able to utilise his own knowledge and experience on the subject.

Conor spoke to LUTV during the visit and said: "It's been great coming along today and seeing the kids working on their teamwork and how they can defend in small teams, it took me back to when I was at school.

"I've just tried to pass on a bit of knowledge from what I've learnt over the years playing football and hopefully some of them have been able to take something away from what I've said to them."

Year 4 teacher at Thorner Primary School Mr Mcvitie, added: "The students have loved having Conor here today and it's been great for him to share some of what he does when he's on the pitch.

"It's been great personally for me having the support of the Leeds United Foundation, especially today I could really see how much the children were getting from the lesson - it was fantastic to see how some of the children had taken the information given to them by Conor and Matt and actually used it when they rejoined the game."

PLPS is a programme that was launched by the Premier League to use the appeal of  professional football clubs to inspire children to learn, be active and develop important life skills. The learning is connected to the real world of sport to engage students when tackling challenging topics such as resilience, diversity, self-esteem and fair-play.

Staff from the club's official charity work alongside teachers in local schools throughout Leeds to help them deliver fun, engaging and educational sessions in a range of subjects.

For more information on the programme please contact Mathew.Everett@leedsunited.com.

 

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