In September 2009 Mike Stylianou set up a Sheffield Special Olympics Football team, under the name Spartans FC, recruiting coaches and volunteers. A core of players was built up and training was moved to the facilities on offer at Newfield School.
We still train at Newfield School Sports Hall on a Monday evening from 6-7pm, if you would like to join us please call Mike for further information on 07799 065469.
The sessions are for young people with any form of learning disability and coaching is structured so that all players can improve their skills and fitness, make friends and have fun.
We are part of the Sheffield and Hallamshire Ability Counts League and play matches once a month during the winter and spring.
As part of Special Olympics Sheffield our players have the opportunity to compete in local, regional and national games, and we usually attend regional tournaments over the summer months. Some players took part in the SO GB National Games in Bath in 2013. Three players also took part in a Special Olympics tournament in Denmark that year coming back with bronze medals.
We also hold our own tournaments. In 2014 the team won their first trophy in Harrogate, sadly the next year they only managed third!
We continue to compete in tournaments, sometimes winning, sometimes coming last and our players continue to grow in ability and confidence to such an extent that at the end of last season (2017-18) we won our division league trophy! In 2017 saw the Special Olympics National Games being held in our home town of Sheffield and once again some of our members went to the training events and competed as part of the Yorkshire and Humberside squad.
Mike Stylianou
mike.s@so-sheffield.co.uk