Oxford United in the Community: How coaches can help

MAY is a significant month for many Football League clubs as the season officially comes to an end and fans celebrate promotion, contemplate relegation or hold feelings in between.

It can often be a long wait until those early football-focused weekends in August return.

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But, behind the scenes, work to positively engage and inspire all members of the community by harnessing the power of our great sport and club never stops.

Personally, this season has been a period of fresh challenges, breaking new boundaries and bringing a wide variety of individuals from different backgrounds together via our countywide courses and programmes.

It was six years ago I started my role as a part-time coach with Oxford United in the Community.

Back then, I’d coach after-school sessions once a week before progressing to holiday camps and our development centre.

After accepting a full-time role as Lead Community Coach in January, I’ve been fortunate enough to witness and be at the heart of our work to make a tangible difference to the lives of Oxfordshire people and our communities.

It’s been a truly eye-opening period where I’ve managed a different aspect to our work which runs parallel with the charity’s existing delivery including holiday camps, after-school clubs and matchday activities.

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To this day, those provisions play an essential role in supporting accessibility and opportunity regarding sports participation in Oxfordshire.

And while they are integral to our operation, the impact and positive influence football and the

Oxford United badge can have on individuals and groups holds a far wider reach.

One aspect of the role that has been particularly relevant to the above is our work with the Twinning Project via HMP Bullingdon.

The Twinning Project is a 10-week football-based rehabilitation programme delivered by our team to upskill and educate prisoners prior to their release. Not only is participation proven to boost prisoners’ mental and physical health, but also their life skills and employment opportunities when they are released.

A key part of the programme is teaching participants the qualities of any sports coach such as punctuality, planning and good communication so they can work towards achieving their FA Level 1 coaching badge.

Of course, all these qualities can be applied to the real world and the feedback we have had from prisoners has been very powerful and made myself reflect on decisions people choose to make in life and how as coaches we can steer people on the right path.

I’m pleased to report a number of our first graduates have landed full-time roles in their communities since they were released, and we look forward to working with our next intake of participants later this summer.

For me, the key aspect of being a good coach is placing the person you are engaging at the heart of your work.

By understanding an individual’s personality traits, interests, hobbies and lifestyle, you unlock the ability to bring out the very best in them.

That applies to all aspects of our delivery at Oxford United in the Community, and I look forward to continuing our positive engagement through the off-season.

Rob Porter, Lead Community Coach

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.