Easington Colliery to represent Sunderland AFC on the road to Wembley

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Easington Colliery Primary School are one step closer to Wembley Stadium after winning the Sunderland AFC club final of the EFL Kids Cup.

The youngsters lifted the trophy after overcoming Toner Avenue in the final of the Foundation of Light hosted six-a-side tournament yesterday (Wednesday 17th January) which saw over 30 primary school teams battle it out at Silksworth Sports Complex for the chance to represent the Black Cats.

Easington Colliery will now travel to Leeds United’s Elland Road in March where they will face under 11 sides from the other northern-based Championship clubs in the regional qualifiers with the victors earning the chance face the winners of the southern section at Wembley in front of thousands of fans before the EFL SkyBet Play-Off Final in May.

“We’re buzzing after winning the tournament and looking forward to a really good trip to Leeds United,” said the team. “We’re very excited. Leeds are a big Championship club and it will be good to play there [at Elland Road].

“We’re confident and we think we’ve got a good chance of getting to Wembley.”

The EFL Kids Cup is supported by the EFL Trust and involves thousands of schoolchildren each year making it one of the country’s largest national football competitions.

The SAFC club final was organised by Foundation of Light as part of the charity’s school sports provision which is delivered in hundreds of schools and academies across the North East, improving access and participation to football and sport.

Helen Byrne, the Foundation’s Premier League Primary Stars Events Coordinator, added: “Today’s tournament has been a great opportunity for the kids to take part, especially for the winning team to go on and play at an amazing ground like Elland Road.

“The main aim today was to get as many kids as possible playing. We had over 240 youngsters from over 30 schools which was fantastic to see.

“It’s good to bring schools from Sunderland, South Tyneside, Washington and County Durham together and to give them opportunities to take part in a competition of this magnitude.

“We have numerous tournaments running throughout the year aimed at different age groups for boys and girls so there are plenty of chances to take part in different sports.”

For more information about Foundation of Light’s school sports, health and education programmes and how they can enhance your curriculum and inspire learning, email aaron.croft@foundationoflight.co.uk or call 0191 5515318.

USW graduate sets his sight on America

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University of South Wales graduate Jake Mullinder believes studying the Community Football Coaching and Development Foundation Degree was the best decision he ever made, as he looks forward to advancing his coaching experience in America.

After nervously awaiting his A-Level results in 2014, Jake had no idea what to do next.

It wasn’t until he found the USW Foundation degree at Shrewsbury Town in the Community that his career aspirations flourished.

He commented: “After just 12 months on the USW course I went from doing P.E at sixth-form to delivering a soccer school to young children with Shrewsbury Town in the Community.

“From there, I got the opportunity to work on a variety of programmes from disability, to futsal, being a team leader on NCS and working at the advanced development centre.’’

Whilst studying for his degree, Jake also worked as Lead Community Coach at Shrewsbury Town in the Community and at The New Saints Ladies Football Club as a Goalkeeper Coach.

He hopes that all of this experience, alongside his degree, will help him one day achieve his dream of becoming a coach at an elite level.

He continued: “Working on a number of different programmes has really helped me to develop my confidence and allowed me to form a well-rounded and extensive knowledge of community sports.

“I have developed a huge passion for coaching and my desire is to one day work at the top level in the profession.

“I’d recommend the course to anyone looking at getting into sport, it was the best decision I ever made. A lot of people going to University have to wait until the final year of their course to get work experience, but at USW I managed to have 3 whole years of it.’’

After graduating last year, Jake became Shrewsbury Town in the Community’s Health and Inclusion co-ordinator.

In this role, Jake has overseen a number of programmes and has been involved in inspiring, educating and engaging people from a number of different backgrounds and abilities.

“I’ve been working at Shrewsbury Town in the Community now for three years, it has been a brilliant pathway for me and it’s fantastic to have been involved with the set up and seeing how the community sector has grown over the years.

“For me personally, working in the disability sector is the most fulfilling area, seeing kids having the opportunity to play football when they normally wouldn’t is a very rewarding position to have.’’

Looking forward, Jake sets his sight on bolstering his CV even further by gaining international coaching knowledge in America.

He added: “I’ll be involved in coaching a team over in America and working with goalkeepers of different ages. It’s really exciting and I’m looking forward to trying it and seeing where it will take me.’’

To find out more about the Community Football Coaching and Development Foundation Degree at USW visit: http://www.southwales.ac.uk/courses/foundation-degree-community-football-coaching-and-development/