Luke Williams joins Swans Foundation coaches in Townhill for EFL Week of Action

Swansea City head coach Luke Williams joined Swansea City AFC Foundation’s Premier League Kicks coaches in Townhill during EFL Week of Action.

Williams began his coaching career as part of the pilot for the Premier League Kicks programme, coaching weekly sessions in Newham to help support young people in the local area.

The Swans boss joined coaches at the Foundation’s weekly session, taking time to share his experiences of working as a coach within the community and at grassroots level, and the path that he took to become head coach at Swansea City. He also took the time to sign autographs and answer questions from participants.

Williams was delighted to see the strong impact the programme continues to have in Swansea and praised the Foundation for providing young people with a safe environment to stay active.

“I’ve personally been involved in Kicks programmes myself in my previous roles as a coach and it’s fantastic to see that it is still going,” said Williams.

“We had over 100 young people each night, three nights a week, helping young people to stay active and keeping them away from some things that are less desirable out on the streets and giving them some structure, and so many people are benefiting from it.

“I’m thrilled to see it thriving in Swansea, it’s great to see the excitement and enthusiasm of young people doing something really constructive in a safe environment, it’s perfect.

“The coaches will have an impact on these young people in a really positive way, they’ll be role models for these young people. 

“Parents can see there are coaches out there looking out for young people and are engaged with them, that’s exactly what we want for our community.”

Nick Grant helps coach the weekly sessions in Townhill, and has aspirations to follow in the footsteps of Williams.

He was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with Swans head coach about his pathway into the professional game and felt it would be a real inspiration for him heading going forward.

“Being someone who wants to be a football coach in the future, having the opportunity to meet him was amazing,” said Grant.

“To get an insight on how he got himself to the position that he is in today and what he did is amazing, I will take that on board and hopefully I can use that myself.

“Knowing that he started coaching in the same way that I have, it’s really good to know and it’s really inspiring for me.

“He was amazing to speak to, it was a great conversation. 

“I’ll be taking away the importance of applying yourself in coaching. Grassroots is one of the hardest parts of coaching, but it’s a place where you will take away a lot and that will help me grow.”

Andrew Dyer leads the sessions in Townhill, he was thrilled to have the head coach join the session and provide an opportunity the young participants wouldn’t forget.

“It’s magical to have Luke Williams join us in Townhill,” said Dyer.

“There aren’t a lot of opportunities in this area unfortunately, so it’s nice that he can join us, share his insight, and put a smile on the young people’s faces.

“Providing opportunities for young people like that at our Kicks sessions is exactly what we are looking to do.”