THE Christmas holidays delivered footballing fun for a host of kids thanks to Barrow AFC Community.

Coaches Mark McAloone, Brad Hubbold, Sam Graham and Jamie Hodgson spent a week of the school break working with youngsters aged between five and 11 at Chetwynde School.

They produced some festive fun and good advice to a full-house of 30 children – sometimes decked out in sparkling Christmas jumpers and seasonal hats – working on various aspects of the game suited to their needs.

The younger players were guided through their drills more thoroughly, while the older footballers were give an objective and then allowed to decide for themselves how to work towards it.

McAloone was pleased to see the children enjoying themselves and learning at the same time, and said: “We try and mix them all together to do a big warm-up that can differentiate between all the age groups. We set challenges so that they can still learn things while having lots of fun at the same time.

“We then split them up into their groups. The younger groups are working on mastering the ball and really trying to get used to moving it in the way they want it to move, experimenting with different parts of the foot, different touches, different turns. That's something we work on massively with the younger ages.

“With the older age group, they do similar things, but we try not to tell them so much what they need to do, we try and get them to use their imagination and see what they come up with for how they can turn, how they can pass. We make the games, but they come up with how they perform the skills and techniques – they are having just as much of an input into their learning as we are.

“We try and put the fun element in there as well, as much as the learning element. Even though it's a Christmas holiday camp, we are still getting a learning outcome.”

Barrow AFC Community run weekly Mini Bluebirds and Junior Bluebirds coaching sessions at St Bernard's School, Barrow.

The Mini Bluebirds programme is for three to five-year-olds, and takes place on Saturdays, from 9.30am, 10.30am and 11.30am, and on Sundays at 9am.

The Junior Bluebirds sessions run on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 6pm and 7pm, and on Sundays from 10am. They are open to five to 11-year-olds.

There are also free Street Soccer evenings at Ormsgill Primary School on Fridays, between 5pm and 6pm, which are open to children aged between eight and 14.

For more information on any of the above sessions, contact Barrow AFC Community on 01229 666011.