Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training 'is a beautiful thing to do'
Every week, new participants are taking part in Inclusive Community Training, part of Sainsbury’s Active Kids for All scheme, a creative, informal and informative workshop.
For minimal cost, you can attend a three-hour face-to-face session with a qualified tutor, designed to improve the skills and confidence of those who support disabled people to help them to be more active.
Joseph Malasi, a 26-year-old aspiring football coach from Bedfordshire, did just that.
He has his eyes set on a Football Association Level 1 coaching qualification, and his friend and fellow football coach James Petty recommended Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training.
“He told me it would be very good for me, would open new doors,” he told EFDS. “I went with an open mind, did it and loved every second of it.”
Joseph has a passion for disability sport after experienced a road traffic accident in his teens. Riding his bike to his part-time job at McDonald’s he was struck by a taxi and hospitalised.
“I was in a coma for almost three weeks. Now I have nerve damage in my right hand, and I can’t do as much as I used to. I have no grip, so I can’t write or drive.
“I used to play football all the time, and was almost semi-professional. I played as an attacking midfielder, like a Paul Scholes.
“I had no real desire to be a coach until a friend of mine suggested that I got back into football.”
That helpful suggestion caught Joseph’s imagination – he realised that his new impairment was no barrier to enjoy sport and physical activity.
“Just because I have a disability does not mean I can’t play and coach.
“I always want to find ways of helping people to live with their disabilities. It took my time to learn how I could approach football differently.
“I want to be able travel around and educate little ones about football, and help them to get to a level they never thought they’d reach. To teach them to enjoy it.
A dedication which led Joseph to a Sainsbury’s Inclusive Training session earlier this year, arranged by local county sports partnership Team Beds & Luton.
“The training took place locally, and roughly 15 other attendees were there. Everybody had different backgrounds, with some participants having disabilities.
“I enjoyed the theory at the start of the session – it was very helpful. I have to acquire this knowledge, because in certain environments I need to know how to adapt sport.
"And there was one guy who didn’t really understand aspects of the training. He had a learning disability, so as a support worker I took it upon myself to take the time, helping him to understand and allowing him to learn and enjoy himself."
After some introductory theory, designed to help delegates with a grounding of the principles of adaptive sport, the majority of the session is taken up with learning practical implementation.
“I really enjoyed the practical side of the training. I got a good review from the tutor, and they told us as a group that it was one of the most productive sessions they had run in a long time.”
Having taken on board what he learned that day, Joseph now has plans to apply his new skillset on the football pitch.
“I’ll apply what I learned in my Saturday training. Kempston need a new coach of the under-9s, and I’m thinking of taking that on.
“And another club are looking for a coach to run the Dunstable Disability Football Team, and I might do that.
“Sainsbury’s Inclusive Community Training has given me the confidence to take these things on. I now know where coaching can go wrong, and I have seen people not being supported.
“Just because you’re disabled does not mean you cannot be supported to enjoy sport. It’s all about helping people to learn.”
Would he, this aspiring football coach, recommend the training to others?
“The training opens different doors and it’s very educational. For anyone who’s interested in supporting others to do sport, just take it up. It is a beautiful thing to do.”
We wish Manchester United-supporting Joseph all the best in his quest to become a football coach. The next Sir Alex Ferguson, perhaps?
For further information, please contact EFDS, email AK4A@efds.co.ukor telephone 01509 227751. Find us on Twitter @Eng_Dis_Sport,Facebook and LinkedIn.
