Inspirational Day

I was asked if I would help at a Muslim Community Event.

My Mum was involved with a Muslim Community event this week. The event was for Muslim Girls from 13 to 18 years old and involved a variety of activities. As part of the physical activities my Mum was asked if I would go and run a football session with them.

They did some jogging and circuit training the night before, and they were very tired, so I adjusted my session accordingly. The girls hadn't played football before, so again I needed to do some exercises that were introducing them to;

Dribbling

Passing

Shooting

We were in the Gym hall so had cones laid out and plenty of space for footballs flying everywhere!!! The girls did well, but were lacking in confidence and very slow with their movements. I got them into two teams and gave them an exercise kicking the ball to someone, then running to take that persons place. They started to chatter a bit more, and put a bit more oomph into their passing!

We finished that particular part of the session learning how to do kick-ups which definately had balls shooting off in all directions. They loved doing this, and in fact a couple of the girls really got the hang of it very quickly, which they were chuffed about.

We then went into a 10 mins each way football match.

I admit that I was slightly worried that the game wouldn't be very fast, the passing wouldn't really work and the game would be quite boring ????????

HOW WRONG COULD I BE

The minute the whistle was blown - oh my goodness, these weren't the same girls;

• The girls who were so tired at the gym the night before, were suddenly sprinting, twisting, turning non-stop
• The Girls who were so shy and retiring, were suddenly going in for the tackle, and fearless
• The quiet environment was suddenly so loud and vibrant with the girls either shouting for the ball, or shouting out instructions
• The competitiveness was incredible, without exemption
• AND - within minutes they had got the jist of shouting at the Referee!!!!!!

I had a great time, and I think that the girls did to. They were all so inspirational

And a couple of them would do well in a competitive football team