A newly-formed organisation, Aces Football Academy, is assisting children in Anguilla to develop their sporting skills and to become outstanding players of whom the island and its people can be proud.
The Academy is a partnership involving three executives and other persons. They include the President, Mr. Shane Scott, who is originally from Jamaica, where he was involved in sports for children; Vice President, Anguillian, Mr. Kevin Hawley, an experienced footballer with a remarkable track record; and Public Relations Officer/Secretary, Mrs. Stacy-Ann Hawley.
Having climbed the ladder of success in football, through his own initiatives and the help of others, Mr. Hawley, an employee at the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla, is giving back to the community – and what better way than helping the youth of the island to succeed as he has done.
Aces Football Academy was officially launched at the Sandy Ground Ballfield on Saturday, April 14, where the executive members were accompanied by coaches, invited guests, parents and participating children.
President Shane Scott said at the launch ceremony: “There is a lot of excitement in the region about the development of grassroots football and Aces Football Academy was founded with that in mind. The word ‘ace’ can be defined as ‘a person who excels at a particular sport or activity’. Aces Football Academy, as the name suggests, is therefore geared towards developing children to excel at football.
“Our motto, ‘Learning through Play’ highlights the fact that we aim to give our children a positive introduction to the sport by teaching them high-quality football skills in a friendly pressure-free environment. Our programme is tailored specifically to meet the needs of children between the ages of 4 and 15 years. It’s the perfect way to ignite in them enthusiasm for the sport that will remain with them for life…Once the children leave our Academy, they will be able to transition to a local football club and from there to the national team. Today, we have on display some of our world-class training equipment in which we have invested in order to deliver the best developmental football programme possible.”
Vice President Kevin Hawley, who declared the academy officially launched, thanked the parents of the participating 32 children for their involvement – as well as the coaches, other volunteers and potential sponsors for their support. He said the Academy was providing a voluntary service and that funds obtained through contributions from parents and other sources would be used to further the development of the Academy and the children.
He told The Anguillian: “I have been playing football from eight years old at primary school level and later at secondary school level. I had opportunities to travel around the world. I was at the World Cup League 2006 in Germany on an official tour with an Anguillian delegation, for two weeks, and I benefited from the exposure, experience and meeting with some of the best players in the world. I have been to El Salvador, Washington, DC, in the United States, the Bahamas and Guyana among other places.
“All of this exposure increased my passion and joy for football. Based on what I have learnt, I want to put myself in a position to share and to give back to the community, and to allow children to even go farther than where I have gone. My expectation is to have the children play not just for fun, but to develop themselves. There are lots of opportunities out there, at various club levels, so if we can get exposure for some of our children, through scholarships and programmes from Europe and the United States, the sky would be the limit for them.”
Hawley said the training equipment was funded by him and Mr. Scott. “In order to get things moving, we couldn’t wait [for any assistance],” he stated. “We love the sport and we made a commitment to do this on our own. The colourful equipment assists the children to better their movement skills; respect the boundaries of the game; enable them to score goals and to learn other aspects of the sport.
He explained that Aces Football Academy was a non-profit organisation. It had a soft launch on January 13, 2018, when there were about 18 children involved – a number which has steady increased since then.
Mr. Colin Johnson, Technical Director and a Coach of the Anguilla Football Association, commended Hawley and the rest of the team for creating and launching Anguilla’s first Football Academy. Mr. Johnson, a teacher at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, reminded the children about the importance of sport and the opportunities to be gained through excellence in performance. He encouraged them and their parents to take advantage of the training being provided by Aces Football Academy.
