AE Urban

The programme is coordinated and delivered by AE Adventure Education practitioners and the International Street Soccer Association (ISSA). This is a holistic progrmme with specific outcomes that is designed to engage, inspire and encourage young people aged 16+ through a series of street soccer workshops/events, reflective 1:1 sessions and a final residential.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Urban Engagement Program

Street soccer is a new and exciting style of football that has been born from the streets of Europe.  It focuses on small sided game play and is played in the streets hence why it is ideal for Urban engagement programmes.
Street soccer is about self expression, creativity and being your own person.  The International Street Soccer Association (ISSA) have developed unique street soccer education packages and youth engagement programs that form the backbone of the “Urban Engagement Package” that we are proposing to run with your scheme.

The scheme will consist of educating youth workers in Street Soccer coaching, delivering street soccer events, running a residential and then the highlight…

…  a street soccer event planned and delivered by the successful young people on the scheme!

The young people will undertake personal development programs as well as gaining Street Soccer awards that will result in real employment opportunities with the ISSA itself and our partners in the USA.

Deliverables:

Youth Worker education package:

The youth workers attend a International Street Soccer Association (ISSA) Creative Skill Development course.  This will give the team an insight into Street Soccer and how it can be used to engage young people to nurture great people and then great players.  The course will be a 1 day course and look at the following topics.

1. The Big Picture
2. Warming Up
3. PPD (Person Player Development)
4. New age skill
5. Base Fitness
6. Street Soccer Coaching Method
7. Street Games
8. FRT (Formational Rhythmic Training)

After undertaking the course the Youth workers will then be able to become members of the ISSA and licence street soccer programs with their young people.  As a member of the ISSA, youth workers can access resource and support to really make a difference with young people using football as a vehicle.  This will help the ongoing support of the young people after the proposed events.

Street soccer events and skill development packages 

The day’s event will be split into a morning session where we play small sided games, play music and get to know the young people and then a afternoon session where we take the young people through a skill development program.  The skill development program will follow 6 themes…

•    Dreams and Goals
•    Making Positive Choices
•    How to take action
•    Taking responsibility
•    Having a positive attitude
•    Learning from mistakes  

The youth workers will help facilitate the afternoon sessions using the skills they have learnt on the ISSA Creative Skill Development course.  This will help reinforce their role as a coach after the program has ended.
The program consists of 3 x 1 day Street Soccer events with the following facilities…

•    2 x ISSA skills coaches
•    3v3 street soccer pitch,
•    Sound system with hip hop music,
•    World class freestyler for freestyle football demonstration
•    Affirmation posters to be put up at the youth centre
•    Street Soccer skill cards that have passwords to Online skills videos where our head skills coach teaches them how to do skills
•    1 x Street soccer skills dvd per person. The dvd demonstrates 100 of the latest street soccer moves.

We can cater for up to 40 people on the event.  From these events 8 young people will be selected to participate in a weekend residential.  They will be selected on their dedication to their development, positive attitude and desire to learn.

Weekend Residential

The aim of the programme will be for the clients to enjoy success and develop self reliance through the challenge of adventurous activities and to examine relationships, behaviour and attitude using practical experiential learning as the vehicle. At all times the programme will be run in close consultation with your youth service team.

The programme will be delivered over 3 days including travel time:

3 Day/2night Adventure Residential

A 3 day, 2 night residential at  The Beacon Activity centre - Exmoor. Living and working together, 24 hours a day with the mentors, the young people are given a breathing space from everyday pressures to really find out what they are capable of and how to make the positive changes in their attitudes and behaviours that will help them to succeed.
This coupled with the social interaction that comes from spending time away within a peer group becomes a very powerful shared experience.
Adventure Activities will be delivered periodically throughout the residential, especially during the evening and include climbing, canoeing, walking, group discussions; these complement the learning gained in the street soccer elements. In addition young people will help prepare and serve food for the group and take part in domestic tasks.

The residential will focus on developing and consolidating the skills of the chosen 8 young people over the course of the weekend.  
The residential will take the young people through a young peoples street soccer coaching award.  This is designed to enthuse the young people and show them that they can make a career out of Street soccer coaching and show them that they will not only earn, but also be able to do it in an urban environment keeping their identity.

As part of the day the young people will be asked to start planning their own street soccer event to be delivered back into their community.  They will have to look at all that’s involved in the process, from marketing, right the way through to organizing equipment and then the delivery of the event itself.

Ongoing support

This planning phase can be continued by the Youth workers in contact time after the residential.  The planning of the event will be documented and then put into place in a actual event in the community

Young person’s Street soccer event  

This event will be the culmination of the young peoples planning.  It will be a 1 day event and everyone from the community will be invited to attend.  The young people will assist ISSA coaches in organizing the games and the coaching.
We will supply the pitch, sound system etc as before and also provide a freestyler for demonstration.   
We could also integrate a tournament for the afternoon and present prizes to the winners.

Project Outcomes

Employment opportunities:

The ISSA will put the successful young people onto their database where they will be called upon from time to time to assist in events that are in their area.  The Creative Skill Development course is also recognized by coaching companies in the USA so there are real opportunities for young people to be employed in the states.
Youth workers can also then put on their own events and use the successful young people to help run these events.

Positive Role models:

The successful young people will become positive role models to others at risk of offending by showing them there are real employment opportunities in street soccer.

Personal Development: 

Because the package is personal development focused, the skills learnt are directly transferable into everyday situations.  The young people who are successfully engaged by the program will be able to demonstrate self respect, positive attitudes and be all round better people.