AFC Fylde Community Foundation are one of nine Football Club Community Organisations (CCOs) across Lancashire who deliver the Champions project - in partnership with Lancashire Violence Reduction Network.
Champions is an innovate intervention programme supporting young people aged 10-25 with experience or at risk of offending behaviours. The programme is non-judgemental and confidential. Participation is voluntary.
One of our participants, Remell, recently represented AFC Fylde Community Foundation in a Champions football tournament hosted by Accrington Stanley Football Club. This was a step of huge progression for Remell after a period of successful one-to-one meetings with our Foundation staff.
He was referred to our Champions programme via a Family Support Worker from the Children & Family Wellbeing Service at Lancashire County Council.
This was primarily down to an incident locally involving a group of young people - he was initially deemed as tough to engage with and wasn't keen on participating in this voluntary project.
Scott Harries, our Community Development Co-ordinator, has worked on a one-to-one basis with Remell for a few months, starting off with a few 'walk and talks' which the participant responded well too and began to come more out of his shell.
Remell made it clear he had a very keen interest in football, so Scott decided to move their weekly meetings to Fylde Sports and Education Centre with the intention of teaching him new skills, keeping him physically active and improving his mental health.
A topic of their meetings was educational discussions, such as positive choices and healthy relationships. Remell has made significant progression in both of these areas, the most important being that he has cut out the negative influences in his life and he is already seeing the huge difference it makes.
All of this led to him making the leap into joining a six-a-side team in which he knew none of his teammates as he represented the Foundation at a football tournament in Accrington.
Remell did brilliantly, as he helped guide his team to the final of the competition and even scored a hat trick and made new friends throughout the day.
His attendance continued throughout the summer holidays as the pair of them attended Adventure Golf at Ribby Hall, further demonstrating how far he has come throughout his time on the project and a well deserved reward for the young lad.
Scott, who helps oversee our Champions project, said: "It's been an absolute pleasure working with Remell over these last six months.
"There is a noticeable transformation in his behaviour and that is all down to Remell himself. He had the willingness to get involved, which isn't compulsory by any means, it is always a voluntary exercise.
"Remell is a brilliant example of what we are trying to achieve with our Champions project and I hope he continues to be the best version of himself."
If you believe yourself or you know someone who could benefit from our Champions programme, please contact our Champions Project Co-ordinator, Daisy Sheridan, daisy.sheridan@afcfylde.co.uk.
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