Manager runs fun Facebook sessions
A SUFFOLK manager has started running Saturday morning children’s ‘fitness fun with a football’ sessions live on Facebook.
Michael Brothers, who is manager of Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division side Brantham Athletic, also coaches the club’s Under-9s side.
He said he wanted to do something for the 15 players in the squad, who play as two teams in the Suffolk Youth Football League, to help with both their fitness and mental wellbeing.
Brothers, who works as a school teacher in Clacton, said: “I am already doing some sessions remotely for school, so I decided I wanted to do something for the boys in my team.
“I came up with a few challenges in the last lockdown to keep them ticking over, but I thought about what I could do that would help them with their fitness and mental wellbeing.
“I decided to run a session from my garden live on Facebook, which meant that anyone could log on and join in.
“The session was based on ball manipulation and keeping control of the ball in a confined space of 2 metres by 2 metres, as not everyone has a garden.
“I used a garden LED lamp as a defender, so basically you can use any piece of equipment.
“I had a few technical issues, which meant I had to transfer from my ipad to my iphone, but I had a couple of senior players join in the session, doing the skills with a tennis ball.
“The first session lasted for 35-40 minutes, but I plan to keep going for up to an hour.”
Brothers, who lives in Basildon, will be back out in his garden running more sessions on Saturday mornings during lockdown.
The sessions start at 10am on Saturdays and can be accessed via the Brantham Athletic FC Facebook page.
Meanwhile, Brantham Athletic FC have so far raised £390 towards their target of £500 for CALM – the Campaign Against Living Miserably, the charity that provide campaigns to help prevent suicide in the UK.
The club’s adult and Youth sections as well as parents have come together to run, walk and cycle around professional football clubs across the UK and in Europe during the month of February.
They have so far travelled a total of 341 miles from their ground at Brantham Leisure Centre (pictured above) to Sheffield United FC and then to Norwich City FC and are now heading across the channel to Holland.
Anyone wishing to donate can do so via the link below:
