Lots of Energy & Fun Mini Ash Towners Launches!

On Monday 6th October, we launched the first session of Mini Ash Towners for local 4 and 5 year olds.

What a FANTASTIC time we had!

The sessions, fully funded by Ashington Town Council, are being held weekly at the PlayZone in the Hirst Park. The children enjoyed some gross motor skills games such as tag, hula hoop racing, copy and match, moving like different animals - as well as some dribbling practice and a penalty shoot out!

Sports has so many benefits for children including both physical and mental health impact. It has been proven that children who engage in sports while young are more likely to continue with a love of sports in the future.

Sadly, fewer children and young people are accessing sports such as football in the local areas. This could be linked to the available opportunities or the increasing temptation of using technology as a substitute - but nothing beats the thrill of being outdoors in the fresh air and meeting other people.

At Ashington Town FC, we believe in promoting a love of the sport, celebrating the wins, learning from the losses, having fun and supporting children to feel proud of the role they play in their team.

This generous funding means we can offer free weekly sessions, from skilled and experienced coaches. We offer varied games and activities to spark that early interest in sports. It was lovely to watch the children making new friends in the first session, some starting off quite shy and growing into confident players by the end. They helped each other when there were little bumps or when there was a stray football.

Feedback from parents has been amazing so far, including one parent expressing thanks for the patience of the coaches. We will continue to gather regular feedback from the parents and children with a 'Tap the smiley' at the end of each session too, offering children the chance to share how they felt the session went in an age-appropriate format.

We are very grateful to the team from Hirst Park for allowing us to hire the space, popping down to make sure we have everything we need and sharing the new venture.

We look forward to seeing the children this week - come rain or shine.