Youngsters step out at home of Shrewsbury Town

The freezing cold weather wasn't enough to stop an exciting morning for the participants, who represented Town as they took on Bradford and Aston Villa after being invited to take part by Shrewsbury Town in The Community.

All teams battled bravely in the cold as Villa emerged as victors and were presented the trophy by Town's Jack Grimmer. It capped off an action-packed week for the PAN players, who had already received a special visit on Tuesday night.

In a number of player visits throughout the week, defender Dom Smith got involved in the disability programmes, when he came down to our PAN football session.

PAN Football runs every Tuesday from 5-6pm at Shrewsbury Sports Village and allows those with differing impairments to come together and play the sport they love.

Dom is something of a regular at the community programmes and looks to get involved as much as he can.

He had already gone along to some of the school visits and Christmas parties, and loved getting involved in the shooting practice and match at the end of the session.

Everyone was delighted with Dom's appearance, after being very excited about his visit!

Health and inclusion officer Amy Edwards said that she could see the impact Dom had on the children and was pleased at how much they enjoyed the session.

"The team were so excited he was attending, before he arrived they kept asking if he was coming and when he walked through the door all their eyes lit up," she said.

"Dom made the session by joining in, really getting to know the team and sharing his football knowledge."

Things got even better for the PAN players and the rest of those involved in our disability programmes, when they got to support Town as they hosted Bradford at Greenhous Meadow.

At half-time they had the chance to take to the field and soak in the atmosphere, and take part in a penalty shoot-out and small-sided games. It brought an end to a great week for everyone involved, as we showed that every player counts!

Also during Disability Awareness Week, Town midfielder Gary Deegan joined in the fun at the Down Syndrome Football programme run by Shrewsbury Town in The Community.

In the session held at Shrewsbury Sports Village led by community sports officer Bryn McGilligan Oliver, Gary looked to be enjoying it just as much as the others that were taking part.

The midfielder's sheer enthusiasm throughout the hour had such a positive impact on the guys taking part in Bryn's drills, and the shooting practice in particular had everybody running around with a spring in their step.

Gary said: "I love it! As you can see I get stuck in, it's always nice to give a helping hand and show a little appreciation to what you guys do here, it's been fantastic so far.

"It's good just to get a little kick of the ball, show the kids that you're having a good time and they'll join in, so it's all positive."

Gary's competitive nature doesn't seem to be on show solely on a Saturday, and joked that he hadn't put away as many goals as he would have liked.

"I left my shooting boots at home!" he joked. "But no, it was good. I love doing this and the work done there is fantastic."

Shrewsbury Town in The Community are taking part in the Eaton Mascotts UK Mud Run on Saturday, April 29 – and inviting you to take part.

Get ready for lots of mud, hills, bogs, marsh land, lakes, river crossings, tunnels, mud walls, trenches, head dunks and more.

With options for 10km or 16km (at no extra cost), this event is all about the challenge of getting around and completing the course on your own or as a team.

If you would like to run in aid of Shrewsbury Town in the Community and receive a discount code (15 per cent off entry fee), please contact Haylie Norton on Haylie.Norton@shrewsburytown.co.uk or 07525795787.