Browse Sections

• Salford City Reds
• Local football
• Local cricket

Community link lends a helping hand

19/ 7/2001

ELEVEN football fans from Salford have netted a screamer in the management stakes thanks to the Eddie Colman Community Link Project.

The budding Bill Shanklys are the latest to benefit from an initiative, organised by Nacro (National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders), which provides training to become FA-accredited coaches.

Stewart Hamer, Nacro's football project co-ordinator, said: "Running a junior football team can be very rewarding once you get into it and it is not the daunting task it first seems.

"Like a lot of other things, it can be the very first step which is the hardest and this is where the Eddie Colman Football Community Link Project has helped so many people of the past eight years."

Eight of the 11 have already been involved in junior football but wanted to extend their knowledge, while the remaining three are teenagers who want to put something back into the game they love straight away.

One of the participants, Paul Carr of Salford City Juniors FC was keen to spell-out the benefits of the course.

He said: "The FA course was just what I needed and training sessions from now on are going to be quite different because of what I learned. I now want to go on some of the other courses that are available.

"When I met Stewart last December I was desperate for some help and ideas on how to run a team as I had a group of youngsters who were keen to play football."

Paul's example is exactly the kind that Stewart is looking for. "All you have to do is pick up the phone and I will give all the guidance in order to set up a team," he explained.

"The project can help with the cost of training sessions, equipment and payment of pitch fees."

For further details contact Stewart on 793 4705 or 07775 591 778.