This year, thanks to our funding from Greater Manchester Police, we have been able to run weekly football and mentoring sessions for girls aged 5-11 in Stretford, Manchester. Although we do play football, these sessions have really been about creating a space for girls to run around and be strong, vocal and physical.
We know sport is good for children and young people, especially for their physical health and mental wellbeing, but we wanted to find out more. During one of our recent sessions, we decided to ask the girls what the impact of the sessions has been for them.
One thing we asked the girls is to tell us what words come to mind when they think about our sessions. They said: “amazing”, “marvellous”, “energy”, “power”, “joyful”, “jolly”, and “happy”. Of course, the fact our sessions make the girls happy is amazing, but it’s also brilliant to see that they recognise “power” and “energy” as a core part of what we do. Especially during the school day, girls aren’t always encouraged to be loud and run around, but it’s exactly what we want them to be doing.
We also asked the girls to tell us how the feel before and after our sessions, we wanted to understand if an hour of football can really make a positive difference to how the girls are feeling. One girl, aged 10, told us that before the sessions she feels “a lot of energy” and afterwards she feels “tired”. Similarly, another girl, aged 10, said “before the sessions I feel ready to play and have fun” After, “I feel exhausted and I have had a lot of fun”. It’s brilliant to see that this is an opportunity for girls to burn off all the energy they haven’t been able to at school that day.
Importantly, another girl, aged 11, told us that before the sessions “scared and worried”, but afterwards she feels “happy, relaxed, and happy”. This was shared by a younger child, aged 7, who said she sometimes feels “scared” before sessions, but “excited” afterwards.
Children and young people get anxious about lots of things, just like we do, and it’s reassuring to know that an hour of sport and physical activity can help them turn these worries into much more positive feelings. When you’re running around and shouting to your friends in the sports hall or on the field, there’s no time to be worrying about much else. As adults, being active releases endorphins, boosts our mood, and makes us feel good, and it does exactly the same for our children and young people too.
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