Steve makes football fun for the kids
9:46am Friday 12th November 2010 in Sport
A FORMER professional footballer has set up an academy where local kids are offered coaching with a difference.
Steve Veitch, who came through the ranks at Preston North End but was forced to quit the game at 20 because of a serious knee problem, has dressed as a pirate and a sumo wrestler to inject a fun element into the coaching sessions he and his three coaches provide four to seven-year-olds at the Shoot Football Academy inWesthoughton.
“It’s gone down well with the kids and the parents love it,” said the 36-year-old who decided to start his own academy after being disappointed by the coaching his 10-year-old son, Ben, was receiving at courses run on behalf of professional clubs.
“Ben was really good when he was four, but for two years he had nowhere to go – no one would take him until he was six.
“Then, when we did find somewhere, they wanted a fortune – £5 a sesson and money up front for a full course.
“That, on top of me being disillusioned by the type of coaching he was getting when he went to the professional academies motivated me to start one of my own.
“Being an ex-pro I’ve watched these guys coaching and it can be dull. When I was at Preston where Sam Allardyce and Sammy McIlroy were at the end of their careers and Roy Tunks was the coach, it was full-on. That’s what gave me my passion for the game – and that’s why I try to do something a bit different.
“Kids can come to our academy and pay £3, they get good coaching and they are encouraged to have fun.
“Children’s enjoyment, learning, and the fun they have at every one of our sessions is vital to our success.”
Children are charged £3 a session at the Shoot academy, which is based at Eatock Primary School in Daisy Hill in the summer months (March to September) and indoors at Westhoughton Leisure Centre (October to February), has grown in popularity since it was launched in June.
With around 70 youngsters on the books, they have gone from two separate onehour sessions on Saturday mornings to three, and there are plans for expansion into Horwich and Atherton and an academy for 11 to 16-year-olds.
For more details of the Shoot Football Academy visit www.shootfootballacademy.com or call Steve Veitch on 07949 776353.
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