Many of you will have noticed the sign on Belle Vue simply saying 'Strikers'.

My time is being spent with 'Strikers' in the new computer suite at Belle Vue where the club shop used to be.
The project is funded by local and national government agencies and businesses including Llandrillo College Rhyl, Rhyl City Strategy, Basic Skill Cymru and the Welsh Assembly Government.

The hard working staff of 'Strikers' help local young adults learn basic skills such as reading, Numeracy & Literacy  that they have missed out on for various reasons.
As well as this, the students gain some much needed confidence and interactive skills to help them get on with their lives.
All of this is done through the huge language of football and each course lasts just 45 hours over three weeks.

At the time of writing this article, the students are learning the various roles of different members of a football club including the players, the manager, the fans and the coaches.
They are asked to write down the given roles of each member and find the definitions. For example, the roles given under the coach are; knowing the players, motivation, delegation and being firm yet fair.
Doing this helps with reading, writing and the definition of words.

To help with their maths, the students will go onto the field of play and do thier own afternoon coaching session, they will also   attend a Rhyl FC match and each student will be told to watch one particular player and they will make notes of how many times a player kicked the ball, headed the ball, scored a goal etc.
The group will then get together and write up their own match report & debate the match they watched.

The rewards for each student of 'Strikers' is potentially huge. They go away with plenty of confidence, motivation & interactive skiils. Some will  go on to attend other courses at Llandrillo College. Some maybe into employment!

Contrary to popular belief, the FITC doesn't exist just to coach children how to play football.
It exists to help in the community.
It gives these young adults a second chance in life - to be who they want to be.

If you would like to find out more please email Tracey Jones at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .