A Year of Making Mistakes

This weekend I will finally be on my way back to Shropshire to have my final student summer, 2 months of no uni work, making my own tea, washing my own clothes and paying to live - one to savour I know. This might sound great, but realistically I'm already 2 months into my summer. 1 month was spent in Zambia, the other has been spent here in Preston, in and out of meetings, planning and emailing. Sounds riveting? 

2 months after my activator contract ran out for the year, I'm returning home to continue planning. It feels like I can't escape, constantly thinking about next season, plans that I've got in place, things I've yet to do and also my first year in the role. 

I think it says a lot about me to have spent so much time in Preston, planning and attending meetings.. But I want to get next year right, the more I do now, the less I have to do later. Without going on about my ridiculous sized summer, I want to have a look back over the season 2013/14 and my time spent in and office, behind a computer, down a phone and on the playing field. 

As my previous blogs have outlined, I was shocked and so overwhelmed to have got the role as University Football Activator for UCLan at the start if the year. It felt like the best possible next step on a ladder of football development, which up until 2 years ago, I didn't even know existed. This a new experience for me and one which I couldn't see the future of, as in where it would take me, what it really involved and if I was up to the challenge. 

The early stages seemed to pass me by, still amazed that I was in the role. Weeks and hours tumbled by and I hadn't really done anything, or so it seemed. Freshers' Fairs came and went, we had teams signing up and chasing round halls of residence to try and get more students involved. A task I thought wouldn't be a problem, everyone loves football right?

Wrong, that seemed to be a hard pill to swallow. One that I couldn't understand and it constantly annoyed me that I couldn't get more people involved, turns out that I probably wasn't looking in the right places or putting on the right kind of event.

They say that you make a mistake once, after that it becomes a choice. This is the best way in which I can describe the past year within my role. Mistakes are proof that I'm trying things, the plans I'm making for next year are proof that I'm learning. I've had a number of positives and successes, that with the Hub Club Project, referee developments and number of teams within our Student Union Leagues, but that doesn't mean that everything has run smoothly.

That of setting up a female only football provision, some sort of volunteer group, running our 11-a-side leagues.. Things that I want to work but haven't seemed to be able to get right. I've had a lot of people tell me that I'm spread far too thinly, and I agree. Having so much to with little time has been incredibly difficult at times I've lost enthusiasm and struggled. But sometimes it's that struggle and those mistakes which show us where to improve and what's needed. 

It's been a challenge to try and implement ideas without any research, to learn about how to run leagues, to organise referees and things which go wrong on match days - which they certainly have done! The times where referees haven't turned up, the weather has ruined fixtures, players moaning, teams dropping out, chasing money.. things that you don't expect to happen. There are times where I've wanted the ground to open up and eat me.. but learning how to deal with and in this situations has helped a lot.

After talking to many other Football Activators it seems like I had an awful lot of responsibility put on my shoulders. I've been involved with projects which others haven't and have had a lot to look after. With a lot to look after it's been challenging but also very rewarding. After linking up with the Lancashire Hub Club Project I have been able to see and be a part of some amazing developments where the Hub Club has now grown a number of arms including an FA Affiliated club for 5+ different age groups and now planning to run Football Mash Up centres under their name. This work has been topped off by UCLan inviting me to The Sir Tom Finney Tribute Dinner, a posh evening celebrating Sir Tom Finney's life and also raising money for the Sir Tom Finney Soccer Centre [the Hub Club].

Getting a referee course run and now progressing into hopefully a referee's forum is also very exciting, something I hope to pull off next season.

Now, looking towards next season, I've planned and will have a Futsal league running. The first futsal league at UCLan, expectations around me are quite low, but I'm fairly confident things will work out well following attendances to a futsal turn up and play session last year. I've spent time linking up with The FA to affiliate us to be an FA Futsal Fives League, setting up all of the ground work - now I've got to deliver it.

I've had a meeting with all football providers at the university to ensure that we can deliver the 6 point BUCs football offer as a team, instead of me trying to run it all single handedly. Although I've been able to spread some of my work, it seems that I will be doing the same if not more next season within less hours. A mammoth task. 

The challenges I've face have been difficult at times to get around, but they've provided me with first hand experience within an environment which I want to be in when I graduate next year. 

I've learnt to be patient and offer what students want, not what I think they need. To persevere, not give up if it doesn't work straight away. And also the importance of collaboration, whether that be when sending out volunteering opportunities, delivering the leagues or within the Hub Club. However small the input, that could be the final jigsaw piece. 

Frustration is natural, it's a struggle to juggle my degree, job, living, coaching and everything else I want to do. But I've managed to get through it, with better planning and knowledge of what next year will hold will definitely put me in good stead to leave a legacy for someone else to pick up next year. 

This season, 2013/14, I have:
- Run our 11-a-side SUL league with 16 teams.
- Run our 5-a-side SUL league with 12 teams.
- Formed a strong partnership with our Hub Club, creating 6 coaching placements.
- Run a basic referees course creating 12 new referees.
- Set up UCLan as a Mars Just Play centre, hoping to have more success with this next year.
- Run a football festival, Mars Just Play in partnership with Team 23 with over 100 students involved.
- Partially delivered a workshop around the Hub Club project at the BUCs Football Development Conference.
- Attempted to create a female only football provision.
- Put in all of the ground work ahead of a Futsal Fives League next season.

I think that my role this year has played a huge part in helping me to be accepted onto the National Game Youth Council, provided me with experience of contacting a number of people, looking to deliver projects, deliver presentations and come up with innovative ideas.

It's been a busy first year, where a lot has taken place. Hopefully next year will be a little easier with having a years experience, but I'm sure it will throw up more problems.

Just like queuing up for a rollercoaster, you see all of the climbs, drops and thrills - but you cant feel the ride until you're on it. I knew it would be a roller coaster, but had to be on it to experience it.

I've got more plans to write, provisions to maintain and a year to leave behind a job with a legacy.. not much of an ask..