A girl's football team made it to the top division from losing 20-0 each week after a dad of the girl's team took on the arduous task of coaching his daughter and the team.
Two years ago, Stuart Henley, 41, stepped up to train the team, changed the group's name, and instigated rigorous training and exercises. The Good News Network said after two years, the team made it to the country's top division.
The journey of Leek Town Devils
The Leek Town Devils were constantly thrashed until a 41-year-old car valeter, Henley, took on the challenges of the job because no one else would. However, the reluctant coach transformed the team's spirit and winning streaks.
Henley also got the help of another parent, 50-year-old assistant Ivan Austin. The new coaches started rigorous training and team-bonding exercises in February 2020.
The team, previously called Golden Hill, now wins regularly and is secured promotion for next year after finishing second in their division.
Focus on basic training
Stuart said on YahooNews that some players had never kicked a football before making it to the team. Thus, the team required more hours of patience and hard work.
After a few weeks of training, he said that the team adopted what he wanted.
For Stuart, he wanted the team to do basic stuff and let the girls decide what they needed to work. He wanted the girls to determine what they needed to improve rather than impose on the sessions.
The team's first season was limited due to pandemics, forcing him and his assistant coach Ivan to be more creative with the training.
To help in team bonding, the coaches also organized team-building activities.
They also focused on basic football skills like passing, shooting, movements, and bringing the girls to a standard.
Stuart also said that the pandemic restriction was an opportunity for the team as it gave them more time to train together.
He admitted that they felt like they won the world cup when they scored a goal in their first game.
Every week, they would review what went wrong the week before, and such sessions helped the girls learn, Mirror reported.
Over the past two years, Stuart watched his team transform. By September, the team played their first match for the new season, which they won.
Since then, the team has won eight games.
Chelsea became a top scorer, netting 30 goals for the team's star player.
Opportunity for the girls to play football
At the start of February, the team lost to rival Wyrley Pumas by 3-2, denying them a league title. Despite everything, Stuart said that the group had exceeded expectations by bagging promotion to the country's top division.
Stuart, who has Rebecca, a 14-year-old daughter in the team, said they only wanted to give the girls an opportunity to play soccer no matter what.
