Salford-based Footytotz is holding lessons for children as young as 18 months to learn how to play football starting tomorrow.
Some 23 per cent of children under 11 in the UK are obese, and Salford is providing an outlet for youngsters to get fit from a very young age in order to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle later in life.
Franchise owner of Footytotz Salford Matthew Bryan says: “I think learning from a young age helps the children develop naturally using both feet, and they are able to learn a lot more skills.”
Footytotz not only teaches the children sports, but also provides educational resources for the children. The activities also encourage participants to learn how to count and how to develop their skills with numbers through sport.
There are 50 different themes within Footytotz over the duration of their academic year.
One of the educational themes that is used is this weeks’ ‘Zoom’, where the children learn about public transport whilst playing. Other themes are next weeks’ Mothers Day as well as ‘Treasure Island’.
The themes normally focus on events such as Pancake Day, as well as popular television series that the children will be familiar with such as Peppa Pig.
Bryan believes that the themes help the children to pay attention and efficiently participate during the lessons.
He explained: “We use these stories to capture the imagination of the children so that they are engaged in the session.”
The sessions are highly recommended by parents on the Facebook page, praising Bryan highly for the skills that he has been able to provide the children of Salford.
One parent explained how much their son ‘absolutely loves’ their lesson on Saturdays.
Bryan said: “We do have a mixture of both boys and girls. Lots of parents actually want to get their children involved at 18 months which is our earliest starting age.”
Footytotz is based primarily in Salford, with sessions in Walkden and possibly in Swinton next.
There is also a midweek soccer school every Friday from March 29 in Worsley for children aged between 5-9.
This could be an option for those graduating from Footytotz and want to carry on the sport.
The sessions start from 10-10.45am. All lessons have been claimed for tomorrow’s session.
Get in touch with Footytotz for any further details.
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