From Dribbler to Creative Player

The Pars Foundation currently run football programmes for boys and girls of all abilities from 18 months right up to 16 years old.

Freddie Rowe (pictured above) who is 7 years old has been involved within the Pars Foundation setup since he was just18 months old, where he started out in our Dribblers programme. Our popular Dribblers programme is a parental participation class designed for children aged between 18 months and 3 years old. It aims to introduce basic football techniques, develop children’s motor skills such as balance and improve social skills like listening and communication.

At the age of 3 years Freddie moved onto The Foundation’s Mini Kickers programme, which is designed for pre-school children between 3 and 5 years of age. Parental participation is no longer required which gives the children a sense of independence as they further develop there football skills.

When Freddie began school he began attending our Soccer Stars programme which is aimed at boys in girls of all abilities who are in primary school. The key aim is to continue to allow children to have fun through participation in football whilst improving their technical skills.
However it was during one of our recent school holiday programmes that Freddie took another step up on The Pars Foundation pathway. Having impressed the coaches during the summer holiday programme, he was selected by coach Graeme Colmer to start attending the Creative Player programme on a Friday evening.

The Creative Player is an invite only programme designed for children showing promise within the community set-up who would benefit from extra coaching. These more advanced coaching sessions are delivered by SFA Licensed coaches who are also involved in pro-youth football. The sessions aim to improve on each player’s technically ability with a focus on 1v1 situations, passing & receiving the ball as well as starting each session with ball mastery work whilst finishing sessions with small sided games. Participants within the programme are given homework skills where they are encouraged to practice on certain skills each day.

Freddie’s mum Erin Vaughan said ‘Freddie has loved football from a very young age, since then Freddie has always had a ball at his feet’.

Kelly Armstrong, the Pars Foundation Community Manager highlighted the importance of a pathway with The Pars Foundation and Dunfermline Athletic community setup. ‘Children can enter the programme at just 18 months old and can still technically be part of the set-up at the age of 16 years’. Kelly continued ‘The programme and pathway cater for boys and girls of all abilities but also has in place a programme where children showing promise can develop, progress and potentially play at a higher level’

For more information on The Pars Foundation and their partnership with Dunfermline Athletic or for more about the programmes they run contact the team on email sales@theparsfoundation.org or alternatively call 01383 745901.