Story added: 26th September 2022

“PL Kicks has been a great asset to his confidence”

Nine year-old Charlie started attending Premier League Kicks sessions back in September 2021, after his friends convinced him to try it out.

Charlie was initially quite shy and was often hesitant to join in with the sessions, isolating himself from the group. This was picked up on by our coaching staff and swift action was taken.

Discussions with both Charlie and his parents confirmed that he was anxious of mixing with people of an older age, so he was placed into a group that was more age appropriate.

Since making that move Charlie has come out of his shell, becoming one of the more vocal participants. He’s always very pleasant to everyone, respectful and thankful towards the delivery staff, and generally encompasses what the programme is all about.

Charlie’s mum believes that the Kicks sessions had come at the perfect time, as Charlie wasn’t socialising much with his peers and was suffering from a lack of confidence, both inside and outside of the classroom:

“Kicks has really helped Charlie form new friendships and start enjoying his Football again. Jason has also been crucial to keeping him coming each week.”

His newfound confidence has been coupled with an improvement in his technical abilities, with PL Kicks Officer, Jason Dobson saying, “he’s developed into a keen and talented footballer since he joined”.

“He’s also not shy to put forward his own ideas for the programme which is nice to see.”

The Foundation’s PL Kicks Manager, Rupert, also commented on Charlie’s behaviour and attitude:

“He always arrives with a smile on his face now and is excited to show us his new kit that he gets to wear during our sessions.”

As a reward for his progression on the programme, the Foundation wanted to positively reinforce this behaviour by offering him and his mum two tickets to a Norwich City match.

Now, Charlie is the one telling his friends about the PL Kicks programme and getting them to attend the sessions with him.