Young football fans in the Northumberland village of Lynemouth have been rewarded for their love of the beautiful game during a special celebration event.
The children have been attending a twice weekly soccer school supported by local housing provider Isos, and it was their commitment to the programme that earned each of them a trophy during the soccer school’s annual presentation evening.
Isos, a not-for-profit housing association, is the dominant landlord in Lynemouth and it has ploughed over £10,400 into the soccer school this year to help provide this much-needed activity for local children.
The hour-long sessions cater for four to 16-year-olds and are led by coach Doug Thoburn in partnership with Sportszone North-East.
Based at the William Leech Campus in the village, the sessions run on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings and have proved very popular, attracting over 20 children per session.
As well as improving their football skills, the youngsters get the chance to take part in internal competitions and play matches, while the soccer school also promotes team working, the importance of commitment and physical activity, and social inclusion.
Isos Community Involvement officer Lindsey Porter said: “The children have a lot of respect for Doug and we’ve had some great feedback from the local community about the positive impact the soccer school has had in Lynemouth.”