A brilliant way to introduce younger children to sport – and to soccer in particular – has come to Clare in the form of Little Kickers classes, specialising in coaching pre-school soccer.
Led by Alison Crowley and her husband Denis for the last 15 years, the pair are passionate about educating young children from ages two and up to develop their skills and coordination.
Classes will take place on Saturdays at St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield GAA and on Sundays at the Holy Family in Ennis, and are split into three group to tailor for different ages;
Little Kicks (18 months to 2.5 years); Junior Kickers (2.5-3.5 years); and Mighty Kickers (3.5-5th birthday).
There are two core elements in every session. The first is ‘play not push’ coaching which means teaching football in a fun, pressure-free environment to give children a positive introduction to sport.
Secondly, the Little Kickers coaches believe that football can be educational when coached in the right way as it can stimulate imagination and aid early development skills, such as learning colours and numbers, following instructions and playing as a team.
Little Kickers launched in Ireland in 2007 and it is part of a network of 2,500 coaches and 300 franchises in 32 countries, making it the world’s biggest and most successful pre-school football academy.
The Clare classes are being facilitated by Alison. Alison & Denis have four children who all attended and loved Little Kicker classes. Some 15 years later and life has come full circle for older two boys James & Aidan, who are now part of the coaching team while her daughter Grace is starting to help out. Her youngest boy Denis “can’t wait to get coaching once he’s old enough” she adds.
Alison is also on the lookout for a suitable venue in Shannon and hopes to have classes running also early next year. Keep up to date on Social Media – Facebook Little Kickers Clare / Instagram Littlekickersireno7.
Participants can be enrolled online at www.littlekickers.ie. Alison can be contacted on 087-7076104 or by email on acrowley@littlekickers.ie.
