The Sprout went down to the Cardiff City football grounds to meet some of the people getting involved with the Prince’s Trust’s Getting Started In Sport programme.
We arrived at Cardiff City’s multi sport training college, the House of Sport- a seriously impressive building. We were welcomed by Paul, Dai and the rest of the Prince’s Trust team, who are really friendly and got right down to it straight away.
A quick round of team building games were followed by a very brief de-briefing about the week ahead. And what a week the team have planned for the young people lucky enough to be on the course!
- Monday follows Cardiff City’s first Premiere League game of the new season (against Newcastle this Saturday). You’ll get your kit and have a good kickabout.
- Tuesday there’ll be a short course on nutrition followed by a trip to CARDIFF INTERNATIONAL WHITE WATER CENTRE to go PADDLEBOARDING! Did I mention this is for free???
- Wednesday it’s tennis training with a pro coach, followed by more footy.
- Thursday morning it’s time to give coaching a go yourself, by teaching others in the class something you’ve learned about football. Then in the afternoon everyone’s back on the minibus to play foot golf at Heath Park.
- Friday will come around all too soon, where there’ll be a game of futsal and feedback on the week. There’ll be a celebration where some guests from the Prince’s Trust and Cardiff City will be around, as well as any guests the young people on the course would like to invite!
That sounds all in all like an incredible week. When else would you have a chance to try out all those activities?
The course is based in a classroom, but very little time will be spent in it- the bulk of your time will be spent doing practical and sporting activities.
All equipment is provided, though you can bring your own if you want! All public transport costs are reimbursed and there will be a £15 voucher provided to each person towards the week’s lunches.
For those who really enjoy the week-long course and decide it is for them, there is an opportunity to join the Cardiff City Foundation on a foundation degree level course for six months or a year.
Even if you’re not sure that coaching is the career for you, why not apply for the course? There are five places left for any interested 16-25 year olds looking for their next step. When we were there today we could see that the course has a good mix of ages, abilities, and genders, so you won’t feel like the odd one out.
Get in touch with Paul from the Trust – phone or text- on 07717488539.