AFC Bournemouth defender Jack Stacey went along to Rossmore Leisure Centre to join in with the young participants at a Premier League Kicks session.
He took part in a number of technical skill challenges, signed autographs for the children and talked about his rise to becoming a Premier League footballer, with the session then ending with a series of fun matches.
AFC Bournemouth’s self-funding, non-profit Community Sports Trust (CST) runs the Premier League-backed scheme locally with more than 1,500 young people participating last season.
The scheme encourages them to get involved in playing sports in the evenings and sees them benefit from a healthier lifestyle, improved well-being and offers them a safe environment to enjoy themselves.
Jack said: “It’s really great to attend these sessions and I’m so glad I got involved with this programme. All of the kids were having a great time playing football and learning skills.
“I tried to teach them some tricks but in the end they were teaching me! Some of them had some good step-overs and the Cruyff Turn so hopefully the Bournemouth scouts will take a look.
“You start off playing football just to have fun with your friends and from there anything can develop. In football, people come from all different backgrounds to come and compete and have fun.”
PL Kicks Poole is supported by Bournemouth & Poole College, an official partner of the CST and sponsors the programme in the Poole region.
The College became partners with the Cherries in January 2019 and has sites at Lansdowne in Bournemouth, North Road and at Tower Park in Poole.
College Commercial Director Matt Butcher said: “Premier League Kicks is absolutely the sort of programme we want to be involved in.
“In the same way that we train and develop the next generation in a range of different careers, this is the next generation of football talent. That makes it an obvious match so it’s something we’re really excited to be involved with.
“The kids get an awful lot out of the programme as they are developing their skills. They’re also very attentive, I’ve been very impressed by how much they listen and focus on improving their skills. That’s always encouraging to see.”
For more information please visit www.afcb.co.uk/community-sports-trust/participation/