Disability football spotlight: Coundon Court
Within BCFA, the disability pathway continues to expand, and Coundon Court stands out as an excellent example of how our grassroots clubs are evolving to become more inclusive and progressive in the programmes they provide for disabled footballers.
We spoke to Adam Harrison, the Club Disability Officer about the brilliant work the club continue to do.
What made your Club want to get involved in disability football?
Our club has a proud history of leading the way both locally and nationally in disability football. Coundon Court FC's co-founder, Richard Seedhouse, invented frame football and was a pioneer in ensuring that all children, regardless of ability, were able to access the sport that we all love so much. Since Richard's passing in 2017, the sport has continued to flourish with a tournament held in his memory each year.
When the club had the opportunity to become Coventry's first Comets sessions providers in 2023, the opportunity to continue Rich's legacy was too good for us to turn down. Over 30 local players have since attended our sessions in a safe and friendly environment, becoming a pivotal part of the Coundon Court family.
How do you promote and recruit players/volunteers to play/coach at your disability offer?
We first targeted local primary and secondary schools in the area to spread the word about our pan-disability offering in an attempt to recruit players. This took a while to generate leads and progress was relatively slow to begin with, so patience is key. After a while, everything seemed to come together nicely and our numbers have organically climbed based on word of mouth. A lot of people have found us by searching for opportunities in their local area for young disabled and neurodivergent children.
Regarding coaches, we are super lucky to have an amazing army of volunteers who ensure we can cater for our growing player numbers. This includes SEN coaches and professionals in the social care sector too, so we have plenty of experience and empathy in our team. We've spread the word across Coundon Court FC's 30+ other teams within the club and encourage volunteers to give up just 1 Friday a month. Often, they get the bug and end up helping us out more frequently. We are also super welcoming to anyone who isn't previously involved with the club and our volunteers are welcome to get involved in coaching as much or as little as they would like - ultimately, it is about facilitating a safe environment for our youngsters, so volunteers who want to take a less active role are equally welcome. Get in touch if you fancy joining us!
What has been the biggest challenges you have faced within disability football?
Every session has its own unique challenges and it takes a little while to get to grips with that, particularly if you are new to disability football. The term 'pan-disability' encompasses such a broad spectrum, so it is naturally the case that each player has their own needs and their own triggers. To begin with, I personally found this difficult and it can manifest into thinking you're not doing a good job for the kids.
In time though, these worries do go away. At Coundon Court, the sessions are just a part of what we do - throughout, we have ensured that we get to know the children and their families and this has helped us to be as proactive as possible. Every child fills out a player passport, where they can tell us about themselves and what makes them happy or say, both when playing football and away from it. We also understand how important the social aspect of our offering is to our kids; we've made some brilliant memories together as a group, from picnics in the park to ten-pin bowling trips.
What does the current disability offer look like at your club and how do you vision disability football at Coundon Court in the future?
Our sessions started with the FA Comets programme and have now grown into sessions for 25+ regulars, targeting children between 5 and 16. It has always been our priority to provide a pathway and consistent environment for our players to represent Coundon Court for many years. Change can be difficult for us all, so having consistency for the kids is crucial.
Ultimately, our longer term goal is to provide opportunities for as many children as we possibly can. Rich's philosophy was that anyone who wants to play for Coundon Court, can play for Coundon Court and that is what we will always embody. We certainly wouldn't rule out impairment-specific sessions in the future too.
I'd personally love it if our current group of amazing kids stay with us for years to come and then support us with the coaching side of things. The sessions are all about equipping our kids for the future and supporting them with life skills, not just football skills.
What is some advice you would give to coaches/clubs who are just starting their disability provision?
Firstly, go for it - it will be so worth it seeing kids access football for the very first time. Be patient to begin with as it can take a while to grow but it'll all fall together in time.
It is really key to remember who we are doing this for though and that's the children. Whilst there are opportunities to play matches, the enjoyment of all children on all teams should be the driving force for a team's involvement. If your motivation is right, then offering disability football sessions could be the start of a really great journey for a club.
We've had numerous parents and coaches who have said that pan-disability football has made them fall in love with the game all over again!
Quotes from the Comets:
'Comets are my family' - Carter, aged 9
'I would like to say how every child no matter what have are included. It has brought Carter on massively with his confidence and social skills, also to listen to instructions.' - Eve, Carter's Mum