How football is keeping boys out of mischief

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Children enjoy a game of football: With the help of professional trainers, some end up pursuing football-related careers. Photo/COURTESY 

By Annie Njanja, anjanja@ke.nationmedia.com

Posted  Thursday, June 12  2014 at  17:21

IN SUMMARY

• Children as young as four years can join these football academies to keep active.

With buildings cropping up in every available space within city estates, the number and sizes of playing grounds are fast being swallowed up.  But notably a number of establishments have been dedicated to ensuring that children have fun and get proper and safe physical exercise, nurturing talent in the process.

Play is essential for the physical and mental growth of children as it stimulates physical development like coordination and balancing says Dr. Catherine Mutisya.

“Children who actively engage in exercise tend to be brighter in class and to relate well with their peers, they also develop better social skills” she adds.

Therefore, engaging them in sporty physical activities, such as football, is important. While having fun playing football , children get a chance to identify and nurture their talent, besides boosting their physical fitness.

During such physical activities they get a chance to socialise with their peers while at the same time learning how to work as a team, manage anger and deal with unmet expectations especially during competitions.

Children as young as four years can join these football academies, and with the help of professional trainers, some end up pursuing football-related careers.

The local football academies school commitments in mind, so most of their training schedules are held over weekends.

Elite Soccer Training Centre, Sags Soccer, Sadili Africa Talent Training Academy and Ligi Ndogo are some of the well-known local football academies.

At these centres, children are left in the hands of professional coaches who ensure the health and safety of the young players and teach them the tactical and technical side of the game.

Elite Soccer Training Centre and Sags Soccer goes the extent of organising tournaments with teams from academies from around the world thus giving the youngsters a chance to compete with teams from the best academies in the world.

Intensity

At Ligi Ndogo, children are grouped into various classes and the intensity of training is dependent on the age groups.

Located on Ngong Road, next to the RFUEA grounds, Ligi Ndogo has a programme for every age group starting from Atom, Junior to Under and Over 19.

Training lessons are conducted every Saturday from 9.30am to 12:30pm with every group having its own coach and an assistant.

According to James Owira, the principal administrator at Ligi Ndogo, their sessions are designed to be fun and to develop skills among the youngsters.

By Annie Njanja, anjanja@ke.nationmedia.com

Posted  Thursday, June 12  2014 at  17:21

IN SUMMARY

• Children as young as four years can join these football academies to keep active.

“We aim to help them gain physical fitness and to bring coordination in children especially below the age of 11, the soft football exercises they play are meant to instill certain characteristics like cooperation and teamwork,” says Owira.

“Above the age of 11, we teach them tricks and tactics after evaluating that they are keen to pursue a career in football,” he adds.

Owira mentions that parents take children to the football academy to get them off the computer games and television.

Besides, most residential places today lack playgrounds for growing children making these academies crucial in a child’s growth. A season lasting three months cost Sh8,000 at the Ligi Ndogo academy.

At Elite Academy, soccer training happens on Saturdays from 2 p.m to 4p.m and Sundays from 4p.m to 6p.m.

The academy enrols boys  between the ages of nine and 19. It costs Sh7,500 per person for a term lasting three months.

Ali Kiplagat of Elite Academy says that physical fitness activities like football help to boost children’s health both mentally and physically.

“Besides training them to be quality football players, we aim to make them better people in the society,” he says.

The academy, which is located on Lang’ata Road, in Karen, also takes players for football tournaments outside Kenya. For instance, last year, a team of Under 13 and 15 participated in the Bolton International Super Cup in the United Kingdom.

The academy’s team faced off with other teams from the Caribbean and around Europe.