This month, CITC spoke with Grace, a Community Coach on its early years programme, City Play, who started her journey at the charity as a participant, before progressing through the different pathways CITC has to offer.
In the interview Grace discusses the impact CITC has had on her life from being a participant on City Girls and the City BTEC programme, to being a degree student, to now being a full-time member of staff.
She said: “When I first heard about the degree programme, I thought it sounded interesting, and the staff who had already done it were able to more about it.
“I applied for both the course and a scholarship; I found the interview scary but two days later I found out I’d been accepted and got the scholarship.”
The degree programme brings together CITC’s football coaching knowledge alongside Manchester Metropolitan’s academic expertise, providing students with the skills knowledge and experience needed to find success.
Since finishing her degree, Grace has become a full-time member of staff at CITC as an early years City Play Community Coach.
Grace further goes onto explained the impact that CITC has had on her life: “City in the Community has changed my life massively, it brought me out of my shell and it changed the person I was.
“With coaching, football is all one language, so when you come together it’s really nice and you make connections through that”.
The City Girls project engages female participants with free football training, leadership and mentoring opportunities through after school clubs and community sessions.
The City BTEC programme provides an opportunity for students who are passionate about football and their education to combine to two, developing their skills and abilities on the pitch, as well as receiving a classroom-based education.
With thanks to Blue Emergency Cover for their support of the We Are CITC series.
Protect your home and support City in the Community—sign up for Blue Emergency Cover using code CITC20 to contribute to the campaign while enjoying reliable insurance.
To find out more, visit: https://blueemergencycover.co.uk/
City in the Community empowers healthier lives with city youth through football.
To find out more, visit www.mancity.com/citc or follow @citcmancity.
