Durham County FA have worked closely with young leaders who attended this event in 2008 and 2009 to develop a strong leadership and volunteering programme which all of our 2010 representatives have been a part of for the past 12 months.
Following our County Leadership in March 2010 which saw 60 young leaders aged 16-17 years descend on the County FA HQ for a day packed full of football workshops, a group of 5 were selected to represent us at the FA’s National Camp last week.
The young leaders were selected following their performances at the county camp, attendance at workshops as part of our young leaders programme and also on their commitment to volunteering in their local communities. We also had a late addition to the team in the form of newly selected BCS Ambassador Kirsty Lincoln from QE 6th Form College in Darlington.
Returning this year was Kieren Laverick who represented us at the FA Camp 2009 in Warwick. Following the 2009 event, Kieren was selected by the FA along with 8 other leaders from across the Country to form the Management Team who were responsible for planning and delivering the 2010 event. Since January Kieren had been travelling to Wembley on a monthly basis to meet up with FA staff and his colleagues to put the week together.
The young leaders who represented Durham County FA at this years FA Camp were:
Kieren Laverick – FA Management Team (St Josephs 6th Form College)
Jaz Bradley (Hartlepool FE College)
Liam Clark (Hartlepool FE College)
Hannah Marshall (QE 6th Form College – BCS National Ambassador 2009)
Kirsty Lincoln (QE 6th Form College – BCS National Ambassador 2010)
Adam Herczeg (Emmanuel College)
Dale Cuthbertson (Farringdon Community Sports College)
The week long camp included a variety of workshops including 5-11 Year Old Coaching, Refereeing, Disability Football, Futsal, Media Training, Psychology, Goalkeeping, Dealing with Pitchside Injuries, Equality, Creating a Positive Coaching Environment and a careers afternoon. That was just the daytime……
Every evening they took part in regional reflection sessions where they joined all the other young leaders from the NE and Yorkshire who were representing the other County FA’s in our region and reflected on their sessions; discussing positives and negatives, their own strengths and weaknesses and setting goals. Following that was the evening activity programme where they took part in different teambuilding activities each night, culminating in the fancy dress disco which they all took very seriously…..congratulations to Hannah Marshall on her award for the best fancy dress costume….a clown!!
This event is a huge experience for all the young leaders who are lucky enough to be selected and each one returns having learnt new skills, experiences and with a large group of new friends. We spoke to a couple of our leaders to find out what they thought of the week:
Adam Herczeg – Age 16
I first became involved in volunteering at my local club Gateshead Redheugh FC where I help with the U9 and U13 squads. It was a great privilege to be selected to represent Durham FA at the camp this year especially as there were so many entries from other leaders in our county. I learnt so much last week and it really exceeded all of my expectations. It was a week I will never forget and I cant wait to start working on this years programme with Durham FA so we can make sure next years leaders have as much fun as we have had over the past year.
Hannah Marshall – Age 17
Last June I was selected by the FA and BCS to become one of 10 National Ambassadors across the country with the aim of raising the awareness of volunteering in sport and I have been given some great opportunities as part of this role. One of these was being selected to attend the 2010 camp with other BCS Ambassadors and the other leaders from my county. The week was amazing, I have learnt so much and met so many fantastic people. It was the best week of my life so far and I didn’t want to come home! I feel so inspired by all the tutors and other leaders and just want to get started on our county programme right away.
Kieren Laverick – Age 18
I represented Durham FA at the 2009 FA Camp and had the best week ever so I couldn’t wait to go back this year! I was really surprised when I was chosen for the management team and its been a great experience travelling to Wembley and working with the rest of the team. We finally got to put it into practise and although it was a very hard week and speaking in the opening ceremony was nerve-wracking it went really well and im so proud of what we have all achieved. This years camp gave me the chance to see things from a different perspective as I was no longer there as a young leader, I was helping run it! We just wanted to make sure all of the leaders and staff had as much fun and learnt as much as we did last year and it was a great week.
Tina Reed (Football Development Officer – Education) coordinates Durham County FA’s Leadership and Volunteering Programme and has worked with these leaders over the past 12 months.
“ Last year was my first camp and I had a great week, meeting new staff and leaders from across the Country and I was lucky enough to return this year with another great group of leaders. The camp is something they can’t experience on a County level and they benefit so much from it. They learn so many new skills and a lot about themselves as well. One of the most noticeable changes is seeing how much confidence they have gained when they leave on the Friday. This year one of the proudest moments for me was seeing how far Kieren has come along in a year, something I hadn’t noticed as much over the year until we got down there and witnessed him presenting to 100 young leaders. It just goes to show that you don’t have to be the loudest or most outspoken person to be a great leader. Kieren was one of our quieter young leaders last year and although always confident speaking in groups and in front of others has progressed massively which is going to be a great help to us this year with our new leaders. This is something I must thank the FA staff who have worked with him on the Management Team for and we will continue to challenge him and help him develop within the County this year. “
“Getting the chance to spend a week with your leaders and watch them grow in confidence in their sessions and around other people is something I feel has had a huge impact on our programme as it allows me to really get to know them and I can relate to their experiences at camp which is what they draw on when they return to work with us on our County programme. I am extremely proud of the way they represented us last week, they are a credit to their clubs and colleges and the County FA.”
Now camp is over the young leaders play important roles in the delivery of our programme to new leaders this year. The new schedule of young leader workshops will be available within the next week and will be advertised on the website so we look forward to you all getting involved.
Anyone interested in being involved in Durham County FA’s Leadership & Volunteering Programme please contact Tina Reed on 0191 387 2938 or tina.reed@durhamfa.com