Clyde F.C. intend to utilise their award from the SFP’s Community Initiative to build on an earlier project which the club had delivered to adults with severe and enduring mental health issues, as well as those with learning difficulties who have a love of football. This funding will allow the club to develop and hopefully sustain their “Get Onside” training programme which combines football with essential life skills. The project is delivered to around 32 adults over a seven week period and sees participants enjoy a 2½ hour session once a week, sometimes accompanied by their care workers who are also able to participate. Each session is essentially a “Game of Two Halves”, the first of which takes part in the classroom with discussions centred around a particular theme such as decision-making, team work, advocacy and self-directed support, better communication skills and good lifestyle choices. These sessions, which are facilitated by two partner organisations, Heartfelt and Ceartas, are designed to create a relaxed and fun atmosphere where individuals are encouraged to express themselves, talk openly as part of a class or in smaller groups on what steps could be taken to improve their lives – an important feature of each session is the use of humour and fun as a way of creating a safe and relaxed atmosphere where participants feel respected and are treated as individuals. The second half takes place on the football pitch with drills and fun activities and the football coach is also involved in class sessions to act as a link between the workshops and the football activities. The club hopes to use their previous experience to develop the course and become less reliant on professionals by involving previous participants and volunteers in the running of future sessions. Preparatory training courses and post training support would be provided. Gordon Thomson, Club Director and Trustee of the Clyde FC Community Foundation said “We believe that “Get Onside” is a start for the club, and not a finish. People can become active citizens, community leaders, peer mentors and sport coaches and we are extremely keen to work in partnership with the “Get Onside” trainers to develop these additional outcomes. The difference to the lives of the participants has been tangible, from a group of individuals who didn’t communicate to a team sharing banter, wearing a strip that united them and growing in confidence and resilience.”
DCMS to Invest £100m in Grassroots Sport
