Active Schools Co-ordinators Sarah Nicolson and June Sanderson from Skye and Lochalsh organised a five day trip North for Football Development Officer Peter Budge to  provide primary school children with an opportunity to play football.

 

Peter visited twenty primary schools, with 242 pupils from as far as Lochcarron in Wester Ross to Dunvegan getting  the opportunity to learn new skills.

 

The focus for the Primary 4s and 5s was technical development with the emphasis on fun games followed by small sided games i.e. 4 v 4s without goalkeepers.

 

Small sided games are encouraged to give the children more touches of the ball, more 1 v 1s, more goals scored, more decision making opportunities and more fun. For thsi reason the Scottish FA recommends Developmental Fours as an excellent teaching tool for all young players.

 

Peter said: "The children all approached the sessions with enthusiasm. The message for the children was that it was not about winning or losing but about making a difference.

 

"Each and every one of them made a difference to their class mates and they also made a difference to me as a coach. Overall it was an excellent week and a big thank you goes to all of the head teachers for welcoming me to their schools".

 

Later this month school festivals will be held in Plockton and Portree to allow the children the opportunity to interact, to have fun and to enjoy playing games.

 

Once again Active School Co-ordinators Sarah and June will be organising the festivals on 17th September 2010.