Focus group at the Bunker: players and coaches wanted, £25 and pizza
By Jim Ruddick
Power Up to Play are designing a free course to cut knee injuries in youth football, and they want our players and coaches to shape it before it is finished. Sunday 4 October, 6.00 to 7.30pm, in the Bunker. A £25 voucher and pizza for everyone who comes. They need ten players and so far two have signed up.
They need ten players and so far two have signed up, so this is a real ask.
Power Up to Play are building a free online course that teaches young footballers and coaches how to cut the risk of knee injuries, using a warm-up programme with proper evidence behind it. Before they finish it they want to hear from the people who would actually use it, and they are holding the session at the Bunker especially for us.
Sunday 4 October, 6.00 to 7.30pm, the Bunker at Five Mile Drive.
Who they need
- Players aged 15 to 18. They are looking for 10 to 12.
- Grassroots youth coaches. They are looking for 3 to 4.
What you get
A £25 voucher each, and pizza on the night.
What is involved
You will go through the course with the Power Up to Play team and tell them what works. Is the language clear? Are there enough videos? Would it keep a young player interested, or lose them? Is it too much, or not enough? What would make a coach actually use it? There is a second, shorter session later in October to look at the finished draft, about an hour and a half.
This is not testing something adults have already settled on. ACL injuries end seasons and sometimes careers, and they are far more common in girls. What our players say in that room changes what the programme looks like and whether young players will want to use it at all.
To take part, email info@poweruptoplay.org.
Parents of players in that age group, please show them the poster and give them a nudge. It is one evening, there is free money and free pizza in it, and it is a genuine say in something that could help a lot of young footballers well beyond Summertown.
The course is being developed by Power Up to Play in partnership with Oxfordshire FA, funded by a grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and administered by Oxford City Council. Once it is finished it will be free to youth football players and coaches across Oxfordshire.