Mintridge Bronze Football Programme with Rachel Yankey OBE - St Christopher’s School, March 2020

It was a great start to our weekend for Team Mintridge, as we attended St Christopher’s School for their first football festival with the amazing former England and Arsenal legend, Rachel Yankey OBE. We were so excited for an afternoon of football, fun and matches with our very experienced and one of the countries highest capped footballers.

Rachel opened the afternoon’s events with a quick presentation about her own journey and story and expressed the importance of being involved in sport and physical activity from a young age, as well as the opportunities that being a part of women’s football team can give you.

The young women taking part in the day of football were eager to get started and quickly began their mini coaching sessions, that were being delivered by the local football club. Rachel moved around all of the groups to give them a couple of top tips and challenged them to some quick competitions to see if they could keep up with the feet of an England footballer and improve their speed and footwork when moving the ball.

The coaching workshops were a great way for Rachel to spot any talented players and prepare the students for an afternoon of fun football matches against their peers.

After a quick cake break, it was time for the parents’ matches. With a whole host of supporters, friends and family members present, the adults took to the pitch to show off their skills to their top referee for the game, Rachel Yankey OBE. It was a great afternoon of sport, fun and lots of football for the young women and their families and a great way for the school to showcase the power of sport.

With a bit of time in-between matches, the pupils were excited to be able to have their photos taken with Rachel and get their memorabilia signed by her. It was especially great that the pupils felt so inspired by Rachel and loved the opportunity they were given to talk to her and take away a whole host of memories from their first football tournament.

Rachel brought the day to a close and spoke briefly to all the players, coaches and parents, before the certificate presentation, where she congratulated the girls for their participation in the tournament and encouraged them to follow their dreams. Each of the players received a signed certificate from Rachel to take away from their day.

“If anyone tells you that you can’t play football, then you go out there and show them what you are capable of!”

After a great day of football and a few more selfies, it was time for Team Mintridge to wrap up for the day and head into the rest of the weekend with the good soul feeling!

We had a fantastic day with the parents, staff and students at St Christopher’s School for their first, very successful football tournament!

If you would like to see the photos or video from the day, please contact the staff at St Christopher’s School.

Thank you for a wonderful day St Christopher’s School. We look forward to working with you again in the future and we can’t wait to see you next year!

Thanks

Team Mintridge