Northfield School & Sports College / FC Porto Case Study

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Northfield School & Sports College / FC Porto Case Study

Party Leader Richy Alderson has run a number of football focused development tours with inspiresport, most recently one to Ajax in 2013. When he started the booking process for his 2016 tour, FC Porto was highly recommended by his regional representative, Jed McCabe.

This was our fourth trip with inspiresport and the best one! The set up at the club is great, they have excellent coaches, the facilities at the academy are first class and everything is organised for the players to enjoy themselves in a disciplined and safe environment.

School: Northfield School and Sports College
Sport: Football
Year Group: Yr9 +10
Party Leader: Richy Alderson
Video link:https://youtu.be/kaGGhnyRyrU

The school is a sports college, and as football is the main sport played, the trip was
designed to reward the players who work hard over the academic year and show commitment in attending their school football clubs for training and fixtures. As a few parents were concerned about their children’s medical conditions whilst travelling, we arranged two parents evenings which were informative and gave them the opportunity to ask the necessary questions and put their minds at ease about the trip, right from the start of the booking process.

A real plus for Richy was the planned coaching sessions which took place at Vitalis Park. Pre-tour, we ask our party leaders to fill in a team questionnaire, based around their player’s ability levels and age. This allows the DragonForce coaches to plan the sessions, catering to the player’s skill level, and on this occasion they certainly did not disappoint.

One of only two clubs to currently offer it, Dragon force clinics allow players to train in their own exclusively designed training kit, adding an edge for the players giving them a real sense of being part of the club, encouraging them to work that little bit harder to prove they are deserving of wearing the kit and representing their team in a professional environment.

While the sport is the reason our tours take place, a trip abroad isn’t just about the sport development. Richy goes onto explain, “Some [players] really grew up and took responsibility for themselves living in a foreign country away from their parents. They all enjoyed spending time with their friends…the programme was full and organised for the players to enjoy themselves.

Previous tours for Northfield took them to the likes of Holland, and so this time it was also about experiencing a different culture. Included in their trip was a city tour, and the schedule allowed them to attend a live fixture – Porto FC V Sporting CP. One of the players highlights was the stadium tour and museum, which the they felt was, “excellent!”. They were very lucky to also be in Porto as the national team arrived back to Portugal following their win at the 2016 Euro’s.While we cant promise every tour is in the winning country of the Euros as the professional players return to their home country (!), we endeavor to give every tour just as much fun, learning and new cultural experiences, every time.