Jack: A Para Footballer for Loughborough FC
Finding Confidence, Friendship, and Opportunity Through CP Football
Goalkeeper Jack Richard from Loughborough FC wrote this special piece for us about his experience playing CP Football at Loughborough FC.
Jack shares how the programe has helped him develop as a player, build confidence, meet players, and pursue his dream of progressing within the England pathway.
Hi, I'm Jack and I am a Para Footballer for Loughborough FC. I wanted to write a short article to share my journey so far because it has given me so many new opportunities to learn, train and meet new people!
Up until now, I haven't had the opportunity to meet many others with cerebral palsy, it can be hard finding the opportunities . Playing CP football has allowed me to meet likeminded individuals with the same disability as me.
I joined the team in October of last year when my mum saw an advert on Facebook. It's safe to say it's been one of the best decisions I've made. From the very first training session I could see that this programme would develop into something amazing. Alongside playing for the Loughborough team, I am on the National England Talent Pathway for CP football; Loughborough is a very professional environment and has hugely helped my England journey!
I am a goalkeeper and have been since I was 8, I loved watching my idol, Jordan Pickford make incredible saves and I wanted to do the same! I've absolutely loved the opportunity to not only be involved in saving goals but also creating them; I've learnt so many new skills, whether it be communication or passing, everything has helped me so much as a player and person! One training session, we were learning what skills can be used to get past players and beat them 1 v 1. I loved it, and the even better thing was at the end, when we had a match, I was effectively using the skills I’d learnt to develop.
I've built a really strong bond with all the players and coaches at Loughborough; everyone wants us to succeed and we are seeing all of our hard work pay off! Playing our first few matches was amazing because I could see how far we'd come from that first training session!
The coaches have been a massive help to us all as players, and all of them work together and use their expertise to improve not just the physical side of the game but also psychologically with performance reviews and how to get the most out of training! We as players and staff receive a Veo video recording of the training session we can look back on and then the following week some of the staff may pick from the Veo a certain area that we can all work on – this is really helpful as the group training sessions feel tailored to us as players!
We've all been able to use some incredible resources at Loughborough like cameras, sensors, trackers, lovely 3G pitches and so much more. These resources mean we can see exactly which part of our game we need to improve and what we need to work on, leading to tailored individual development plans and focussed training sessions.
In the coming seasons, Loughborough's goal is to secure a place in the National CP League alongside world-class teams such as Norwich FC and Chelsea FC. This would be an incredible opportunity for everyone involved in the team and I really think it could be something successful! Playing in the CP National League would be a dream come true for me, so many of the England internationals I look up to (Giles Moore and Liam Irons for example) have all played in the national league, going on to represent their country!
Loughborough has so much to offer for para players like me and without it I wouldn't be half the player I am today!
If you are a young Para football player reading this article, wondering if this is something you should get involved in, get involved because it’s one of the best decisions I made and it’s done so much for me – I am growing more confident with the ball at my feet and passing it!
So there is so much benefit at Loughborough for Para footballers like me with aspirational goals, so get in touch about joining us!
Please email Alasdair Donaldson at a.m.donaldson@lboro.ac.uk for more information .
