Behind Every Kick is a charity with an ambition to help young people to develop the skills they learn through sports and harness them to create opportunities beyond the boat, the gym or the pitch. Behind Every Kick seeks to level the playing field.
The organisation has developed a specific set of workshops with LEYLand4, world-renowned performance experts. These workshops are delivered to young people within a school setting. Participants were tasked with facilitating a rowing session for novices.
Behind Every Kick worked with School Six21, which is based in Newham, East London.
A core part of the project involved improving sports provision at the school sixth-form. Behind Every Kick supported the group to communicate with the school leadership team and also with external sports clubs to deliver the session, meet their deadlines and work as a team. The programme was delivered to young people who were almost exclusively from diverse ethnic groups.
Behind Every Kick recognises that the playing field is not level for all young people – often social and economic disadvantages are barriers to aspiration and achievement. By unlocking a lifetime of potential for young people through the power of sport; shifting perceptions of how young people see their place in the world and how organisations see the potential of resilient, agile thinkers.
Behind Every Kick work to create environments that encourage aspiration and celebrate success. The ambition of the programme is to bridge a gap in support for young people where societal, personal or economic circumstances are potential hurdles to long-term success. This gap has been exacerbated by Covid and there is an urgency to address the widening chasms and to open pathways to opportunities. With a heritage is in both elite & grass roots sport, Behind Every Kick use the power of team sport as a vehicle to develop key life skills for young people aged 16 and over. Funding from The Boat Race was able to help incorporate rowing into this programme. We are delighted that the funding helped to introduce rowing to a community of young people who would otherwise be highly unlikely to be given any access to the sport.