On Monday 12th July, 103 Young Football Volunteers from across the country descended upon Wolverhampton University.
When we first arrived most people were very quiet but the ice broke quickly thanks to a few entertaining team building games.
We were issued with a plethora of clothing and equipment that we would use over the week. This included the five red t-shirts which we would hardly take off until Friday night that told everyone we were a 'Football Leader'.
Over the next five days, we completed around 20 workshops on various different football topics from 5-11 year old coaching to futsal. Although the weather was bad at times it failed to dampen anyone's spirits and choruses of "The referee's a hero!" and "We all play with a smile on our face, a smile on our face, a smile on our face!" often rung around campus.
On Thursday night the young leaders put their dancing shoes on for the fancy dress disco. With two England tickets promised to the best costume this was by far the best 'fancy dressed' party I've ever been to! The week ended with a closing ceremony with a special guest - Howard Webb! Everybody was crying and laughing at the end; numbers, emails and hugs were exchanged and everybody parted their separate ways, to go back to their clubs and put into practice what they had learned.
The purpose of the conference was to enthuse and educate the Young Leaders about the different ways they can get involved with football. The conference gave us the taster in the life of a profession in football, allowed us to practice our teamwork skills but most of all allowed us to interact and coordinate with other young leaders like ourselves (I found many had very similar personalities or interests to my own).
The week was long, hard but certainly unforgettable. I would like to thank Wiltshire County FA for nominating me for this event and Derry Hill United FC who have allowed me to grow as a player, coach, referee and volunteer for the last nine years.
Sam Crocker
Wiltshire - Young Football Leaders Camp 2010