The Disabilities Football Project is an important part of the Albion in the Community football initiatives. As a club we are very proud of our community football links and we are fully committed to grass roots football for all abilities across Sussex.

Football is more than just a game for disabled players and our Disability Football Project has already made a big difference to many children's lives in Sussex. The project is continually growing and developing its programmes with the aim of giving every child and young person in the county, whatever their needs or ability, the opportunity to play the game at his or her own level.

Our aims are to:

- Further develop the Seagulls Specials Clubs
- Start up a 'girls only' Seagulls team
- More football taster sessions in special schools
- Better opportunities for wheelchair players
- Coach development opportunities for players and volunteers
- Developing football for blind and visually impaired players
- More opportunities for deaf and hearing impaired players
- Further develop competitions for schools, colleges and day centres
- Encourage elite players to follow in the path of England trialists

More Than Just Football

The Albion's Disabilities Football Project is not just about football; it offers a huge range of benefits - physical, social as well as emotional - to children and young adults with special needs. Here are just some of the many positives that can be gained from taking part in football.

Basic Skills

The chance to learn to play football is so highly motivating to many children, that it can be used as a vehicle to encourage and develop basic skills. Many children are still learning to play successfully and need lots of chances to practise sharing, taking turns, following rules and accepting that they can't always be the winner. Waiting, good listening and following an adult's direction rather than their own agenda are really important skills to master. A lack of these skills is often the reason why a lot of children are excluded from other activities; getting the hang of these opens doors to lots of other clubs. Sessions for younger players focus on getting basic skills right.

Coordination

Many children and young people with special needs have difficulty mastering simple physical skills such as hopping, balancing, catching, running and kicking, and football training naturally offers scope for practising these skills. More than this, sessions give children who have poor spatial awareness and appear clumsy the chance to develop a better sense of themselves 'in time and space'. Their position in relation to other people and objects improves, as does eye-ball co-ordination.

Communication

Most children have some difficulty understanding what others say or making themselves understood. Coaches adapt their teaching and language to support player's listening and attention skills. Demonstration, practise and repetition help young players develop a better understanding of spatial concepts like 'in front', 'beside' and 'between'. Later, the same approaches help older players secure their understanding of sequences of events and more complex instructions.

Often children with language difficulties choose hobbies that are solitary and which do not demand a lot of language. Football generates chat. It is our national sport, everyone has something to say, and for our young people who find it hard to think what to say in social situations, it is a good topic. It is easier to show an interest in other people's views and not so hard to say what you think. Even players whose speech is unclear, or who have problems organising their thoughts, are motivated to talk about football. The more they talk and the more they have success at being understood and holding another person's interest, the more confident players become at speaking to others they do not know so well

Friendships

It is rare for disabled children to have a wide circle of friends. Many can only name one or two or cannot say how they know someone is a friend. Most children have some difficulty getting along with people who they do not know well and find it hard to make new friends in an unstructured, unsupported setting. It is easier to make lasting friendships with children and young people who play the same sport, for the same team. Some players introduce friends from their special school.

Being Part Of A Team

Football teaches how to take both individual and collective responsibility for what happens. Players learn that working as a team will mean making chances for other players rather than just taking them for yourself. It is good practice for young people who may have little experience of thinking strategically.

Playing football teaches children to play by the rules and to accept a decision that they may disagree with. A lot of children find it hard to 'put themselves in someone else's shoes' or to have a sense of justice, and they need plenty of safe chances to practice acceptable ways to manage disappointment.

Disabled children face particular barriers to taking part in competitive sports, so unless we create safe, structured opportunities to train and play, their fitness and stamina is likely to be poorer. Special schools struggle to recruit specialist sports teachers or find it difficult to find a big enough group of pupils of similar age and ability to teach team sports. For many special needs children an informal 'kick about' in the park with friends is not an option. Parents worry about their vulnerability and safety. Friends at special schools are unlikely to live near by and mainstream peers rarely invite slower, weaker players to join their team. Even very able players who 'try out' for mainstream teams are more likely to find themselves 'left on the bench' as difficulties making themselves understood are assumed to reflect their skill at the game.

General Enquiries

For all general enquiries for the Albion's Disabilities Football Programme please call Teresa Sanders on 07919 051848 or click here to email now.