The football festival was organised by Sports lecturer, Julie Alexander, in partnership with former student, Andrew Hardy who is now IFA’s Let Them Play Officer in Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. Andrew was a student at the College between 2006 and 2009, having progressed from a First Diploma in Sport to do the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport.
The Sports students – a mixture of first and second year classes - are all doing a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sports Coaching and Development. The first-year students are part of Ballymena United Academy.
Julie explained that coaching is an integral part of the course and over the next few weeks, the Sports students will be delivering a number of other coaching sessions so they get as much practical experience as possible: “The students have covered the theory behind the different coaching techniques and skills in class so events like the football festival are an ideal opportunity to apply what they have been taught into practice.
“They really enjoy the ‘hands on’ part of the course and it’s great for them how much enjoyment the younger children can get out of a well organised coaching drill.”
Dan Chambers, IFA Education Officer, said he was delighted with the success of the football festival and was impressed by the way the Sports students were able to engage with the younger players:
“We really enjoyed coming to Ballymena and being part of the football festival. The Sports Students did really well and it was great to see they have progressed in terms of their learning and development.”
Dan added that they hoped to build on the success of the initial programme and is looking forward to working with the College on other coaching initiatives in the future.
Northern Regional College ‘teamed up’ with IFA premier league club Ballymena United to give aspiring young footballers a chance to combine their prowess on the pitch with their studies. Last September, the College introduced a new BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sports Coaching and Development (Ballymena United Academy). Academy students will have a unique opportunity to develop both on and off the pitch as they will follow a professional football training programme and complete an accredited vocational qualification’.
Northern Regional College offers a variety of Sports course, from Level 2 up to and including Foundation Degree. For further information, visit www.nrc.ac.uk