Football Day At School
Disabled footballers in Cornwall got the chance to hone their skills when Newquay Tretherras School opened their 3-G astro facility to players from Cornwall’s 4 special schools.
Resident Football Development Officer Tommy Matthews organised the afternoon in conjunction with the Cornwall FA who themselves have been very pro-active in promoting disability football in the county. Six clubs in Cornwall now have exit routes for players and a league is about to commence soon.
Twenty eight players enjoyed expert coaching from all of Cornwall’s team of FDOs and the players were put through their paces with dribbling, passing, and shooting the theme of the first half of the session. The second half consisted of a round robin tournament where four seven-a-side teams played each other and Tretherras provided a small team of eight sports leaders to help as “team managers”. At the end of an exhausting afternoon the players were all presented with certificates of participation and a medal for their efforts.
Cornwall’s County Development Manager Andy Mitchell said “The players really seemed to enjoy themselves and hopefully we may see a few of them progress into more regular football in the near future”. “It was an excellent opportunity for Newquay Tretherras to make its facility available”, said Richard Higginson, Head of PE “and we’d like to make this a more regular event at the school. “All the players had a fantastic time and the games at the end gave them the chance to play alongside students from other schools and they really entered into the spirit of the afternoon to make it a success”.