Charlie Webster Blog
The power of sport
February 19, 2011
Filed Under South Africa
I love having the opportunity to go away and see different cultures, different beliefs and thoughts about life. When I was a child I was always interested in history and in the spirit of cultures across the globe. One of my passions throughout my life from a young age has been to work with kids and show that hope and belief is all that is needed in this world irrespective of the situation and circumstances you were brought up in.
As early as 17 I was working with a play scheme whilst I was still at school studying for my A-levels. It was a scheme where I would teach sport for an hour to kids after school. The children I coached were brought up in humble and deprived back grounds in the inner city areas of Sheffield. I wanted to use sport to inspire these young people to fire up their passion, improve their confidence and determination to be whoever they want to be. Exactly what sport did for me.
That drive and passion has always been something deep inside me most likely due to my own background. I still wholeheartedly believe it takes just once person. The strength of belief is the most powerful of all.
There are some incredible initiatives across the world that use sport as a means to escape, empower and aspire. One that I have been reading about on my recent travels in South Africa is in Durban created from a children’s home called Umthombo, ‘street-kid-surfers’. Old surf boards are donated to the project with the goal to get kids of the street. At first as I’m sure you can imagine there was a backlash from local surfers, they believed these kids were dangerous, drug addicted and street thugs.
The area around Umthombo to get to the beach is in a nutshell as rough and hostile as you can possibly imagine. Creepy figures lurking to suck the kids back in.
Imagine how those kids felt, branded because they have nothing, no home, no family, how are they supposed to overcome that when they are boxed as ‘bad’?
The power of belief crops up again, they didn’t give up and now they are mixing with the local surfers, learning from them, being inspired by them and empowered to live a life of their own. Falling in love with the sport and leaving the streets behind, leaving their traumatic childhoods behind. A handful of kids from the project are now working as assistant life guards and will qualify fully soon, 2 are also in the process of opening their own surf school.
I also learnt to how surf while I was away. I didn’t want to get out of the water. (the picture is my first go at surfing!)
The power of sport, the power of one.
Exclusive interview with Sheffield United manager Micky Adams
January 12, 2011
Filed Under Football
Exclusive interview with Micky Adams
07 Jan 2011 - 10:09:59
Yesterday I shot up the M1 (of course sticking to the speed limit) and made a trip to my home town, Sheffield. My car was a bit poorly so took it to get better, visited a friend and then I was lucky enough to meet the new boss of Sheffield United. Before a sat down with Micky Adams I briefly met Ched Evans who was on his way to take his dogs for a walk and then literally 2 minutes later the whole squad seemed to appear out of nowhere. Funny that!
After my influx of United players, myself and Adams sat down with a cup of coffee to have a chat. We got straight down to business on the most important topic of where we were both from in the Steel City, opposite ends by the way and what schools we went too. Once that was out of the way we got stuck into how he’s settling in as the new man about town.
I suppose us as football fans don’t tend to think how hard it must be coming into a new club with the pressure and expectation from both the club’s board and the fans. Well at least with Micky Adams being a Blade born and bred, he has a bit more leeway time to prove himself. We joked he has about 2 weeks extra than a non Sheffield United associated manager. However he did say that ‘Regardless of whether I’m a Blades fan or not, I’m a football manager paid to get results and if I don’t get results then I’ll be sacked.’ It makes you see things from a slightly different perspective especially we he went on to say ‘The average life span of a manager in the Championship is 12 months that shows you how hard it is to achieve our ambitions.’
Sheffield United has those high ambitions for sure and we might not have a big purse at the moment, to be fair though there are a lot of teams out there struggling in the current climate but what I like about the Blades ideals is they are genuinely working hard to develop and progress the youth academy. I’m not just saying that because they are my team either. When talking to Micky he stated that it was the manager’s responsibility anyway and looking after the first team isn’t his only job.
In United the structure is there but the one thing that has got to be continually guaranteed is actually bringing some players through. We’ve seen it with Kyle Walker and Keith Quinn as just a few examples. It was really key what Micky said ‘John Pemberton and myself have got to share a philosophy that goes from the first team right into the reserve and into the youth team. We have to look at a certain type of player that is going to be successful. We all have to train the same way. Do all the same things in games in terms of the way we defend and the way we attack and if we can share that philosophy throughout the club then I’m sure we’ll get future first team players coming through the academy.’
I was very happy when he said that, it was exactly what I wrote for my Football UK blog in October about the German model of football and how England can learn from it. At least one manager in the country has the right idea! So, of course as youth training is something I’m passionate about and with the lack of it in England I asked him his thoughts on the current situation. ‘Less and less English players coming through the systems and if they are they are getting lost somewhere.’ Micky continued to say that this was possibly because of the influx of foreign players but academies like Sheffield United’s have a responsibility to try and get as many players through as they can to help the England team. Now I don’t know about you but that sounds like a good idea to me, especially if more clubs worked in unison with this philosophy.
Enjoying our philosophical conversation, I led onto money; something I’ve mentioned in previous blogs and how the emphasis on money demands in football riles me something rotten. It was a refreshing change to hear the Blades gaffer respond. ‘Money shouldn’t be used as a motivational tool at any level. Motivation as a footballer should be that you win games of football and that you are happy coming into work and playing a game that you love.’ At this point I’m totally pro Micky Adams Sheffield United manager and feeling like I could have had at least another 2 cups of coffee with him, however I would have been bouncing off the walls and putting the world to rights by then so maybe good idea I didn’t.He continued ‘Nobody is shooting at you, you are not dodging bullets on a front line you are coming in and working and doing something that you enjoy. That’s always got to be the emphasis rather than looking at the money. If you are successful at anything the rewards will come.’ My thoughts exactly, see we’re nice decent folk us Sheffield lot.
After nattering away to Micky for at least half an hour, I was privy to witness the intensity and pressure of the January transfer window for clubs like United. It was so interesting to see how many variables were involved, not just budgets and filling needed positions but the importance of attitude and character, their current fitness level especially if they have not been in the starting 11 for a team and their relationship with the fans.
There is a little while left in the transfer window so it will be interesting to see the movement coming from the Lane but to more immediate matters and the FA Cup this weekend. A tournament I have always loved despite some people’s views on its magic been lost. Sheffield United take on Aston Villa on Saturday and it’s definitely not just a Cup game to the Blades. It’s going to be tough though as Micky said ‘I watched them the other night and if someone were to say they were lacking in confidence then I wouldn’t believe that. I think they are just unfortunate at the moment.’ I’m sorry Villa fans but please can you have just one more weekend of misfortune and give us Blades something to celebrate this weekend. Much appreciated.
Micky Adams seems under the usual pressures of a new manager coming into a team that’s struggling but he’s passionate, determined and believes in the club and as a fan having met him I’m behind him all the way.