A passion for sports is contagious and to celebrate UK Coaching Week, we caught up with several of our team who not only demonstrate their passion for sport through their professional work here at Sport Structures, but through inspiring and supporting local clubs and communities with their coaching outside of work.
Uzma Hussain our Project Officer (Customer Services) a Level 1 FA Coach took the leap into coaching as a means of following her love of football and helping to make a change in her community. Uzma spoke, "I noticed a lot of kids in the local area who loved playing football and were really good at it and deserved a chance to be guided into making a career for themselves. I then joined a local club in my community as a volunteer coach and the journey began."
Uzma's coaching journey has positively impacted the local community but her journey wasn't always smooth sailing. Uzma noted, "I was the only Asian girl who was a coach in the club and in the community itself. It was challenging for me as in my community it's not typical for a girl to be into football let alone coach it.
My parents weren’t happy and people in the community weren’t happy for a while until they started seeing the recognition I was getting from the council and other organisations and the kids themselves but from my experience, I encourage all women to put fears of prejudice aside and pursue their Coaching passions."
Coaches help inspire and support the next generation of sporting stars and the community has seen an uptake in girls joining the club to play and a rise in female coaches within the community. Uzma spoke, "it's an amazing feeling to have had an impact like this and coaching helps provide the discipline, guidance, and motivation that every player needs."
