Futebol Shorts aim to fight kids’ lockdown fitness fatigue

16 Mar Futebol Shorts aim to fight kids’ lockdown fitness fatigue

The coronavirus pandemic’s damaging impact on children’s physical activity levels has sparked a leading grass roots football organisation to launch a new series of resources.

Brazilian Soccer Schools UK has produced Futebol Shorts, an inspiring and uplifting series of videos available on its YouTube channel, to help youngsters to boost their fitness levels, close control skills and confidence ahead of the return of outdoor grass roots sport on March 29.

The initiative was prompted by Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People report which showed that during the 2019-20 academic year 44.9% of young people (3.2 million) averaged at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day – down from 46.8% the previous year. The report also found that 31.3% (2.3 million) of young people averaged less than half an hour of exercise per day.

Fred Lowe, managing director of Brazilian Soccer Schools UK, said that coaches across the UK had spoken to many parents who were keen to encourage their football-loving children to stay fit and alert by practising skills and techniques while unable to play matches or train with friends.

“Lockdown has been an incredibly difficult time for all age groups and the drop in activity levels is potentially devastating for young people’s wellbeing and development,” said Mr Lowe.

“We wanted to create exercises that are engaging, simple to follow and can easily be fitted into a daily routine at home to keep both bodies and minds sharp. Each core skill is inspired by a legendary Brazilian player such as Pele or Romário and the videos can be tackled individually or run together to build a longer routine. All you need is a ball.”

Giving instructions in the videos is Mark Hodgson, Brazilian Soccer Schools UK’s head coach in Sunderland.

“I’ve been running virtual training sessions for the children I coach in the North East so these videos for a wider audience are a natural progression,” said Mr Hodgson.

“As well as helping youngsters hone their ball skills, the sessions are high intensity to provide an all-round workout and boost their fitness so they are ready to tackle games with their friends again.”

Operating in 12 international territories and with 20 UK based centres, Brazilian Soccer Schools’ philosophy is for youngsters aged between five and 17 to become technically competent with the ball before moving on to game play.

Will Partington, head coach for Jersey, was interviewed on BBC Radio Jersey about the initiative and Dan Corbin, director for Derbyshire and North West Leicestershire, appeared on BBC Radio Leicester and BBC Radio Derby.