Jan 31st – What Is Sport For All – School Development Programme

Watergrasshill United in conjunction with the FAI, Cork City FC and Cork FAS/FAI Soccer Academy have launched this pilot scheme in November 2010, which was unique to Munster, initially within Watergrasshill National School. We offered this scheme also to the National Schools in Glenville, Bartlemy and Rathcormac but for various different reasons these schools opted not to include same in their weekly curriculum.
We have run this scheme voluntary & free of charge weekly, presently each Friday, within the school between the hours 1pm-3pm initially with 1st & 2nd Classes and now for 3rd & 4th year classes. There is always a minimum of 2 Club members in attendance each Friday. These individuals give up their own personal time to ensure this program proceeds weekly.

Coaching sessions are completed by personnel from Watergrasshill United which ensures some familiarity & commitment with the children involved, some of whom are members of the Club.

This scheme is designed to deliver semesters of fun, skills and games for boys & girls of all levels of ability, in a non competitive environment and to encourage everyone to stay active & healthy.
We hope that by focusing on participants needs & performances will encourage all to achieve & demonstrate enjoyment, equality and fair play in sport.

Objectives:
Engage children in sport through a positive and fun experience.
Help kids develop a love of sport that inspires them to join a local sporting club.
Create simple but powerful connections between soccer and vital life skills.
Construct a solid foundation for healthy lifestyle habits.

Since the inception of our SPORT FOR ALL – SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME there is a considerable increase in interest in our Club with new members from all ages joining that have not been part of any sporting organisation. There is no doubt that this has arisen as a result of the “positive & fun” attitude of our coaches.
We have seen at our weekly training sessions that sport brings out the confidence in younger children. Sport will help childrenachieve physical fitness goals and reap the benefits of an active lifestyle. It also helps you build characteristics and abilities that carry over into other aspects of your life. Whether you play team or individual sports, lessons learned on the field and court can serve you well for years to come.