While they didn’t quite emulate the success of the women’s team, the recent achievement of the men’s team in finishing runners-up this summer’s European Championships (reaching consecutive finals for the first time in history) has provided plenty of role models for today’s children – who may well be the stars of the future.
Here SoccerKidz, who provide football coaching for schools in London, spotlight some of the stars of the tournament, and explain how you can sign up to one of our courses if your son or daughter wants to take up the game.
Local Heroes
Many of the stars of Euro 2024 play for (or have played for) the two biggest North London teams, Arsenal and Tottenham – close to our catchment area.
Current North London-based players who played a big role in England’s run to the final of the tournament include midfielder Declan Rice (Arsenal, ex-West Ham) and Bukayo Saka (also Arsenal).
Players who have played for North London teams in the past include captain and striker Harry Kane (formerly of Tottenham Hotspur but now playing for Bayern Munich in Germany), and full-back Kieran Trippier (also ex-Spurs, but now on Newcastle’s books).
There are plenty of other England stars playing for London teams – such as Cole Palmer, who, while arguably underutilised in the tournament did provide England’s lifeline in the final with a fine goal, and Conor Gallagher (both currently playing for Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) and Ivan Toney (Brentford).
It’s not just English players providing inspiration either – one of the stars of the tournament was winger Lamine Yamal, who played for the victorious Spain team at the age of just 16 (although he did turn 17 during the tournament).
On the subject of Spain, there was of course also plenty of spotlight on England’s Jude Bellingham – who had just completed a wonderful first season at Real Madrid (after transferring from Borussia Dortmund). He won La Liga (the Spanish domestic league), the Champions League and was voted La Liga’s Player of the Season.
Many will remember Jude’s stunning moment of magic, an overhead bicycle kick in the dying minutes of the Round of 16 game against Slovakia to bring the match to extra time (where England would go on to win thanks to a Harry Kane header).
Our Courses
At SoccerKidz we run youth soccer training sessions in London (and various venues in Hertfordshire) as well as after-school courses, and during school holidays we also offer courses ranging from one to five days.
In primary schools, as well as lunchtime and after-school clubs, we also offer breakfast clubs, PPA cover, gifted and talented programmes and multi-sports lessons for nursery school children up to and including Year 6, although some of these courses are not exclusively football.
We also run a pathway for the more gifted children – including second-tier development sessions, and Level 3 Elite sessions. We have excellent contacts in the professional game in and around London (our founder Mark Drane has been coaching for almost 25 years, and this includes spells at Crystal Palace and Barnet) and many club scouts attend our Level 3 sessions.
However, even if your sons or daughters aren’t destined to play at a high level, we will always make sure they have plenty of fun on our courses; they will be given a solid grounding in the basic skills of the game, as well as learn the value of teamwork, and any advice we offer will always be constructive and useful.
Football Coaching in Schools in London from SoccerKidz
If you are interested in any of the courses that we run, follow this link and fill in the online form. Alternatively, you can contact us directly on 07946 260945.
We operate in Barnet, Broxbourne, Cheshunt, Enfield, Epping Forest, Haringey, Welwyn Hatfield and the surrounding areas.
We won’t necessarily be able to turn your child into the next Harry Kane, Declan Rice or Bukayo Saka, but we will make sure they learn a lot about football (or other sports), that they enjoy themselves at the same time, and give them the tools to become the best footballer they can be!
