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ENJOY A KICKAROUND AT NEW JUST PLAY CENTRES
| Author: Chris Evans | Published: 17th January 2012 17:51 |
ENJOY A KICKAROUND AT NEW JUST PLAY CENTRES
If the pressure of playing in front of 60,000 spectators isn't your thing, and you'd prefer a kickabout in an "informal and friendly environment," then the brand new Mars Just Play Centres for men and women in Grays and Stanford-le-Hope could be your path into, or back into, the Beautiful Game on Mondays and Thursdays.
Males over 16 years of age, with no upper age limit, are welcome to attend at William Edwards School & Sports College in Stifford Clays Road, Grays, and enjoy the small-sided football sessions on the Astroturf surface every Monday from 6:00 to 8:00pm. Equipment is provided and the qualified FA staff who organise the sessions are able to flag-up the options available to link into local clubs or progress, depending on needs or requirements.
The flexible ‘turn-up and play' nature of the Centres mean individuals can either start at 6:00 or 7:00 and can attend for either one hour or two hours, with the cost as low as £2 for one hour or £3 for two. Newcomers can come and have a kickaround before or after work or former players can get their boots back on in a non-pressurised setting.
Meanwhile, the sports hall at St Clere's School in Butts Lane, Stanford-le-Hope, will play host to females aged 16 or over on Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:00pm at a cost of only £2 per session, starting on 9th February. There's no previous experience of football required - the qualified female coach will just ask participants to give it a try and ‘get fit through football'.
Again, the Centre is within casual and welcoming surroundings where participants can decide the content and how they want to progress. Further opportunities to join local clubs and teams are available - only if desired - as well as more information on the ever-popular Female Sevens League which takes place in Essex's London Boroughs each month.
The partnership between the UK's best-selling chocolate bar and The FA aims to arrest the decline in participation by getting 150,000 new players enjoying football for at least 30 minutes a week by September 2013, delivering 3.9 million hours of extra football each year. Research has revealed that the number of people playing regular adult football is dropping due to a lack of facilities, increased apathy, inflexible options and logistical difficulties.
Over 100 centres are located across England to deliver sessions that can benefit up to 50 participants at any one time. Local kickabouts take place under the guidance of GetIntoFootball Thurrock Officer Faye Lambert, who explained: "We chose Mondays and Thursdays for special reasons. Monday is a day notorious for being the start of new weekly resolutions and, in a new year, there are many people looking to get fit and improve their health."
"The Monday session is flexible - participants may wish to come straight from work, or get home from work and come out to take part. On Thursdays there isn't a great deal of football on TV. Thursday at St Clere's will be running alongside the GetIntoFootball Thurrock Business and Veterans Leagues... making St Clere's the place to be!"
Faye believes it's important for the female centre to have a female coach, adding: "I'd like it to attract new players of all ages and quite often that takes confidence on their part. So we hope that involving positive female role models will create a comfortable learning environment whilst highlighting the various routes and what can be achieved in the female game."
Since it was launched, Thurrock's Just Play Futsal Centre at Hassenbrook School in Stanford-le-Hope engaged over 30 registered participants, with 23 regular attendees each week. One of those was Adam Johnson, who's in no doubt as to the benefits he's gained. "I used to play many years ago in leagues but wanted something less competitive and more fun," he said.
"That's what this is. I saw an advert on TV and now I'm playing five-a-side in a league organised by Faye and Nick. The benefits are meeting new people and looking forward to Mondays for a change as that's when the Just Play is on. I'm over the moon with the way the event is organised - my Monday nights would be empty without them and the games."
Why not just turn-up and play? The sessions are great value and you can find out more from Faye on (01245) 393099 or via E-Mail at faye.lambert@essexfa.com. Participants must be 16 or over to take part. If you're interested in Kickabouts, small-sided or traditional 11v11 formats of the game you can find out more at http://www.essexfa.com/ by clicking on ‘GetIntoFootball' or by visiting http://www.justplay.thefa.com/.
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