Football: Hampstead Club coaches Micky and Tracy Dowsett, Vicki Jezierski visit Africa

Published: 12 May, 2011
by STEVE BARNETT 

THREE coaches from Hampstead Football Club have said that next season will be a whole new ball game following “an eye-opening trip to Africa”. 

Micky and Tracy Dowsett and Vicki Jezierski were invited to Kisii in Kenya for two weeks to work with youngsters as part of the African Passions Project, a charity using organised sports to unlock opportunities for African communities. 

The trio, who combined have been involved in football in Camden and Islington for more than 30 years, run a series of training sessions to help managers improve their coaching techniques, as well as helping to teach in local schools. 

On returning Micky, who lives in Kentish Town, said: “It was a life-changing experience. It was the hardest conditions I’ve ever trained in. The heat was unbearable and there was no running water or electricity. All the players we worked with have nothing, but will give everything.

“Just for the chance to have a kick-about they make footballs out of whatever they can find, plastic bags and rags tied together with string. It really makes you appreciate all the things we have that are easy to take for granted. I have a totally different outlook on training and can promise you my future sessions will be a whole new ball game. I want the youngsters I work with to fully appreciate what they have and how privileged they are.

“We’d also really like to thank everyone who sponsored us and made the trip possible, it was an experience that will stay with all three of us for the rest of our lives.”