'Ready to Play' will use the inspiration of the Women's World Cup to inspire a new generation of female football players through offering after school football participation opportunities for 120 girls aged 5-11. Qualified football coaches from Wakefield Trinity Ladies FC will offer the after school sessions at the following three primary schools located in Hemsworth across the 2019/20 academic year: West End Academy, Sacred Heart, and Grove Lea. Twelve sessions will be provided per school for each of the following age groups, 5-7. 7-9, and 9-11. In addition, coaches will offer three, two-day half term camp programmes delivered from Outwood Academy Hemsworth for girls from the school sessions to participate in.
For many girls, 'Ready to Play' will provide the first opportunity for them to play football, therefore sessions will focus on basic skill development, promoting healthy lifestyles and instilling confidence and self-belief within the girls. At the end of the twelve-block school programme, participants will be encouraged to progress into the 5-11 age groups run by Wakefield Trinity club which provide weekly training and regular competitive opportunities against other teams in the West Yorkshire area.
'Ready to Play' meets the Trust's key theme of promoting positive health and wellbeing. Through targeting an area of deprivation, we are consciously aware of the health inequality children and young people face, particularly around obesity. A key objective of the project therefore is to instill an awareness in both the participants and their parents of the importance of physical activity and eating healthy.