Liam Cooper was on hand at the Leeds United Foundation Skills Centre programme on Thursday evening to spend time with youngsters developing their football skills.

The Leeds United captain took time out to visit one of the sessions, taking place on the outdoor pitches at West Riding FA, which was part of a 10-week course named after the defender and specifically linked to children learning about the role of a defender and developing their individual skills.

The Scotland international held a Q and A session for all of the young people in attendance and then spent time playing football and offering advice and encouragement with the various age groups before posing for photos and signing autographs.

Speaking during the visit, Cooper said: “I’ve loved coming down tonight and meeting all of the kids that have been taking part in this football course with the Foundation, they were all so enthusiastic and it was brilliant to see and hear about everything they’ve been learning.

“Hopefully I was able to offer some useful advice to them and if me coming down tonight and just spending some time with them has helped to encourage the kids to continue further with their development then that’s great.”

The next Skills Centre course is now available to be booked on to and is titled ‘Play like... Jamie Shackleton’ with sessions linked to the art of being a midfielder and a real focus on ball control, movement, distribution, passing and receiving.

The initiative is suitable for players aged from 5 to 12 years and there will be a special appearance from the young Academy star during one of the training sessions as part of the course.

All of the coaches from the club's official charity are FA qualified and DBS checked and they encourage every child taking part to learn new skills, be creative, increase confidence levels, work hard, respect each other and most importantly have fun.

The sessions will take place on Friday evenings from 6pm to 7pm at the De Lacy Academy. If you would like to book your child onto the programme, please click here.

Alternatively, you can call 0113 367 6307 for more information on the Skills Centres.