The children at FootieBugs holiday camp were treated to a visit on Wednesday from Jack Rutter, former Birmingham City Player and current captain of the Cerebral Palsy England Team.
Jack played for Birmingham City from the age of 10-18 years, but after a strike to the head in 2009 he was left with 2 fractures in his skill, moderate brain damage and permanently deaf in his right ear, resulting in him he having to retire from professional football.
But this tragic turn of events, didn’t stop Jack from achieving his goals and in 2012 he started to play for the East Midlands Cerebral Palsy team.
“I found the team through Headway, a great charity that help people who have suffered a brain injury. I started to enjoy playing football again and I was playing with people who were like myself. I did well and got the chance to play for the England team, I went from strength to strength. And was made captain within a year and played in tournaments in Portugal, Barcelona and here in England. I’m now looking forward to taking the team to the Paralympics in Brazil next year.”
Jack was an inspiration to the children at the camp, he watched them practice their skills throughout the day, finishing with several fantastic 5-a-side matches.
“I have seen some great talent today, some future stars for sure! The kids have been learning to work as a team, passing and movement and fine finishing. It’s great to see the children use the skills they have developed throughout the day in the match play. Often people can get obsessed with doing skills as soon as they get the ball, but the kids here are using them at the correct times. This is obviously a reflection on the high quality coaching they are receiving at FootieBugs.”
Jack spent lots of time with the kids at the camp, he helped out with the coaching and was happy to answer some of their questions. He also did a Keepy-uppie challenge and kept it in control for a whopping 96 touches with a few skills mixed in!
Q: How many games have you played?
A: I played 14 games for the world cup championship and scored 18 goals!
Q: What position do you play?
A: When playing 11-a-side I play right back, and hen playing for my CP team, which is 7-a-side I play centre mid-field.
Q: How did you start playing football?
A: I started at the age of 4 at grass root level, like you with FootieBugs and I signed for Windsor team at the age of 8.
Q: Who is the best player you have played with?
A: I’ll give 2 answers to that, for Birmingham City I would say Jack Butland as he has gone off to play for England and for my CP team, Ollie Nugent.
Jack spoke to the children about how proud he was to be Captain on the England CP team, who have recently played in the World Championship, with a very respectable fifth place – the highest place they have ever finished.
“This was the second time I have been captain for the team and I scored 8 goals in 5 matches, but I couldn’t have done it without my team mates who are a real inspiration and a great group of lads”
Jack continued to speak about how important grass roots football is for children and how it has changed since he was a child.
“When I started playing football, the training was much more basic and if a player stood out, they couldn’t really improve, but with FootieBugs they are getting first class coaching and I can see children of all levels playing together and developing at their own pace. The camp has lots of fun activities and the children are always smiling, which is great to see! “
“To have so many children here learning football, key skills and teamwork instead of being at home on computer is fantastic to see as it’s important for them to be living a healthy lifestyle.”
Please click here to hear more about what Jack Rutter thinks about FootieBugs Holiday Camps.
