Doorway Football Project Teamtalk – What It Means To Us

We always encourage feedback from guests and volunteers at the Doorway football project (Doorway indeed encourages feedback in all it does) – but we thought recently that we ought to have a more thorough gathering of opinion, given that 18 months or so had elapsed from the start of the project, and CEO Lisa needed feedback from all aspects of Doorway for the annual report (in preparation as I type this). So we (Football supremo Kev, and myself) collared everybody we could after a recent session. Here’s what we got:

“I feel good that I’m learning and improving every day, as it will help me be the best I can at the tournaments!”

“It’s great. Everybody puts in a lot of effort, and enjoys it. It’s well organised and there is always a good game at the end. To see the ladies put in the level of effort they do, and competing with the others, is excellent. And we get a cup of squash!”

“This game keeps my spirits high on and off the pitch. I also like the training given as it keeps me fit, and I also have more friends and it has set me goals like the tournament we have coming up in May” 

“We are on the verge of our two year ‘anniversary’ and the project is just as exciting as ever. Our guests are progressing and growing in many ways, not just in the sense of their football skills, but generally, in confidence and team working.
We have hardcore guests and volunteers, and the project is very successful as well as our god results at the tournaments that we have entered.
I hope to see further growth in the months and years to come. I love this project.”

“I think the football project is a useful tool for getting to know service users in another capacity, and installs a sense of purpose for those that attend. It is well organised, and the volunteers are committed to helping out. Guests have a friendly and hardworking atmosphere where they hopefully can feel safe, and most importantly have fun!”

“I like going to football. I do enjoy myself. It is a good workout. I get to talk to people of all ages. And it should be more than once a week. It is a lot of fun.”

“I really enjoy coming every week, and it helps me to improve with my weight, and keeps my fitness level up. It would be even more great if it was on more than once a week. Apart from that, I enjoy playing football, and it helps me with my confidence.”

“It’s great to see guests (and volunteers) improve their fitness and skills. In some cases it’s given incentive to stay off substances, at least for that day. In others it has been a reliever of stress and frustration. It’s good to be in a place where life outside is left behind for a while, and we’re all ‘on a level playing field’, where people are equal, and the only things that matter are the efforts put in on the pitch.
It’s also been a source of fun and pride to take part in tournaments, and to see the sense of camaraderie and team spirit.
But most of all, there have always been smiling faces and lots of laughter.”

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And so, on to our next tournament, the WASP Annual 6-a-side Tournament in Stanley Park, Chippenham, on Saturday 19th May (blog piece soon after, I hope).

We are really looking forward to it, aim to play with passion and commitment, but with fairness and good humour, with smiles on our faces. We hope to do well, but cannot guarantee scenes like these………..