E48: Shaping Tomorrow's Leaders: The Community Triumph in Youth Sports with Craig Gilmore

As we celebrate the 48th episode of our podcast journey, the power of sports and community in shaping young lives takes centre stage. We've witnessed first-hand how participation in local sports programs not only diverts youth from negative influences but also nurtures their growth into confident, community-driven leaders. In this heartfelt discussion, we're joined by Craig Gilmore from Community Champions Sport and Health CIC, who shares the uplifting inception of his initiative during the challenging lockdown period. His story is a testament to the resilience of our youth and the essential role of community support in the face of adversity.

Reflecting on the transformational journey from players to community coaches, we delve into the remarkable impact these programs have on underserved areas. Providing not just a safe space but an environment rich in educational opportunities, violence reduction training, and food security efforts, these initiatives do more than we could have ever imagined. Through engaging anecdotes and personal insights, we highlight the importance of inclusion and support for neurodiverse youth, underscoring our commitment to fostering a family-like atmosphere that champions self-assurance and resilience for every member.

As our conversation unfolds, it becomes clear that the impact of community sports programs extends far beyond the fields and courts. We contemplate the organic growth of these initiatives and how they've become beacons of hope, tackling broader issues like hunger and loneliness. The dedication required to maintain such vital efforts cannot be overstated!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Hello and welcome to the White Fox Talking Podcast. I'm Matt Chalot-Valentine and on my side, as usual, is Sebastian.

Speaker 2: 0:09

Hi Charlie. How are you, mate? I'm alright, thanks, it's funny because you're looking at me, but we've also got the cameras going, yeah, so you're there.

Speaker 1: 0:15

Hello, it's technology folks. We're getting a grip of it, sonny, how?

Speaker 2: 0:19

many episodes.

Speaker 1: 0:20

Are we in 47.? Is this 48, this, yeah, episodes? Are we in 47? Is this 48? This will go out as 48. So we've recorded 50 or so, haven't we? Yeah, I believe. So I'm now understanding not to sit on a rocking chair and I can't touch anything and I'm barefoot and what have you, so that we're not making any noises. And it still doesn't work, and it still had work for you, work doing it, you. So, anyway, how have you been since we caught up last?

Speaker 2: 0:48

yeah, very well, thanks. I've just been on a first aid course. Got it tomorrow as well. Unfortunately, they do not touch on mental health first aid ah, but you can do that as an add-on.

Speaker 1: 0:57

You can do that elsewhere elsewhere?

Speaker 2: 1:00

yes, but not as an add-on, where I'm doing it and would you have to pay?

Speaker 1: 1:04

for it yourself, then I guess.

Speaker 1: 1:05

So yeah, they're worth doing we, yes, but not as an add-on when I'm doing it, and would you have to pay for it yourself then I guess. So, yeah, yeah, and the worth doing. We have spoke to a few people now, haven't we we've got Kelvin in spoke to a few people about how prevalent and I suppose with myself working outdoors, I'm much more likely to come across somebody with a potential mental health issue or some neurodivergence that I should be aware of than I am of someone just taking a trip, slip fall, breaking an ankle. I think I've seen one broken ankle in 15 years working outdoors. Couple of other little niggles and stuff like that, but a fair few people that will open up in the outdoors about them well.

Speaker 1: 1:38

So yeah, well worth doing. Shall I tell you we've got today? No, I'm gonna ask you, oh go on.

Speaker 2: 1:42

Then you ask me who do we have in today? No, I'm going to ask you oh, go on then Go on.

Speaker 1: 1:45

you ask me, who do we have in today? Well, we have a long-time friend of mine and I'm very glad he's been here to come in. It's Mr Craig Gilmore of Champions Community Sport and Health CIC. The White Fox Talking podcast is sponsored by Energy Impact. Hello.

Speaker 3: 2:04

Craig Good evening.

Speaker 1: 2:04

How are you Very good. Are you not too nervous with that camera shining at?

Speaker 3: 2:07

you, yeah, a little bit nervous, it's all. New is this.

Speaker 1: 2:11

Well, it's still new to us, mate, we've only done 50.

Speaker 3: 2:13

Podcast virgin.

Speaker 1: 2:14

Podcast virgin. Well, yeah, so if you could give us a brief introduction about yourself Don't give too much away and then we'll get on about what you're doing with this project.

Speaker 3: 2:23

I'm director of a company called Champions Community Sport and Health CIC. We're working quite deprived area leads working with children and young people, providing cheap and affordable sport and trying to sort of break down barriers and give kids opportunities.

Speaker 1: 2:40

What we're going to talk about first is how you got here, because I know from knowing you oh god, how many years have I known you? I must have known you half my life, yeah, and that's a long time. Even half my life is a long time. Now, your background I believe you're on the books at Nottingham Forest, weren't you?

Speaker 3: 2:56

Back in the day, yeah, so you've always been involved with sport. Yeah, so I've worked in the sport in community really. So I worked as a sport development manager for many years in the community and then, just before lockdown, I changed careers and I became a driving instructor Right. So during lockdown I had the idea that I wanted to keep me hand in with sport and community work. So I set up Champions and the rest is history.

Speaker 1: 3:25

So, champions, this is what we're, this is what we're on about the idea, what I want to get you in for what is the sort of goal, the purpose or the idea behind it?

Speaker 3: 3:33

Yeah, the idea behind it is really it started in lockdown where, when all the kids were locked down and sort of going stir crazy and all the craziness of Covid and all that, decided that I want to do something and get the kids back out and active in the fresh air and back socialising and interacting and keeping fit. So we set up a little football session and it was one of them where it kind of was a bit intermittent because we were locked down and then we weren't locked down and then we were back on and we just started off with 18 kids playing football on a field and sort of fast forward three years and we've got like 400 kids on our database and we do much more than football.

Speaker 1: 4:13

Can we get political, sir? We generally do, don't we? Well, you can, yeah, yeah. So the COVID thing keeps popping up on the podcast and I suppose we can look at it as a double-edged sword really, because it's sort of highlighted mental health, a lot of more people talking about the mental health situation. I suppose, from your perspective, it was the foundation of this. But on the other side, when are we going to see the sort of these effects? And I think you know when we have. We had lockdown and young people cut off from their communities and their friends and friends' networks and sometimes locked in houses with issues going on in them, houses where they won't escape to. What's your sort of thoughts on that, craig?

Speaker 3: 4:52

That's where the idea was born. Really because of that, and the kids were locked down and it was ridiculous once it was where they couldn't socialise or they couldn't go out of the house, and I don't want to go too deep politically.

Speaker 2: 5:04

Do it, Craig, do it.

Speaker 3: 5:06

But there was obviously a need for the kids to get out there and let off some steam in a polite way. So that's where the idea was born and the idea grew really, and from there it's sort of carried on growing and we've done some pretty good stuff with it over the last few years.

Speaker 1: 5:23

Yeah, I'm just trying to get through my library of audiobooks I've listened to. There's been a few like Losing Eden and things like this, where when we deprive people of the outdoor environments it does impact mental health and if we are keeping people from exercising and young people from playing, they're not developing their own mental health and own characters.

Speaker 3: 5:48

Absolutely so.

Speaker 1: 5:48

you've started off with 18 people playing football. And is that? What else do we do? How has that grown?

Speaker 3: 5:56

Well, it started off as just a soccer Saturday it was just an hour on a Saturday morning come for a kickabout and we had to be in bubbles initially, if we remember back, and we had to keep groups away from each other and keep the social distance in. So, trying to play football and trying to do a lot of individual skill work, because in the initial phase we weren't allowed to be as a group and obviously as a team sport you need your teammates, so therein lies a problem. But then, as we move forward away from covid, we're a little bit different to your traditional clubs. So what? What we found is there's loads of football clubs out there and I'm not going to slag anybody off, but we're doing things a little bit differently. We take away all the barriers.

Speaker 3: 6:40

I always say that football's almost grassroots, football is almost a middle class sport, in that you need a certain level of income, you need all the equipment, you need parents to take you to and from, you need the direct debit to pay for your subs. And when I say that to people, people say are you joking what you're on about? It's cheap and stuff like that. But trust me, our project has grown on the back of. There's a lot of people out there that are struggling and can't obviously afford your traditional clubs. So we have an open-door policy whereby it doesn't matter how good you are, it doesn't matter how bad you are, it doesn't matter if you've got a disability.

Speaker 3: 7:23

We have lots of siblings that come. So normally in a grassroots setting, you would go to a team and you've got to be a certain ability, a certain level and fit in with the criteria, whereas ours, you know, we have lots of families that come where three brothers can join in the same session and and all get something from it. We have kids with disabilities that come along and feel part of the session, and then we have kids right up to the other end where they're in professional academies. So it's very different to your normal, traditional grassroots football team. Now, like I say, I'm not going to slag them off, because they all serve a purpose and they do some great work in the communities, but that's where we found a little niche and we're a little bit different to most other clubs. Can I just ask why?

Speaker 2: 8:06

football.

Speaker 3: 8:06

That's my passion, my background. So when I was at home, thinking, when I'm allowed to go back out and work as a driving instructor, I'm going to need some fresh air myself and I'm going to need to sort of tap into my old skills, because I'd worked as a coach and a trainer and gyms and I'd done that all my life. So just before I walked out, when I started driving and instructing, I needed to sort of keep the old skills ticking over.

Speaker 1: 8:33

So on that point, if we just look at yourself, just could you describe to or outline to the listeners if you were to be just driving and instructing, going home on a night and then just doing that week in, week out and not getting this outdoor experience that you've had before, what would that be taking away? Because you obviously have played football, been very sporting. And then if you just describe the things that it means to you, because it'll give a description to what to the listeners- yeah, well, I think you know fitting in with the work you guys do.

Speaker 3: 9:02

I think it's healthy body, healthy mind and fresh air and a bit of sunlight and a bit of vitamin d is massively important, because I could sit in that car 12 hours a day and be in a little tin box talking to people about work and you need a release and you need to do something out there and and have hobbies and interests that sort of give you a purpose in life have you ever, ever experienced any times, apart from lockdown, or even with lockdown, where you haven't done that, where you haven't been outside and noticed any difference in yourself?

Speaker 3: 9:31

Not particularly on a personal level, but what I find is nowadays people are much more open about mental health and you know I've got some close friends that have had their struggles and sort of sharing experiences and people are a bit more open now than than they used to be. So I'm just quite mindful and through the champions I've done mental health first aid and sort of wellness courses and so I'm quite quite aware of a positive mental health state and and what contributes to that. Fortunately I've not suffered any trauma or anything like that really in my life. But on the other side I've always been into healthy body, healthy mind kind of mentality.

Speaker 1: 10:11

Yeah, I'm just thinking. Then what popped into my head there? Well, you actually knew me before my PTSD. And then early doors oh no, this could be a character assassination. And then early doors it was training with yourself. You were doing the group classes, weren't you?

Speaker 3: 10:30

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 10:31

And then I went off and did the university certificate in health-related sports and fitness yeah, or was it fitness and nutrition, something like that a long time ago? Yeah, back in the day, back in the day, yeah. And then when I wrote my knee off Thai boxing, it was then that I didn't have that outlet of the outdoors and the sport that set me off on my path to a major fundraiser for Guinness and Jameson. Yeah, I'm just like wow, that's a bit of a backflash. I mean, can I ask you there, did you notice at that time about no, I think I think I cut myself off.

Speaker 3: 11:07

Yeah, I think we're all pretty much in our little bubble back then. I think nowadays people are much more aware, aren't they? And there's a lot more awareness and positivity around. And I think back then, you know, looking back, I'm sure you were suffering in silence.

Speaker 1: 11:23

Yeah, I think, because I did get quite a lot of the. It was that time when I got quite a lot of the man-up stuff. You know what I mean.

Speaker 3: 11:29

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 11:29

Because people didn't talk about PTSD really. So even now, if you say you're living with PTSD, people assume that you're in the services.

Speaker 3: 11:36

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 11:37

Either one of the blue lights or the armed forces. So yeah, anyway, just a little flashback, a brief interlude into 24 years ago. So you're definitely an advocate for keeping active and sporting.

Speaker 3: 11:52

Absolutely yeah, and a lot of the kids we work with. Obviously we try and get kids off a plug and out in the fresh air in the great outdoors. Now it might be a little corner of beast then, but we've got a bit of an oasis where we are. There's lots of trees and lots of greenery, so it's good for the soul.

Speaker 2: 12:08

So you say kids.

Speaker 3: 12:10

Young people, young people, young people Up to 18? Our youngest is 5 and our oldest is 21, I believe, but the majority of them are teenagers. So around about 14 to 16 is our biggest cohort.

Speaker 2: 12:25

And you mentioned that football can be classed as a middle class sport. I guess not everyone will have their own boots or their own goalie gloves or their own shin pants is do you support them in any sort of way? Um, have you got like a little stock loads of footballs and yeah, well, we do.

Speaker 3: 12:41

We do um constantly sort of beg, steal and borrow on facebook and things like that. We sort of keep an eye out for kids that have got holes in the boots or you know, sometimes kids are playing in the school shoes and you know, we just try and keep it on the low down and we make sure that everybody's looked after. And you know, I've got a lot of contacts in sport and we manage to get donations and sponsors and we do try our best to make sure they're all kitted out, Because that's one thing, definitely they're not. You know they haven't all got football socks and shin pads and boots and rain jackets. And you know, when the kids are coming in the summer sorry, in the winter and they've got a little jacket and you're like where's your coat? And that is the coat.

Speaker 3: 13:27

And so we do try and kick them out of court and we run sort of reward programmes. So every 10 visits they get vouchers. So once they've been 20 times they get a free football. So in theory they can go and kick them out and annoy the parents in the gardens or in the stairwells what I find in the flats and things but then every 10 visits in, we give them a voucher for JD Sports, or we partner up with Nike down at Crown Point, who are really, really helpful and supportive, and then, once you've been three visits, we give them a free T-shirt. We do healthy holidays now and part of the healthy holidays we get funded through leeds community foundation, leeds council, and in that rewards package there's always a hat or a snood or a hoodie at the end of the the week's course. So we try and kick them out and, uh, help with that so eastern, south, le diverse, yeah, and do you have diverse attendance?

Speaker 3: 14:26

Absolutely yeah, yeah, I would say probably we're majority black African. On ethnicity, I suppose it's just a reflection in the area. We don't advertise to a certain culture. We have white, british, we have Asian, we have lots of Muslims and we just open access and everybody just gets on. We sort of service all the local schools and we've got a real good bunch of kids. Actually, if you give them a bit of platform to get out there and play and socialise, football's a tool, really, that's kind of the vehicle, but on the back of that there's lots of powers of sport, whether it's wellness and mental health or teamwork or it just helps them in life.

Speaker 1: 15:11

I I find yeah, definitely, I definitely agree with that. I mean, it's the building this uh community and networks and helping them with their own growth, physically and mentally, I suppose yeah, that that's, that's the aim I spoke. One thing that did occur to me then with some of the young people that I work with now in care is where would these young people be if they weren't attending your camp?

Speaker 3: 15:35

Well, good question, because if they weren't, where would they be? They'd be on the street corners getting up to no good and you'd have to go firing beast to get up to no good. There's lots of negative influences out there, whether it be drugs, gangs, violence. So we're trying to keep them on the straight and narrow and give them that positive focus in life. And you know we've done things like violence reduction, training. So we've brought people in with lived experience to talk about drugs and knife crime and and we're all about education. So, like I say, in the initial phase it were football, be all and end all. But now it's not just football, it's much more than that. So we address the free school meal gap in the holidays, we feed the kids, we try and educate them and we're just going down the road of putting on some like a homework club where kids that are struggling for GCSEs and stuff. We've just managed to secure a bit of funding to put on homework club through John Lewis, who have kindly supported us.

Speaker 2: 16:36

I guess everything's quite well attended. Is there a difference between the educational part and the sports part? Is the football better attended than the educational, or has the education grown? And the sports part is if the football better attended than the educational or has it has the education grown over the years?

Speaker 3: 16:48

yeah, because it was just football. And then, like I say, we now do holiday clubs, uh. So we have them generally in the school holidays. We do easter, christmas and summer and we do like four days, uh, four hours a day for four days a week. So we do generally a Monday to Thursday and we do 10 o'clock till 2 o'clock and in that we do obviously football's the driver, but we do some education around it as well.

Speaker 3: 17:14

So we brought on the recent camp that we've just done. At Easter we brought a CIC in called Season Well, and it's all about sort of growing your own produce and and cooking it and starting off with that tomato seed and working out how you bake it into, grow into a tomato. Then it goes into the, the tomato sauce that's cooking for the lunch. We've got a young leaders program, so we now have young lads that deliver the sessions for us. Some have gone down the sport route and studying scholarships and things, and we've also got some lads in the kitchen sessions for us. Some have gone down the sport route and are studying scholarships and things, and we've also got some lads in the kitchen that do all the cooking as well, so it's quite a holistic approach.

Speaker 2: 17:51

It sounds like it's a huge success story for a lot of youngsters, did you?

Speaker 1: 17:58

call them Young people, young people. Yeah, I always call them YPs, yps.

Speaker 2: 18:04

With that being, having that in mind, that it's all a huge success story. Is there one specific success story that stands out to you, or a few Generally?

Speaker 3: 18:13

You know, it's quite transformational for some kids. It's sort of rewarding when you see the kid that comes with no confidence and is quite isolated and will sit back and not really get involved, and then here down the line he's a totally different character. And when you get to know the families and the backgrounds, there's some hard luck stories and it's great to see him sort of grow as people.

Speaker 1: 18:36

So somebody listening to this that could be in the locality and maybe introduce their young person or the young person themselves. What would be their? What's the young person themselves? What would be their? What's the sort of progress? How do they get in touch? Have you got someone that started right back when you started? Who's still with you? Yeah, just so we can see what happens and how they sort of develop.

Speaker 3: 18:55

Yeah, I suppose all the young leaders that we have, they all started with us as originals, as players, and some of them are now sort of studying A-levels and things and they get a little bit of paid work offers and do lots of volunteering.

Speaker 3: 19:08

And what we've found is when kids are leaving school or young people, they have a blank CV. So if they can get involved in the community and if they can we've managed through Street Games, which is a national charity they've been really helpful. They've done some sort of activator courses and given them little qualifications. So what we've said is, if you become young leaders, you're then starting to build a little bit of a portfolio. So if you go for a job, whether it's a part-time job or whether you're going to university or whatever else, you've got a little bit of something behind you. If an employee's picking the CV up and this kid's done a football activator, a multi-skills, a boxing, a badminton, and they've got all these courses and they've shown that in their own time, that they're going to try and educate and and grow the self as a person, then they're going to stand out. Young people find it hard for part-time jobs and things now, so it's about trying to build that, that CV, and trying to sort of set them on the right path in life.

Speaker 1: 20:06

Yeah, do you know what? I won't go around this honestly, but what sort of strikes me here is what you're doing is filling a gap that some people wouldn't be able to do financially or socially.

Speaker 3: 20:17

Social problem, but also education, and when I talk about that I mean going back to the tomato plant, with young people not being involved in basically knowing where food comes from yeah and then coming out of packets and stuff like that yeah, so you know, we work with a great organization called season well, and, and that's what they do they travel around the city, uh, working with schools and youth groups and at the hut where we're based. We, we work out of a bowling hut and we've managed to get some raised beds and things and we grow our own produce now. So it's just they're really knowledgeable and foraging, so they came and planted it Easter, but in summer they will then take some of that produce and then cook with it as well. So the kids are getting some sort of culinary skills as well as from that just football session kicking about now, it's sort of understanding what goes into the food chain.

Speaker 1: 21:15

I do remember you training or teaching or running classes and banging on to. Well, you just mentioned it, we were on the half marathon together, didn't we years ago? Yeah, and when was that? 2002't we years ago?

Speaker 3: 21:24

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 21:25

And when was?

Speaker 3: 21:26

that 2002,.

Speaker 1: 21:27

I think it was.

Speaker 3: 21:28

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 21:28

I think I beat you, if I remember right.

Speaker 3: 21:30

Yeah, I think you might have.

Speaker 1: 21:32

I don't think I could run that fast again, but even back then you were very big on the. You know this idea of getting your fruit and vegging. Yeah, if you're running these classes now and having young people performing sports, but getting that background of it, of the mind, body, and then what you can get out of it by being more nutritionally aware absolutely yeah.

Speaker 3: 21:52

So you know, if they've gotten away and I know there's sort of messages all over the place now but if we can do our little bit towards that, you know, and it all links in the physical and the mental health and healthy diet and hydration and all the rest of it. If you know, if you feel good, then you're going to look good and perform better, whether it's at sport, at school, work, what you know, whatever field you're in.

Speaker 1: 22:14

You mentioned earlier about young people that may be coming to what, coming to you with disabilities. What sort of disabilities can can you sort of accommodate?

Speaker 3: 22:22

um, well, we don't sort of advertise as a disability session but we're certainly open for people with disabilities and we've had a few young people come with cerebral palsy. We've got a lad at the minute that's volunteering, that plays football for the local CP team and he's getting involved in the coaching side of things. We've got a young lad that comes that's deaf. So my wife finds it a bit of a challenge to learn a bit of sign language and you know, lucky enough he's quite good at lip-reading and you know it just opens your eyes and it gives you a bit of a different take on life, having to sort of be a lot more open and accessible and try and help these young people. You know, fit into society where, like going back to the old grassroots club, if a kid comes with disabilities then they don't really fit in, whereas they can all be part of our session.

Speaker 1: 23:15

I suppose that goes back to when I was playing football as a YP with my disability of two left feet. Yeah, yeah, terrible. And what about neurodivergence that you might get in these? If you've got 400 young people on your books now or coming to these sessions, there must be quite a wide array. What do you see in these young people? Do they declare it? How do you work with that?

Speaker 3: 23:38

Yeah, I think we probably average every Saturday morning. We get somewhere between 75 and 100 kids on a regular basis every Saturday and then in school holidays, on our holiday camps again we tip up to 100 kids a day sometimes. So it's difficult but obviously you just look for the signs. You know the kids that are withdrawn, the kids, any change in behaviour you know. And if we can do a group activity it's great. But sometimes it's just a case of having a quiet word on the side.

Speaker 3: 24:03

What we try and do is try and know something about all our members. So obviously there's myself, my wife and our little team. We try and know a little bit about everybody you know. So we try and show an interest in in the home life and all that. And you know we get to know families. Interestingly, if you went and watched a normal football session there'll be a sideline full of parents. We get very few that come. They all sort of self-refer to our projects and it's not until we do a home visit or knock on the door. We get to know a little bit more and circumstances and we kind of try and dig a little bit deeper and then if there's people with needs or things, then we will try and work with agencies if we have to.

Speaker 1: 24:46

It just seems to be a lot. I don't know whether it's because testing is more prevalent. You know, in the sort of school education system that we seem to be dealing with a lot more young people with some sort of neurodivergence, and that can be quite taxing, can't it? Because I mean for yourselves having to know how to handle that from one person to another.

Speaker 3: 25:10

It's kind of a massive upward curve for us. We've had to do a lot of learning on the job, and I think you've got to be human, haven't you? You've got to be open and you've got to show a bit of compassion and from that you get to know a little bit more about the, the young people that you're working with your team.

Speaker 1: 25:26

You mentioned your team there. Yeah, can we go through them and give them all a mention?

Speaker 3: 25:30

yeah, yeah so don't forget anyone now I'm gonna have to use my fingers and toes, but yeah, um, obviously my, my family, my wife does absolutely loads for this. It's a shame she's not here tonight to sort of have her input, because she's done a massive job and sort of helped catapult us to new heights. So my wife, sam, does a great job for us. My daughter comes, she kind of runs a register and cracks a whip in the hut and makes sure that all the lads are doing their little bit in the canteen and on the food side of things. So we've got coaches. We've got Lucas and MK. They're our senior coaches, they're a bit older, they've done coaching at college and things like that. Then we've got the young leaders on the football side. So we have Francis, festus, who are twins, and Solomon. They're all doing scholarships at the minute like a football scholarship. So with the hopes of probably making a career in sports and coaching.

Speaker 3: 26:25

We have sham and ruben that do all the sort of logistic side of things, that help up with the setup and the takedown. And then we have three lads in the, in the huts, that do all the cooking. So we've got kemo, ibi and abdul. That's the core. But then we have other people that come in. You know we've had people like emmanuel that that sort of drifts in and out, is now working full-time so he finds it hard to get down. But that's the, the main core group. That sort of are there week to week, day in, day out, and uh and have helped us grow and helped us sort of create a nice little. Someone said to me the last week from county affair they come down and says it feels like a family and that's how we see really it's a bit of a champion's family and obviously all the lads that are coaching for us have all got friends and family within the project, so there's a real sort of family feel to the environment.

Speaker 1: 27:13

Are these in the team? Have they been with you from day one? Some of them.

Speaker 3: 27:17

Yeah, so all the young leaders a lot of them were the originals that started off as participants and then through the Young Leader programme they've done some activator courses and qualifications and become more staff members now, if you like, and volunteers.

Speaker 1: 27:34

Yeah, so you don't have to name anyone, but would you be able to I don't know, without putting you on the spot again sort of describe if you've noticed any changes in a certain person, any growth, because I would imagine, from that first session to where they are now?

Speaker 3: 27:50

Oh yeah, absolutely so. Initially, when we had much smaller numbers, it were all me taking all the sessions, and now I just kind of facilitate, really walk around and make sure they're all all right and all the lads deliver the sessions on the field. And you know, if you'd have said that a couple of years ago, I'd have sort of laughed at you. But they're really competent and they've grown in confidence and they've got the voice and they deal with confrontation. They, they've got knowledge, they have a little bit of form, they cracking little coaches and I'm sure we'll go on to bigger and better things what you're saying there.

Speaker 1: 28:23

You know it's this thing of leadership and you know forming these networks and just growing as people.

Speaker 3: 28:29

Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 28:30

And I think the confidence is a big one, isn't it dealing with people?

Speaker 3: 28:33

Yeah, definitely, and sometimes sport's a bit competitive and there's the odd little conflict and they've got to deal with that and if they step too far, then that's where I'll come in, and we've had to go see parents occasionally, but generally they do a cracking job For young lads that are all trying to make their way in life, and from coming just as a football player to now being a young coach, there's a massive transformation and you can see them growing as people.

Speaker 1: 29:00

Is there a girls side as well?

Speaker 3: 29:02

We do have girls, but we don't have a girls only Right. Ok, again, we don't really advertise it. We've got social media and we're quite active on that, but generally we don't need to advertise. The kids find us and it's all done through word of mouth. And I think that's where the power is, that for them to keep coming back week after week and bringing another friend and bringing another friend, and what started out as just a little slotting beast and we've now got kids that come from further afield and you know, there's kids that come on two buses to us and we don't just service ls 10 and 11. There's kids that come in from armley and chapel town and all the more and all through sort of the next works that the friends with at school and things yeah, I mean that's got to be a positive, because I you know the experience with the work that I'm in at the minute.

Speaker 1: 29:48

Some of these, some of these postcode wars, I just can't get my head around crazy. It's absolutely nuts where you pick a young person up and they can't, they don't want to drive through another area because of the postcode so if you're getting this integration of this is happening in leeds, oh yeah everywhere, absolutely yeah, everywhere.

Speaker 3: 30:06

Oh, it's ridiculous, I yeah and these kids will go to school with those kids. They're in gangs and postcodes and yeah, it's prevalent. You know you hear all sorts of stories and that's through our violence reduction training it really opened my eyes to what is going on out there and you know when we did knife crime or county lines and it sort of opens your eyes to what's going on and it's quite scary really for young people.

Speaker 1: 30:33

I've had quite a bit of experience with county lines just with the young people I work with, actually, when I was back a few years ago now working on the doors and young people in Leeds being sent from London to bloody distribute drugs. So you're actually whether you actively set out to do it. You're keeping these young people. They've made that choice to volunteer and come to you, haven't they? They're not forced to come to you.

Speaker 3: 30:54

No, no, and that's the thing. Going back to the advertising, the kids bring themselves and self-refer and it's not parent-led. I did it with my son. He played football for many years and I'm not a push, a pushy parent, but I made sure that they were in the right place at the right time with the right equipment and all the rest of it. And the kids we deal with don't have that. So it's quite interesting how they turn up in the droves every week. And you know, it's a bit of a throwback to when, when I were a kid really, where, like in the school holidays, you left the house eight o'clock in the morning and you played out with your mates all day and you went home when streetlights come on.

Speaker 3: 31:30

And a lot of the kids we work with are a throwback compared to a lot of the modern-day kids now that are sat on an Xbox or attached to a phone and you know, that's where you just see the characters come to life.

Speaker 1: 31:43

Definitely. I know some of the YPs that I work with when they pick them up from an empty house and then drop them off back to an empty house. So, yeah, what they're doing, they're just sat on Xboxes or sat on their phones and while we're transporting them, they're just glued to the phone. So the attendance thing that you're getting and people or young people actively volunteering and being involved in sport, is amazing. Are you looking at still growing or are you looking at different avenues, so it's not just football, or you did mention badminton and stuff.

Speaker 3: 32:14

Yeah, I mean we're always going to be football-dominated, because that's our sort of core, if you like. Like I say, from that it became dealing with hunger, dealing with loneliness, dealing with you know, we work with families that we can now refer to food banks and things like that, and doing the violence reduction and then doing the leadership programmes. And, like I said more recently, we've just tied up a partnership with John Lewis and they're going to provide funding so we can do homework clubs. So the scope's massive and we're just sort of growing organically. And where we see sort of other avenues we'll definitely grab every opportunity we can.

Speaker 1: 32:53

And where would you see yourself in five years? Do you think Could be scary mate, where you've grown?

Speaker 3: 32:59

Yeah, it is a bit scary actually, because sometimes we've got to put the brakes on a little bit because you know it takes over. You know it's so big, like when we're in the holidays and things to work with 100 kids all day, every day and the challenges that brings. And then we've been really lucky with funding. We've managed to get some real good sponsors on board and things like that. But it's a constant battle to make sure that we've got enough funding to last the next year and the next year. And I guess sometimes we've got to be quite reactive and we probably need to sit down and be a bit more proactive and work out where we do go, because everything we do is free. Any funding we do raise goes straight back into the kids and, be it in services or equipment or food, whatever it may be, it all goes back into the community.

Speaker 1: 33:48

Then just you mentioned sponsors, then what sort of businesses do sponsor? You Give them a mention because they are doing a great job supporting you.

Speaker 3: 33:58

We've got a local businessman and he likes to just stay in the background but he sends us like 50 quid every week and he's our most local business. He's right on site and he's got a successful business and he sends us 50 quid every week through his business and that might be one week it might pay for some food. One week it might pay for a new pair of football boots for somebody that's struggling. We have another guy that wants to stay anonymous and the food bank puts it on to him and he's an accountant and he just sends us like 100 quid a month and again he doesn't want anything for it. He doesn't want a pat on the back, he just he does it out of the goodness of his heart and he'd rather support a local charity where he sees the money being put to good use rather than going into a big charity where sometimes you don't see the value for your money.

Speaker 3: 34:43

We've just linked in with Sir Stanley Matthews Trust who have supported us, so that's ongoing and you know, through Leeds City Council and the councillors and street games were massive in the early days because they sort of give us a pot of funding to get us going off the ground, developed us with sort of funding bids developed us with providing young leader courses and activator courses, and there's lots of people that have helped along the journey and got us to where we're at today. It's nice to sort of put the message out there and you know I'm intrigued with what you guys are doing and you know it'd be great to do some partnership work in the future. Talking before we went on air, there's things I'm sure we can help each other out with and the great outdoors is our sort of mantra.

Speaker 1: 35:30

really, you've come to the right place.

Speaker 2: 35:33

So should any of our listeners decide to send some money towards the Champions, how do they? Get in touch with you.

Speaker 3: 35:41

Just get in contact with our social media. So we're on Facebook, twitter, instagram or we can put an email up and just do it that way. But generally we work through social media. Mainly send us a direct message and we'll take it from there, and obviously any support is welcome. But if it's somebody that just wants to be a service user and come down and get involved or maybe volunteer, you know, we're always on the lookout for more helpers and as we grow we'll have more roles and things like that, I think what we can do is put the links on the podcast.

Speaker 1: 36:13

We will do that. Well, one of us will.

Speaker 1: 36:16

Probably not me, because I'm not very good with this stuff. Do you know what I'm thinking then, craig? I think we'll have a word afterwards, but it might be good if we pop down and chat about mental health, and talking about mental health, because I think what you're doing is amazing, mate, honestly, because you're, without me going ranty about the way that I think the education system is. It's all very academic and people are missing out on this other side of building community and building their leadership skills. You know, if people want to be working in maths and English, fair enough, but you know there's another side to life, isn't there? Rather than this? Funnily enough, the the adage we usually use is you learn to drive, but then you learn to drive yeah yeah, so you learn and pass your test and then you learn to drive on the roads.

Speaker 1: 36:56

Yeah, so, and I think this is this what you're doing is covering so many bases of life skills where people are missing out. You know, young people are missing out and being isolated absolutely.

Speaker 3: 37:08

And you know, going forward, it doesn't always have to be young people. You know where we're based. We we're sort of linking with friends of unslept more or a community group and they do little pics and they do uh sort of seasonal events and things and we're looking at sort of maybe do something. We're surrounded by sheltered housing, so we'd like to sort of get the young people working with the old people and sharing experiences and you know, it might be mental health awareness, it might be combating loneliness. There's lots of different ways we can take this. And you know, like I say, we're open and I'm sure there'll be something in the future for us lads to get our heads together and do some project work somewhere along the line.

Speaker 1: 37:51

There you go, seb, or play a game of football, yeah, or that won't be me, will it? My two left feet.

Speaker 3: 37:56

Charlie could take me for a walk.

Speaker 1: 37:58

Yeah, well, we've done that, haven't?

Speaker 3: 37:59

we, we did that before.

Speaker 1: 38:01

Yeah, we'll have to look.

Speaker 3: 38:02

We're definitely mate, we're definitely looking to and if there's, I mean, you know, we'd love to take a cohort of kids and do some mountain climbing or just get them in the great outdoors. You know, a lot of these kids don't get out of urban LS10, ls11 areas and you know, just get them out to the countryside and have a look at a different side of life.

Speaker 1: 38:25

I don't think it's just the young people, mate. I had someone on Yorkshire Three Peaks that couldn't believe they were in the same sort of field system as a sheep running around, you know, and I think he was about 35. So, yeah right, brilliant. Thank you for giving up your time and coming in. I hope this goes out and is received well, because you know what you're doing is fantastic, in my opinion.

Speaker 2: 38:46

And in mine.

Speaker 1: 38:47

And in Seb's.

Speaker 2: 38:47

Seb thank you very much, I'm so in any of our listeners yeah it takes a lot of gut to put something like this in place and the energy someone needs to dedicate to get these things off the ground.

Speaker 1: 38:59

Yeah, there must be a lot of effort goes in, because I've already commented that you've lost a lot of work since I saw you last time a lot of time and effort.

Speaker 3: 39:05

I mean, to be fair, that's just trying to sort my lifestyle out. But you know, thanks to you lads, um, like I say, we, we love your message and I'm sure I know sam wants to tap into your skills a little bit and there's definitely ideas out there that I'm sure we can do some some great work going forward, and not only for the young people but maybe the older end, as well, fantastic.

Speaker 1: 39:27

Thank you very much, greg. Thank you, craig. Thank you, so thank you very much, craig. Thank you, craig.

Speaker 2: 39:33

Thank you, so thank you very much to Craig Gilmore long-time friend and talking about a topic that I really like. It's football.

Speaker 1: 39:38

Yes, Well, after, like you said, well, yeah good, wasn't it A lot to it? A lot with the young people and what they're offering for them.

Speaker 1: 39:51

It's good that we've got all these people backing them as well, in an area I know as well, I know quite well, it's not very, and it's growing really, really fast for him, isn't it? Seems to be? Yeah, seems to be. When we said about how quickly it's growing, he seems to have a bit of a look of worry on his face. How much of a positive worry. Yeah, it's one of them where, if you're doing good work, seb, it's like you.

Speaker 1: 40:06

You know you're helping an old guy do this and you can't get out of it now, yeah, so what we will have to do is well, if we get a Saturday free, we'll have to go play some football. We'll have to go down. Well, you can play football, I can't do it, we can give them a chat about. I think, especially with it being sort of teenage boy dominated, we can go give them trying to break that stigma and recruit some more listeners, recruit some more, yeah, obviously, who's here with us next time? Next time we have Helen Goff. Now, helen Goff is from another CIC and that's Elemental Challenge and what they do is offer it's like a Duke of Edinburgh award, but for adults.

Speaker 3: 40:47

Oh.

Speaker 1: 40:48

Yeah, so it's really good. I mean, it's even for people that can't get out of the house and stuff like that. It gives them that a bit of motivation to do something and community, and if they do get on the house, they're getting the benefits of the outdoors and stuff. So sounds great. Yes, sounds like great. Yeah, I met, uh, I met jane from the from the organization at adventure mind last year. So, yeah, doing good one doing good things, so that'll be good, looking forward to it. See you then. Bye, and if you'd like to support us and help us keep the podcast going, then you can go to Buy Us A Coffee or you can click that on our website, whitefoxstalkingcom and look for the little cup. Thank you.