The start of 2020 has been nothing like anything experienced before, with the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent pause on ‘normality’. The Children’s Programme, which caters for the Under 7’s to Under 12’s age groups at the Club, had to temporarily close the training and match day programmes due to Government guidelines.

This did not stop the staff from constantly engaging with the parents, players and coaches. An ‘At Home’ player support programme was also introduced to keep everyone involved in all the activities.

The player support programme, designed by the coaches, consisted of two x two sessions per week (four exercises). These were sent to the players and parents to complete, either in their back garden or in the house, making sure of course not to smash anything!

The creativity shown by the players was incredible, with plant pots being used as defenders to dribble round and wheelie bins used as walls for free kick practice. Apologies to many of the mums and dads for the grass gardens that were ripped up and are now AstroTurf.

The support shown by the family members during this time was remarkable, as they had to take on the roles of a feeder, a defender, a videographer and a stand in coach, which ultimately lead to the players remaining upbeat and positive during their time off.

During the time away from training, the players missed interacting with their pals and teammates. The decision was taken to have weekly Zoom calls whereby all the players, parents and coaches could get together virtually and share stories of how they were coping during Lockdown. During this period, players were set challenges such as tactical scenarios, writing their own match reports and having a Q&A with former players Stephen McManus and Darren O’Dea.

As the restrictions eased and the guidelines changed, a Return to Training Programme was introduced focusing on the players returning to a training environment at Barrowfield, which is the Children’s Programme training base.

Prior to this, a lot of measures and protocols were put in place to keep the players and staff safe. A lot of credit must go to Head of Youth Development Chris McCart and the Celtic Safeguarding Manager Tom Dickson, making this happen.

The Return to Training programme commenced on Monday 17 August, with the players taking part in 90-minute sessions in groups of ten. Over the coming weeks the frequency of training and the number of players in each coaching group will be increased. All of this is done within the guidance and advice given, but the main excitement comes from having all the players back kicking a ball around and enjoying the beautiful game once more.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the NHS staff and key workers for their continued dedication and devotion to duty. Finally, we thank all the Celtic Pools stakeholders including Celtic Pools Agents for their financial support, which is vital to the continued success of the Celtic Academy.

Hail Hail!

Willie McNab
Head of Children’s Programme
Celtic Academy

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