After such a long lay off and seeing first hand how lockdown effected children, we made It our number one priority to get as many of our Superstars back playing weekly football as quickly and safely as possible!
WHAT WE NOTICED ABOUT OUR SUPERSTARS 😖
There was always going to be a knock on effect from lockdown. Here are some of the things that we noticed when children started slowly returning to us from July:
Anxious
Shy
Apprehensive
Unfit
Slightly overweight
Rusty football skills!
As well as this, we had a number of anxious parents who had lots of questions!
WHAT WE DID TO GET THE "BALL" ROLLING ⚽️
During lockdown we also built a new website to attract new Super Parents just like you so that they too could get back involved in an activity. AND we released a FREE home practice e-book + did some free online sessions so children could start engaging with football again whilst at home.
When football got the "Green light 🚦" we started working tirelessly to notify all of our parents that we were returning. It was a lot of work behind the scenes! We had 300+ families to credit back in some capacity from April's kind payments everyone made to help us with our recovery process, but the exciting thing about it all was that 90% of our Super Parents were ready to rock and roll and couldn't wait to get back 🙂 A huge shout out to our Customer Relations Manager, Andrea, who worked tirelessly contacting everyone, & logging everyones credit options! 😘
We then hit a stumbling block......OUR VENUES! 😭
WHAT WE DID TO OVERCOME VENUE ISSUES 🏠
With the majority of our regular venues still shut in September and nobody open to new hirers across Croydon and Sutton, it was a very tough task to get back up and running (we tried every known sports hall and venue in the area with no luck)! We had to ensure that if your regular venue was not available we found a venue that was very close by and at the same time of day so it did not disrupt your weekly planned schedule.
We are pleased to say that we are still operating 100% of our weekly leisure time classes that parents bring their Superstars to (that's 33 classes & sessions each week) albeit some of them are still at pop up venues and temporary venues.
We take huge pride in the selection of our weekly venues - It is key to the success and popularity of our classes so we know when our regular venues reopen that they will be in tip top shape!
🏠👉Unfortunately some of our sessions are still not able to return to indoor football as of yet even though the government has lifted restrictions on this. Also some of our venues are not back at their usual place yet. However rest assured we are working with the local leisure centres who we have a partnership with, and the restriction is being reviewed with their head office because we have pushed and pursued so much and we hope to be back very soon👈🏠
HOW WE HAVE ADAPTED OUR COACHING ⚽️🤩
We as a team report daily to one another about how our coaching sessions are going and if there is anything we can do to improve. It was evident to all of us after the first couple of weeks back that a lot of our Superstars development had stalled due to lockdown. So, we adapted our sessions to the following:
Ball each for longer periods of time during the session
Even higher energy and tempo (shorter drinks breaks etc)
Created an even more relaxed environment for the Superstars where they were allowed to make mistakes and develop at their own pace
Went back to basics with some of our coaching topics including focusing on the children's movement, agility, balance and speed.
Replaced old coaches with some fantastic new additions to really benefit all involved
We are really seeing the development of the children increase once again at a really good pace ☺️
WHY DID WE DO ALL OF THIS?🧐
Of course Skillz is the livelihood of all of our coaching team, that's obvious. But...this is not just a job to us. We truly care about the next generation and feel we have a huge part to play in making a positive impact in our Superstars lives.
Lockdown was not a nice experience for anyone but it must of been horrible for children too - Not being able to see friends, not understanding the panic going on in the world, not allowed to play outside, socialise or go to school. 4-6 months in a child's life is a very long time! We really did see first hand the negative impact this had and we did not want this to overspill any further into the year.
Even if it is for just an hour a week, the impact our classes and sessions will have on your Superstar are huge not just in football, but emotionally, physically and mentally too 💙 Yes we deliver weekly football sessions to children so they can become the best footballer possible, but just as important to us is developing little human beings who are confident, social and healthy too.
💙⚽️ We have worked so hard to get back up and running for everyone to enjoy Skillz again. We really hope you are enjoying your experience with us and once again we thank you so much for helping us get back on our feet! We hope this gives you an insight into what goes on behind the scenes on a daily basis with us and WHY we do what we do! ⚽️ 💙