The football club with a 'child-friendly' approach

A volunteer-led football club that focuses on "the young person's experience in football" has been nominated for a BBC Make a Difference Award.

Huish Tigers FC was started in Taunton in 2016 by Gavin Step, who wanted to create a space for his five-year-old son and his friends to have a kickabout and practise their skills.

Step works professionally in football as a women's technical director and has used some of that experience to shape how the club has evolved.

"I thought maybe I had some expertise to share and there was maybe an alternative way that focused on the young person's experience in football rather than accelerating them towards the seriousness of adult sport," said Step.

"Ten years on, we now have a football club of just under 400 players and over 60 volunteers, a girls' pathway, a mixed pathway and a disability pathway," he added.

Huish Tigers' chiefs believe that football should be enjoyable and say that many children have come to them after negative experiences elsewhere.

The club's leaders say that young people deserve respect, opportunity and the chance to play in any game their team is a part of, no matter how big.

Step said this had led to some labelling the club as non-competitive, but that is far from the case.

Mel Winsbrow, the club's membership secretary, said: "If children are on the waiting list and we've got a spot then we offer them a place, it's as simple as that.

"We're really children and player-centred, we do the best for our children. It's not about winning, obviously we do want to win but it's about fairness."

Step said the club has three main values; competitive, courageous and caring.

"Competitive because we are looking to support young people and develop their ability to compete in a child-friendly way, in a way that helps them to grow that competitiveness.

"Courageous, because we think it is really important that we stand up for what we think is right within the game, not just for our young people but for the young people that play football throughout our community.

"And caring is actually at the heart of what we do with the young people and the players that we support and we think it's really important that they guide every decision we make," he added.

The club's ethos has also helped to build community and friendships off the pitch.

"The kids do stuff in the holidays together, they meet up for picnics and go for days out, there's a real sense of community and I think people feel like they belong to Tigers," said Winsbrow.

"There's a lot of shared values and interests and I think that helps with a sense of belonging."

Huish Tigers are nominated in the Active category at the BBC Make a Difference Awards.

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