By 4.30 pm we have 15 Youth Coaches so are ready to get started. Six girls from Nyabinge Queens are present and nine boys from six clubs have made it. The Young Coaches are really positive and enthusiastic. We talk about the skills and qualities of a Young Coach and what it means to be a Young Leader.

We will meet tomorrow at 3 pm for more. The participants are a bit earlier on Day 2 and we get started. It goes really well again as I deliver some theory and practical sessions on verbal and non-verbal communication. Wachisa watches on intently, making notes as he will deliver all this in the future courses. I am feeling really positive and motivated to be doing this and I know in Wachisa I have a real committed person to roll it out. It is Saturday morning and the course will start at 8 am this morning. I am there early as usual but have to wait until after 9 until we start. I deliver some sessions on ‘Fair Play’.

Then Wachisa does his stuff. He delivers a session on Speed, Agility and Quickness using the old tires. He moves onto some very active ideas for warm ups and then does very well coaching some pass/move and dribbling/turning sessions. Near the end of the 3 hours as everyone was getting tired I needed to step in and help more but overall Wachisa did great. After Day 3 it looks like Nyabinge Warriors, Santos, Namuyemba, White Movers, Young K Rangers and Real Stars will be in the first phase of this project. Hopefully the other 5 teams will feel left out and will get involved in March 2020 when Wachisa delivers the next course.

In the afternoon Nyabinge U17 are playing Namuyemba at the CCAP ground. Nyabinge are wearing the Longhoughton Rangers kit that I took out. They look great and complete a 4-0 win. I am feeling tired so get a big wash, relax and over to Rowlands for food. Beatrice always looks after me when I am here with some lovely nsima, beans, veg, rice, eggs and chicken. Rosa their daughter is growing and they have a new lodger, Benjamin who is Rowlands brother’s son from Rumphi. Rowland is paying his school fees. Catherine has left for teacher training in Karonga and Tiomeke is back in Rumphi. Rowland having a regular government wage has a big responsibility looking after his extended family.

On Sunday morning I finish off with some refereeing and how this can have a big impact on how your players develop. It was fun and everyone enjoyed seeing the good and bad referee in action. Wachisa finished off with running with the ball, heading, goalkeeping and shooting. Some of his sessions were very active and some not but he took my advice well. I have been very impressed with him and know that this project is so close to his heart that it can't fail. The participants are really enthusiastic and know they only have two more sessions to attend before they are rewarded for their efforts. Monday afternoon sees the Young Coaches deliver a 20 minute assessment session. I was very impressed. We gave our feedback and talked about using the planning sheets and evaluating yourself and others. We give an interview for Tuntufwa FM in Karonga. Wachisa wakes me early on Tuesday morning with his wind up radio and we listen in. Everyone has jobs this morning. Rowland is getting back as much kit as he can. Wachisa is buying paint and finalising the goals we need today. Andy is busy photocopying the resources Wachisa will need for the courses in March and July 2020.

We meet at the CCAP and set about marking the two small pitches we need. The goals are very disappointing and rushed to be honest. Wachisa knows this and will sort it. We have six teams and they all play 4 matches. The atmosphere was great and lots of kids watched. At the same time the six girl coaches held the first ever training session for young girls. They dealt with about 100 girls brilliantly for about two hours. At one point I saw Wachisa just sat back proudly watching the Young Coaches in action. I kept an eye on the overall timings and the order of play. At the end we had a quick chat with the players and they left.

The final ceremony was fantastic. The participants received their certificates and T shirts with ‘Chitipa Youth Coach’ proudly displayed on the back. I hope to see all these new coaches again next year. It has been so motivating and inspiring for me to be here.