Participants at Levelling the Playing Field sessions run by Aptitude Youth, our local delivery partners in Coventry, are set to become leaders for the next generation. 

A regular cohort of six to 10 young people have been attending the LtPF Friday night football sessions run by coach Greg Smith at a local Power League venue since outdoor Covid restrictions were relaxed in early April. 

At this recent session, Greg did 3v3 training and matches with them, with the results revealing the levels of fitness have dropped a little since they returned from lockdown! 

Aptitude have supported the group to compete in a local five-a-side league for the last couple of years and, thanks to a grant from the Football Foundation, they will shortly be supported in advancing into the local adult leagues. 

Aptitude’s plan for the youngsters, who are all 17 or 18 years old, is to put them through their Sports Leaders qualification so they can offer peer training to the next group of children Aptitude can mould together to form another team. 

“We don’t want to lose this group. We cannot just say goodbye to them when they’re 18. We want to keep working with them,” says Aptitude Youth founder Tara Foster. “We want to train them up so they can help us to run sessions for younger people as well. 

“We also want to train them in youth work and bring them on as volunteers. That’s the longer-term plan with this group. 

“This gives them good direction in life and prevents them from getting involved in crime. It also keeps them active and gives them new skills on and off the pitch.” 

To find out more about Aptitude Youth, clock here.