Last week, five of our boys were lucky enough to be invited along to Staplewood Training Ground (the home of Southampton FC) as part of Saints Foundation's youth inclusion project, Saints Connect.
Saints Connect provides those identified as being in need of additional support with the opportunity to engage in sports, music and other activities and targets young men and women aged 11-16 across Southampton.
Dylan, Alfie, Fred, Leon and Zack were taken around the newly refurbished grounds for a tour of all the different areas including the First Team gym where they saw Southampton's Japanese central defender, Maya Yoshida. They also sat in the auditorium, a place where staff and players hold post match briefings as well as the boot room which had over 150 pairs of football boots hanging up inside. Once the tour had finished, everyone involved took part in football and dodgeball activities in the 3G inflatable dome pitch. These sessions were delivered by pupils from two other secondary schools, who had been engaged in the project's leadership programme this academic year.
The boys really enjoyed the morning and thanked Steve from Saints Foundation for giving them the opportunity to take part.
