With some of our members already off on their summer holidays it was a laid back and fun feeling at EFSC for the last session of the term. The coaches laid on a number of different sports and this kids could choose what they wanted to do. Whether that be using the gym equipment, playing tennis or badminton or shooting some basketball hoops. 

Unfortunately the good weather didn't last and we had to take a break slightly early when the heavens opened. That put paid to any further activities outside so we finished up the session in the School hall playing Table Tennis, Boccia and Curling.

Have a great Summer all and see you back on September 7th

With Head Coach Alan away this week it was down to Ray and Ollie to lead the session and we had a fabulous time playing Hockey
As always any session must start with some proper warm ups so the kids once again made use of the school's equipment before doing some stretching exercises and finally playing a game or two of What's the Time Mr Wolf?

With the warm up out of the way it was time to get on to the main sport of Hockey (Ollie's choice!). The kids grabbed a stick and tennis ball each and first up was to practice dribbling around the playground. Once familiar with the ball and controlling it our birthday boy Liam lead a game of Traffic Lights. With assistance from coach Ray he would hold up a coloured cone with Red being STOP and don't move, Yellow means stand still and pass the ball from side to side. Lastly, Green is for GO so dribble your tennis ball around the play ground. The last to carry out the instruction each time it switched was out and had to sit the rest of that game out. Soon it was down to a couple of kids - Kerrie and Callum who were joint winners.
After that the kids formed a circle to test the accuracy and speed of their passing as they tried to pass a tennis ball around the circle and then across the circle.

After a quick drinks break it was back outside to do so slalom work going up and down the playground dribbling the ball around the cones as you went.

After the main break we put all the skills practiced to good use in a match. The group were split in to two teams - the yellows and the reds - and a fantastic match ensued. The game ended with a thrilling 18 to 10 win to the yellow team.

We were very fortunate to be a chosen "good cause" as part of Bancrofts Preparatory School's charity day recently. They raised a truly amazing sum that will help us keep our club running for another year. Below is a picture of Bancrofts Prep Head teacher Mr Joe Layburn presenting the award to our Head Coach Alan Prentice. A massive thanks goes out to all the children and staff for thinking of us and for all the money you raised and awarded to us!! THANK YOU! 

After a quick drinks break it was back outside and this time to practice batting. They set the tennis balls on cones and the idea was to score as many points as possible, The coaches had laid out a series of cones at the far end of the playground and if a child hit their ball between the centre two cones then they were awarded 20 points. Hit the ball between the cones either side of the centre pair then 10 points. Hit the ball between the outside pair of cones then just 5 points. The game rewarded accurate hitting and being able to direct the ball

After the main snack break we put all the practice to good use with a game of Hit and Run cricket. The kids took it in turns to have a bat with the idea to get as many runs as possible before getting out.

It was a great session in lovely weather and at the end the Star of the week award went to Zakaa. Very well done Zakaa - a born natural at Cricket obviously
Next week we have a session of football and basketball planned so please do join us then

As Wimbledon gets underway our young stars played Tennis themselves this week at Epping Forest Sportability Club. After waiting weeks for some good weather we had an absolute scorcher on Saturday which meant we had to be careful that we were not out in the sun for too long.
We started the session with a warm up making good use of the schools outside gym equipment. It was then straight in to the Tennis with each child grabbing a tennis racket and ball. Starting with some basics we balanced a ball on the racket as we moved around, then we started hitting the ball up and then hitting the ball down - bouncing it between ground and racket We then moved on to pairing up with kids either side of two rows of cones. One child would bounce the ball to their partner who had to hit it back so that it could be caught. After a while roles were reversed so that everyone had a chance to get to hit the ball back.

After a much need drinks break to cool down we stayed in the school hall to escape the heat for a while and to play a game of King of the Court. This is a favourite game where each player takes it in turn to try and return a ball over the net. The ball must land in the court and must not be caught by a fielder. If you succeed you join the back of the queue to go again. Should you fail to get the ball over the net OR are outside the court OR are caught out then you join the fielding side on the other side of the  net. Last child standing is the Queen or King of the Court. 
The kids had lots of fun with Anand catching Coach Al out, Callum got Ray out and the last one standing was little Liam. Well done Liam

After the first game it was time for a well earned break for drinks and replenishments. Once back in the hall they loved the game so much they played another game. This time it was Anand who emerged victorious. We rounded off the session with some games of Boccia - the perfect game when the heat is rising, nice and relaxing!

We were blessed with some fabulous weather this week so it was straight outside on to the play ground at Oak View School this week. For the warm up the kids made use of the schools excellent new gym equipment in the play ground, as you can see in the first few pictures below.
It was then straight in to the Rugby with each child grabbing a ball each and starting with some basics like running with the ball, throwing it in to the air and catching it and passing the ball around their waists.

They then moved on to running with the ball, then stopping and passing it to a partner. That was followed by running through cones with the ball. Back in pairs it was then running with the ball and passing to the partner through the cones.

It was getting hot out there so a quick refreshment break was called for but they were soon back out passing the ball around a big circle. Next was a game of Beat the Ball - this is where one child has to run around the circle quicker than it takes the rest to pass the ball around the circle. The last circle game was passing within the circle - players would take it in turns to run across the circle with the ball to a fellow player and pass the ball to them as they approached. The next child would do the same and so on. It becomes a quick running and passing game.

The focus of this week’s session at Sportability Club was Hockey. After a warm-up of What’s the Time Mr Wolf led by Ollie and Ray, and other warm up routines, it was out with the Hockey sticks and Tennis Balls. To get familiar again with stick and ball we started with some basic dribbling of the ball around the hall. Then to get a bit more control we asked the kids to keep the ball within the court that is marked out on the floor.
Ollie then led a traffic light game for a bit of fun. When he held up the red cone it meant stop with the ball, a yellow cone being held aloft denoted stand on the spot but move the ball from side to side. Lastly, a green cone meant Go and so off around the hall dribbling with your tennis ball it was.
Alan then devised a great little game to test the dribbling skills further. It was called Puppy in the Park and the tennis ball was the puppy and the hockey stick the dog lead. The idea being to lead your puppy (ball) through a series of gates (pairs of cones) around the park. If you lost control and your puppy left the park, then you were out. To make it harder as the game went on the park got smaller and the turns between gates became harder. At the end Callum was the last player and so won the game – well done to Callum.
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After a quick drink break it was back to the action with some slalom dribbling around cones before we did some shooting practice aiming to score between specific cones up against the bench. So players would dribble their ball up to a marker and then shoot from there. It was all about the accuracy of ball control and aim when striking the ball.
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Recently our Head Coach, Alan, won the award for Best Disability Sports coach of the year at the Pride of Essex Sports awards 2019. The photo below is from the recent issue of the West Essex Life magazine - doesn't he scrub up well! As per the caption the photo shows Alan with friend of the club Anne Strike who presented Alan with the award and fellow winner and athlete Conor O'Hare. The awards were hosted by Bianca Westwood of Sky Sports, also seen in the photo. Full details of the awards and the ceremony can be found at  https://theprideofessexsportsawards.org/

Alan - we are very proud of you and are blessed to have you as our head coach. Well done!

A bit of a slow start to the session this week and we feared everyone had gone on holiday! However, it turned out a few members were getting in the mood for half term by having a lie in. We ended up with a reasonable number and the sun was shining and it made for a lovely session out on the playground.
To start with we made good use of the new equipment to warm up, as you can see in the photos below. Then it was out with the golf clubs for some putting practice. First up it was putting to get the ball inside the hoops.

After a quick break for some water is was back outside and this time it was a game aimed at collecting as many cones as possible. Alan and Ray distributed all the cones across an area of the playground then the kids took it in turns to try and hit as many as possible with their putts. They collected the cones as they hit them and at the end, when there were no cones left to hit, it was the player with the most cones that won.
After a couple of games of this the game switched slightly with a row of numbered larger cones. This time each player kept a tally of their score as they hit the numbered cones 

After the main drink & snack break it was back outside for the final part of putting. This was where the kids had to put through a series of cones. This was in order to ensure they were able to putt straight and in the correct direction. We then mixed it up by replacing the cones with people - so three kids would line up to form a tunnel with their legs apart. The others would then that it in turns to try and putt through all the kids legs.

To celebrate the FA Cup Final being played we took the kids out on the playground to have a session based around football. The sun made the occasional appearance too which made for a lovely session.
Ollie and Ray led the warm up stretches and games before we started on the football. The session was all about different skills and using various drills to help improve ball skills. Much like last week when we did dribbling the ball in Basketball it was similar this week but crucially the ball was on the floor and being dribbled between feet, not hands. 

The session began with some basic ball dribbling around the playground but then Alan and the team had them stopping starting, doing toe taps and moving the ball from side to side. These were then used in a traffic light game with Red being stop with the ball, amber being side to side and toe taps and green for go - dribbling around the playground.

As the session progressed the coaches laid out a number of cones to negotiate. To start with it was a slalom style course going between and around the cones. Then they moved on to a figure of eight circuit before working in pairs passing to each other.

The session finished with a small match and we got to use our bibs - like all proper football teams do! The action in the football looks great and I was reliably informed that the game ended in an honourable draw.