Wolverhampton Wanderers celebrate 15th anniversary of Premier League Kicks project
The Foundation is currently joining clubs across the country in marking the 15th anniversary of the flagship PL Kicks project which has helped hundreds of thousands of young people achieve their potential and improve their wellbeing through free football sessions and educational workshops.
As part of the celebrations, clubs have nominated a PL Kicks ‘local legend’ who has been involved with the programme and inspired others through their dedication, work ethic and personal development.
Each nominee receives a bespoke ‘Local Legend’ football card, created with support from Premier League partner Panini
Wolves Foundation ambassador and former Wolves skipper Karl Henry dropped into Molineux to surprise members of staff and former Premier League Kicks participant Corey Clutterbuck with ‘Local Legend’ status.
Jayna Patel, community programmes executive with the Premier League Charitable Fund, was also at Molineux to see Corey caught unawares!
Karl said: It’s an absolute honour for me as a proud ambassador of Wolves Foundation to be asked to come in and surprise Corey with his ‘Local Legend’ status.
“I know just how much the Foundation contributes with its work in the local community and how much it means to the city of Wolverhampton.The Premier League’s Kicks project is such an important one, I was privileged to be at the relaunch from Wolves Foundation a couple of years ago and the number of young people who have benefitted over such a long period of time will be massive. Corey epitomises what Wolves and Wolves Foundation is all about and I am sure he will keep up the great work just as he has for so many years.”
Corey’s PL Kicks story began a decade ago as a 12-year-old attending sessions after a bad knee injury had interrupted his participation in junior football.
The Auntie of one of his friends worked for the Foundation – then known as Wolves Community Trust – suggested they both popped along to try out a PL Kicks session in the Arena at Aldersley.
The rest? Well, that’s history!
“It was when I went along to Kicks and got to know people there that I fell in love with football again,” Corey, now 22, explains. I had been out for about three months trying to recover from this cartilage injury but when I went to Kicks, I found it interesting and engaging. I went along for about six years before I reached 18, and then I was thinking and worrying about what might happen next as I would have to leave. It was then that I got the opportunity to volunteer and from there the chance to coach for the Foundation which has been brilliant. I had always had the idea of coaching in the back of my mind from when I was a young kid but it wasn’t until someone put it forward that I took the chance. I always wanted to do something within the community whether that was with the club, the Foundation or Academy, and since I got started, I haven’t looked back.”
Matt gets a kick out of Kicks
If ever there was a story to highlight the value and worth of the Premier League Kicks project, then it comes in the cheery form of Wolves Foundation’s Matt Elcock.
Because Elcock, currently celebrating a year as a full-time member of staff now employed as a cohesion coach, has embarked on one of those fantastic journeys from being a participant on one of the sessions to actually delivering them, trying to help young people find their own path in much the same way as he did many years ago.
As PL Kicks celebrates its 15th anniversary over the coming fortnight, it is a project which Elcock readily acknowledges he has a lot to be thankful for.
The initiative was launched back in 2007 with the aim of using football to bring communities together and engage with young people, especially those who had been difficult to reach, and guide them towards a range of healthy and constructive activities.
When Elcock first attended, the project was known as the Dusk Twilight Midnight League before soon coming under the Kicks umbrella, after which he then turned from participant to provider.
Starting out with what was then Wolves Community Trust as a part-time casual coach delivering community projects including Kicks, Elcock completed his weekly portfolio working in youth services in Wolverhampton and then Walsall.
He completed his Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications in youth work and spent a year studying youth work at Newman University in Birmingham, adding invaluable experience which increased his skillset beyond just coaching football and saw him move into providing additional support on inclusion projects.
As time went on Elcock also became far better equipped to deal with different challenges and an increased responsibility, not least when he was suddenly thrown into the environment of leading a feature on local TV!
“Matt was at a stage in his life where he really could have gone down a different path but attending these sessions and then starting his coaching journey gave him a focus and a new self- confidence. It was so important that the coaches were able to spot something that prompted them to work with him and develop his skills and that is such a strong part of PL Kicks in that many participants have so much potential but just need advice and guidance to move in the right direction.” (…)
“Another feature of Matt’s story and one which does him great credit is that ultimately it took him 14 years to land a permanent full-time role within the Foundation. With his move into youth work, and the balance with his coaching experience, the role that he carries out now is perfectly suited to his skillset. To think of Matt now, doing such great work and helping so many young people across the community, it is one of the great success stories of PL Kicks considering he arrived as such a quiet and unsure participant all those years ago.”
Lee Smith, senior manager (operations)
Aris Limassol FC Social, Environmental, and Health Initiatives
