Two Abbeymead teenagers and Brockworth Enterprise School students have won a prestigious national award for their coaching and managing of a local youth team. Ross Langworthy, 13, who is currently at the Aston Villa Academy and Daniel Gittings, 14, who currently plays for Gloucester City and was previously at Cheltenham Town were successfully nominated for the Princess Diana Memorial Award for service to their community.
Both have younger brothers in the current U9 age group at Abbeymead Rovers and both have helped with the coaching for many years, since the age group were U6. Eighteen months ago we had four teams in this age group - that is fourty players - and a number of Dads who coach. Naturally the Dads want to coach the team that their son plays in. One week, several new players turned up to training - a number had been turned away from other clubs who were too full and some had responded to a general club advert for new players. We did not have the capacity to keep them and none of the parents could commit themselves to help every week. The two lads stepped in and volunteered to run the team. I think some of the parents were a little unsure to start with but the lads soon won them over. One parent is a level 1 FA qualified coach who runs an older team - he is there every week as back up for the boys but he lets them get on with it. The parents were won over by the quality of the training sessions the boys were planning and running - they used their experience of their own coaching at professional club level to put together an excellent programme for the new boys, most of whom had never played before.
As the previous season ended more players joined; the team was entered into some tournaments and a decision was made to enter the team into the Cheltenham and Gloucester League at U9 this season. The team have improved throughout the season - they have unfortunately not won a game and have drawn just once. However, they are all enjoying their football and learning all the time. "The main thing to remember is that these lads would probably not be playing football at all if it were not for Ross and Danny stepping in to run this team". We would all love to see them get a win before the end of the season - they have got close several times, but winning is not the most important thing here - I know it is a bit of a cliché, but taking part, enjoyment and learning are all far more important outcomes. As Ross and Danny play their football at such a high level, they have had to be very patient - "this is good for their own understanding of the game and their own personal development".
Both have won a school award for their voluntary work - at Brockworth Enterprise School, the Broc Award is given annually to a student who gives their time to help other people - Danny won the award as a Year 7 student 3 years ago and Ross, again as a Year 7 student last year. They plan their training sessions thoroughly and organise the team well, including phoning around the parents each week. They were nominated by Dave Pritchitt, the qualified coach who supports them each week and the nomination was supported by the parents and the school which had to write a supporting statement. "We are all very proud of the work the boys do ? as a parent I was delighted when the school recognised their achievements but this award is something else".
Both Ross and Danny intend to keep running the team next year - their training commitments sometimes make it difficult but they fully intend to carry on and help the players to continue to improve and enjoy the beautiful game.
