Finn Harps Coaches presented with disability football certs by Therese Laverty, Donegal Sports Partnership, Also pictured are John Campbell (Secretary Finn Harps FC) James Rodgers Head of Youth Deve
Football for All in Donegal
Aura Leisure Centre Letterkenny was the venue for the recent “Coaching Players with a Disability Award” facilitated by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).
Oisin Jordan National Coordinator of the FAI’s Football for All Programme delivered an excellent interactive session on the day which was well attended by coaches from the Finn Harps Schools Programme.
The workshop aimed to assist coaches in working with players with disabilities encouraging them to apply their existing coaching knowledge and skills when coaching players with disabilities.
Coaches on the day actively participated in both theory and practical sessions which focused on the inclusion of various types of disabilities.
The disability football workshop was the preliminary stage of a bigger plan. Donegal Sports Partnership and Finn Harps FC with the Support of the FAI will now join forces and establish a Football for All Programme in the New Year.
The programme aims to increase participation of children aged 6-12 years in football by providing an inclusive sporting environment where everyone is welcome irrespective of ability. Everybody regardless of their ability should have the opportunity to access football in their local club ensuring the FAI promotes an ethos of inclusion within the football community.
Speaking in advance of the launch of the “Football for All Programme” Thérèse Laverty, Sports Inclusion Disability Officer with Donegal Sports Partnership said: “This is huge development for disability sport in Donegal; it’s fantastic that Finn Harps FC have come on board with us and recognise the importance of providing inclusive coaching sessions for children of all abilities, I look forward to working with them on the initiative.”
Finn Harps head of Youth Development James Rogers speaking at the launch said: “We are delighted at Finn Harps to be part of this project which will increase the participation of people with disabilities in sport; we are also delighted to be working with Thérèse Laverty and Donegal Sports Partnership in this area.
“John Campbell has developed a schools programme that has over thirty schools and over five thousand children participating, with ten coaches also working on the programme. Now that all these Coaches are skilled and confident in the area of coaching people with disabilities it allows us the opportunity in conjunction with Donegal Sports Partnership to make substantial progress in this area.”
For further information on the Football for All Club in Donegal which is due to commence in January in Letterkenny, please do not hesitate to contact Donegal Sports Partnership on 074 (91) 16078/16079 or via email at sido@activedonegal.com .