Touchline ban football club sees rise in interest
A junior football team has seen its membership jump from 15 players to 100 – after banning parents from shouting at the sidelines.
Paul Inns, head coach at Berriew FC Juniors, near Welshpool, said the club's approach had seen more youngsters than ever before taking part in the game.
Mr Inns said the club had a rule of "leave the coaching to the coaches", with parents told not to put pressure on their children.
He said all players were given a chance to play in every game and he hoped the approach would result in more children playing the game for real rather than on a computer.
Mr Inns said: "Junior football is flourishing in Mid Wales. When I took over coaching at Berriew FC Juniors some five years ago, we had 10 to 15 youngsters attending Friday evening coaching sessions, and only myself and my assistant head coach, Andrew Wilde, carrying out the coaching.
"Now, we are close to registering our 100th player this season, and have extended our coaching on Fridays to three hours, and we now have 11 coaches."
But Mr Inns said the key to attracting the players was the friendly approach. He added: "We wholeheartedly endorse the ethos that football should be fun and all inclusive.
"We adopted the Football Association Wales 'Behind the Lines' campaign – all parents, guardians and supporters must remain off the pitch and behind the pitch boundary."
On January 5, the club is hosting a mini festival for reception and Years 1 to 3 children. Call 07801 240097.
