Football Writers Club - And finding your WHY!

Why did I create Football Writers Club?

Hi everyone and welcome to the SC Inspire Tuition blog! You might have seen on the Facebook page recently, I’ve been mentioning Football Writing Club, a lot! I am extremely passionate about this club and its potential. But why? I hope I can explain in this blog!

Why? What is the reason behind this club/programme? It’s a question I think is useful for all of us to think about every so often.

What is my reason? Why am I really doing this?

There are surface level reasons, sure; I believe this programme will help further my business and help to add income for the August downtime most tutoring businesses face. But what about the deeper, more meaningful reasons? That’s where I am most interested. What is my true motivation that inspires me to believe in this project so much?

I think I’ve managed to simplify this down to three key words:

Passion, Inspiration, Inclusion. 

1)      Passion for the sport

It starts with football being a passion. For me, football has always been a joy. Something that has been with me since I was probably 7 or 8 years old. I still remember - honestly - the first goal I ever saw. Ian Wright for England vs Poland in 1993. I've tried to look it up on YouTube now and can't even find it - but this goal stuck with me.

I don't know why, but it did. From then on, I just loved football. I loved learning about it, playing it, watching it, collecting stickers, magazines, everything and anything football related, I consumed it. So, naturally, teaching lessons about football could never feel like work to me – and to be honest, aren’t we all looking for ways for work not to feel like ‘work?’

2)      Inspiring writing

I know football can be an amazing vehicle for writing …. but I don’t think most kids know that! For a child, I think it’s a really special revelation for some to realise, ‘So I can just write about what I like?’ Yes! Yes you can! And Football lends itself perfectly to writing for so many reasons – match reports, player profiles, scout reports, commentary on matches, opinion pieces, discussion-based writing – the list is endless! Add into the mix that students will end up using high level vocabulary and language features that can be adapted and used in other genres. Football is full of alliteration, hyperbole, similes and metaphors and that’s just the beginning.

3)      A chance for the non-sporty to shine

I always loved sports and football in particular, but I was never a great athlete or the best footballer. As much as I wanted to be, it just wasn’t my path. I also know this feeling can hurt, and make young people lose confidence in themselves. It did for me! That’s why I think this club can be unique and helpful. It can inspire those children who love football but perhaps aren’t always the ‘first picks’ when playing the game, to do something they can be proud of and possibly even find a real passion for. Who knows – our programme could inspire and find a budding sports journalist. I want the programme to be a place where children find confidence in themselves – they could find something new that they can excel in.

Who is this club for?

-          Kids who love football first and foremost. If your child has a passion for playing, watching or anything else to do with football, they’ll love this club.

-          Kids who are reluctant writers. If writing is a real slog for your child but they love football – this club is especially for them. It will hopefully open up their eyes to a brand-new world of being able to write for a purpose and, crucially, because they want to.

-          Kids who enjoy both football and writing – this club is going to be a dream for them! For a child who actually already enjoys writing this club could really open some doors for them to put an existing passion to good use and who knows – possibly inspire a desire to continue learning about football writing and journalism as a career path.

My overall WHY

Why Football Writers Club?

Passion, inspiration and inclusion. 

I want this club to tick all of these boxes. I want to inspire young people to write about their passions first and foremost. Then, my secondary, but equally powerful reason why; I want to build children’s confidence. Something they can try and maybe excel in – a new avenue to explore, a horizon to broaden. A way for children to see there’s a big world out there full of possibilities. You might not get to be the next Messi, but you might stand a great chance of talking, reporting and writing about the next one!

What does the work we do look like?

In football writing club we follow the educational philosophy that writing, ‘flows on a sea of talk.’ Meaning students need to be able to talk about something, understand it and absorb it, before writing. This is often why many students feel lost when they stare at a blank page after being asked to write a story or describe a picture. They haven’t had a chance to experience it, talk about it and become familiar with it. For football mad kids, this familiarity isn’t a problem. They already know all there is to know about it – and their writing can flow! My job becomes simple – help to guide them, give them their reasons to write and help them apply little touches to really make memorable writing.

Here are a couple of examples of children’s work so far from our club:

Handwritten work - shows evidence of great research and thinking.

Elliot's work made into a professional page for his magazine!

Nathan's typed work - a fantastic commentary on a classic goal!

Transformation into a fantastic page for his magazine!