Arsenal Gap Year Programme 2011 – 2012

Arsenal Gap Year Programme 2011 - 2012 Arsenal’s next Gap Year Programme will start in early September 2011. Applications for the programme open in January 2011 with the deadline Thursday 31st March 2011. From September to December (Part 1) you will be coaching in local schools and Community groups in London. After December it's off on your GAP year 4 month project in the New Year or another 4 months here if we feel you need more experience (Part 2).

Part 1 4 months based in London at Emirates Stadium and local schools during which time you will gain qualifications and work experience with our Community Programme in football coaching and classroom teaching (literacy, numeracy and basic ICT) Part 1 is unpaid and requires travelling to Islington 5 days a week for four months, often during peak hours. It is essential that you are able to cover any travel expenses.

Part 2 Upon successful completion of Part 1 volunteers will be offered a similar length placement as a volunteer coach and teaching assistant with one of our Soccer School partners/charity project abroad or the option of continuing in London. If we believe you need more experience before we send you abroad to coach, we will keep you here in London for Part 2 ( January – May) before sending you abroad during Part 3 ( May – August).

Part 3 Those that travel abroad during Part 2 can end the programme there or continue on with us as a part-time coach (both here and abroad). Note however, this depends on hours available and there is not often a great deal of work. There is also the option of travelling abroad again.

The Format If you do not live near north London this could prove to be very expensive. You must consider this carefully as we are unable to provide or source accommodation. This is an exceptional way of spending a Gap Year with Arsenal before or after further/higher education or as a career break. (You must be aged 17 when you travel abroad). Successful candidates will need to demonstrate a willingness to learn and a responsible attitude. Ideally you will have some experience of working with children or in schools. For a January start date, you must have some experience of coaching football. The ability to demonstrate basic football techniques is a requirement.

The Cost The cost of the programme is £500, plus a £250 returnable deposit. You are required to pay for your own flights, an expense which you must factor in to your decision as our Soccer Schools are all over the world. You must also cover any additional personal expenses. The Club will provide insurance. During Part 2 you stay with one of our coaching partners so you don't have to pay for accommodation and food. To see a full list of partners, go to www.arsenal.com and look in the community section under soccer schools; there you will find a list of all the countries in which we have a partner. The £500 funds various courses: F.A. Level 1 coaching badge First aid TEFL Child protection Referee course AFC training kit 2 to 3 AFC training sessions each week. We believe this represents good value and great fun too. You will meet like-minded people and make new friends. You will also be working and learning alongside out trainee coaches.

The first stage is an application form. If we feel you are suitable, this would be followed by an interview here Emirates Stadium with members of Arsenal in the Community Staff.

Some points to consider: 1.

The Gap Year is unpaid

2.

If you do not live in London, travel may be very expensive for you as you will need to travel to Islington every day, at PEAK TIMES.

3.

The programme requires you to be free Monday – Friday 9 am – 6 pm and occasional Saturdays 9 am - 2 pm.

4.

The start date will be early September.

5.

As with this year, half the intake will travel abroad from January – end April. Those who we feel need more coaching experience will remain here In London before going abroad May – late August.

6.

Out of 18 Gap Year coaches this year, 16 went abroad. You are not guaranteed to go abroad if we feel you have not reached the required standard. (Nor do you have to go abroad- you could stay with us for the year in London).

7.

The Gap Year is n0t a placement year during a university course. It is for those who have finished their studies at school/college/university.

8.

It is likely that having completed the programme, you will be offered PARTTIME coaching work with us. Full time jobs are practically non-existent.

An average week: Mon

Tues

Wed

Staff Training

Staff Training

Local sessions

Local sessions

Thurs

Fri

Saturday

Staff Training

Coaching at Soccer Schools

AM

PM

Coaching in local Secondary Schools

Coaching in local Secondary Schools

Coaching in local Primary School

During the school holidays/half term etc. we will also need you to coach at our Soccer Schools. As you can see, the programme is very much full time, however, we are of course very flexible. Several of those on the programme this year have combined taking part with part time work. Several of those on the programme this year have also successfully applied for grants awarded to volunteers.

Arsenal had four Gap Year coaches in 2006/2007. Two went to Australia, one went to Egypt and one remained with us here in North London. They all had a great time coaching out there in the community, teaching English and representing Arsenal FC. All Gap Year coaches have continued to coach for Arsenal in the Community on a part-time basis on their return. In 2007/08 we had 14 Gap Year coaches. 8 went in January to Indonesia, Singapore, Egypt and Greece. 6 remained in London before travelling in May to Indonesia, Thailand, Greece and Egypt. 2008/2009 we have had 16 Gap Year coaches at the Club. They have travelled to Singapore, Canada, Indonesia, Israel and Greece. Two chose to remain in London. This year we have had 21 Gap Year coaches at the Club. They have travelled to Mozambique, Kenya, Israel and Indonesia. In the summer we will also have four coaches working in the local communities in Barbados.

Below is is a report from two students who were on our Gap Year programme in 2006/07: Hi Guys, Hope you are all well. Will and I are great and are having an excellent time. Paul (Shipwright), you were right about Tarek. He's really nice and he's always taking us out. From the moment we arrived our time has been nothing short of amazing. The first thing you notice is how friendly and welcoming the people are. Everyone's really helped us to settle in. Our daily routine is as follows: NOT BE PUT OFF We wake up early and work on our fitness using the facilities at the club. At 12.30pm kids from the British School in Cairo come to Wadi Degla and we coach them. This gives us more opportunity to coach and means we get to talk to kids with different backgrounds from the members of the club. We use the afternoon to plan sessions and prepare for the Arsenal Soccer School sessions at 5.30pm.These finish at 8.30pm so we use the evenings as a chance to explore Cairo and experience the culture of the country. When we arrived at the Wadi Degla Club, we were impressed by the enormity of the whole club. The soccer school set up is excellent and all the facilities are top class. The club employs over 25 coaches, some of whom are ex-professionals. There are 22 groups, all of which train at least four times a week. We are put with the English speaking coaches and assist them with their sessions. We have even already been given the opportunity to take our own sessions and this has provided us with invaluable coaching experience. Many of the children speak excellent English and are more than happy to help us get our point across to the others whilst we are coaching. They love having us join their groups. They all want us to say hi to Thierry Henry for them! The children are allowed to join the Soccer School from the age of three or four which means the level of ability here is very high. Maybe one day one of them will be good enough to play for Arsenal! We can't believe that one month has already passed! Guess what? It rained yesterday! We were just talking about how much we were missing the English weather and then when it started raining we wanted it to be sunny again! We're only a quarter of the way through our stay and have already made so many new friends and learnt so much. We hope that the next two months are just as fun and exciting, if not better.

If you require an application form or further information, please contact John Olaleye on 020 7704 4159 or email [email protected].