Evolution Football Coaching: Top of the Class?
We love to go and see how our customers across the country are getting on. You will have already seen us visit the likes of FAB Academy and Street League in recent times, who both do great work in their communities. This week, we travelled up to Gateshead to pay a visit to a unique client of ours.
Evolution Football Coaching base themselves at Kingsmeadow Community Comprehensive School in the North East of England. Kingsmeadow describe themselves as a ‘real school for a real community’. Just from our one-day visit, it is clear that they have their own ideas of how to do things. Kingsmeadow’s students are able to develop their football skills within school times under Evolution Football Coaching’s expert guidance. We think that they’re onto something!
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We make Kingsmeadow as the only place in the country where soccer is built in to the curriculum. This is offered all the way through from Year Seven to Year Eleven, with a further two years provided for Sixth Form students. The concept of football within a a school timetable seems a great one. Our expectations were exceeded when we got to see it in action on Tuesday. We were in awe of the fantastic attitudes of the players, who enjoyed a useful session from an exceptional group of coaches. Furthermore, the kids seemed to love the chance to develop their skills on the pitch!
The academy intends to help students find a pathway into professional football. 46 players currently use the platform and each receive 6-8 hours of professional football coaching. This takes place during school hours at the site, with grass and 3G pitches both available. Evolution Football Coaching are also able to take advantage of the school’s excellent gym and classroom facilities. The academy are able to deliver bespoke sessions on Nutrition, Fitness and Psychology.
Premier League-Standard Coaching
Together, Kingsmeadow and Evolution Football Academy mix high-levels of education with football in order to provide their students with the best chance of success. A number of the players are currently playing for top sides within the area – including Premier League side Newcastle United FC – and this is largely thanks to the level of coaching on offer.
Gary Smith is the brains behind the business as the founder of the organisation, whilst Ross McKay leads a team of enthusiastic and motivated coaches. McKay is former professional for Blackburn Rovers, and provides a high level of tutelage for the Academy players. He and Craig Lynch, Assistant Coach and former Premier League player, currently hold UEFA B licenses. This and the fact that McKay is currently soon to complete his UEFA A license highlights the calibre of coaching on offer at the academy. Together, the coaches within the academy make a great team.
The academy has enjoyed great success since being established two years ago, which has allowed EFC to evolve. There are now designated coaches for girls-only sessions, as well as goalkeeping training. Specialist guidance is bound to only improve the standards of an already brilliant organisation.
Thanks to being partnered with Kitlocker.com, Nike Football Live’s Dan Holloway gave the Evolution Football Coaching players a session of his own for the day. As you might have seen previously at the likes of Hartlepool and Manchester, Holloway himself is a talented young coach. His engaging drills aren’t the only thing that he brought with him to Gateshead however. Nike also gave the players the opportunity to trial the latest high-end football boots from the brand, too. The students were – understandably – very excited by this!
Evolution Football Academy’s Professional Environment
The set-up at Evolution Football Coaching is top-class. From the facilities to the branded Nike products being worn by players and coaches, there is a culture of professionalism across the academy. The students amazed us with their abilities, as well as their politeness. It was clear to us that football had helped to develop life-skills as well as abilities on the pitch within the school.
Lee Cooksey, our Business Development Manager, was present for the day in Gateshead. He stated that he was very impressed with the talent on show from the youngsters. “It was great to see the level of involvement from the students, and they appear to be very respectful of their coaches. We obviously know that coaches are very qualified but it was great to see that they are putting on great sessions for the kids. We can’t wait to see the academy make even more progress in the future.”
Evolution Football Coaching’s McKay spoke to us on the day to thank us for coming to visit. “We’d like to thank Lee and Kitlocker for attending our event today, along with Nike Football Live. The kids have enjoyed experiencing the new Nike footwear, and the session with Dan as well.”
Our pleasure, Ross! We’re looking forward to continuing working with the academy in the future, including supplying the players with brand-new Nike Park 18 range.
You can find out more about Evolution Football Academy on their Facebook page HERE.