Steps To Club Football

Aim

Steps To Club Football shows women how to make the next move in their football journey. From 5 a side to 11 a side.

Who are we?

We are the Belfast Ravens - a cross community female football club, with no male affiliation club, and with 3 teams competing in the NIWFA which, as far as we're aware, makes us the biggest adult women's club in the UK.

We're always looking to encourage women along their football journey and build up their confidence on and off the pitch.

We have a massive social aspect to the football club and you'd be forgiven for thinking we're a social club that does football on the side.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Steps To Club Football is a new project the Belfast Ravens are launching which encourages women from 21 years old and above, with general or basic football experience, to take it to the next level of their game.
It's an introductory programme to the complexity of football, from formations, tactics and learning the intricate rules of the game, whilst hearing about expectations of healthy exercise and nutrition for a full 11 a side team. This will under the tuition and coaching of licensed coaches from the Belfast Ravens.

In a nutshell, it's more about playing the team game and winning the important 3 points!

We believe the exercise and fun activities within the programme are key assets to improvement of winning and mental health, inside an environment where fun is a priority and participants will notice the benefits.
This course will not only let these women continue their football journey, but it's primary focus is also to get them ready for 90minute competitive games and prepared for club football.

Overall we aim to have at least 20 participants with 11 already on standby who have expressed an interest. Participants will be a mixture of new and existing members.

 Weekly Plan

• Week 1/2 – Introductory session. Fitness first and learning about it's importance in the game over 90 minutes. New stretches and basic rules of the game. There will be some drills based around communication and positioning. We will teach about playing under pressure and decision making.
  We’ll also cover pressing the opposition and awareness. Drills will focus on talking to team mates and terms of the game, alongside an online lesson on expressions and slang that might be heard.
   
• Week 3/4 –Dynamic movement with the ball (open body shape, scanning) along with rondos 4v1 or 5v2 focusing on quick passes and awareness. Overall we'll be looking at improving pass accuracy and tempo, before finally moving onto small sided games. There will also be an appearance from an NI international player who will coach the players and give them insight on dealing with pressure, dealing with teammates and getting prepared mentally for a 90 minute game.
  
  
• Week 5/6 – Maintaining healthy exercise and nutrition with our fitness coach. What suits best before a big game. How you can eat well but still be healthy.
  Moving onto how to finish and score with pass and move to shoot, cut‑backs from wide areas and one‑touch finishes. We'll develop attacking patterns, combination play, and confident finishing.
  
  
• Week 7/8 finishing Tuesday 30th March –Defending. Footwork and jockeying while using a 1v1 defending technique.
  We’ll also look at full game procedure - Getting to location early on game day, changing room etiquette, team talks and what is expected of a captain.
  Warm ups, drills, team talks, formation, half time team talk and overall game plans.

How we’ll spend the money raised

• Venue hire: £100 per 1 hour session at Belvoir Park for 8 sessions over 8 weeks - £800
• Special guest coach (NI international player) £150
• Coaching Costs = £800 (2 coaches, £50 / week)
• Match balls 5 x £20 = £100
• 2 Friendlies @ £160 per game for pitch hire = £320
• 4 Strength & conditioning sessions @ £6.50pp = £520
• 20 bibs @ £6/bib = £120
• Advertising on posters and social media = £90
  TOTAL = 2900.

The participants will have the option to meet up once a week on a all weather astro turf pitch where Belfast Ravens coaches will lead fitness drills, football tactics and talk about the theory behind the game in a light hearted and safe environment.

There will also be information about rules and nutrition and all of it will be curated by the Belfast Ravens.

 The money will cover the cost for hiring the pitch, raising awareness of healthy lifestyles and mental well being and most importantly, winning3 points for the team.

Community impact

Overall the Belfast Ravens are looking to integrate themselves into the community even more and build stronger foundations for the future, creating plenty more of these unique opportunities for women in football.

Our home pitch and training ground are in two under-privileged disadvantaged areas, Cregagh road where are home pitch is based and Belvoir Park where the project will take place. The aim is to attract women from 21 years and above from these areas into a more healthy lifestyle.

 There will be a massive social side to the programme, not only with the coming together and the teamwork drills but also a social side that the Belfast Ravens are keen to promote outside of the pitch.

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made