Lancing United Colts look to build on success with the help of new training equipment

The Colts team at Lancing United Football Club, where players are aged under eight, won the Worthing Town Tournament in May and had an awards presentation evening in June.

Dad Thomas Burch, whose eldest son Jack plays for the Colts, said: "The players are typical boys with lots of energy and football gives them an outlet to run off steam. They enjoy coming together from three schools in different parts of the town.”

Thomas, a protection and commissioning engineer, was selected for a £250 Team Sport Award by his employer, UK Power Networks, for new footballs, cones and training equipment for the team.

He said: "As they get older, they are doing more complicated training sessions and having the right equipment to do that properly is great. This will make the training sessions better for the boys.

"It was great to support the team and I feel proud of the company for supporting local sports. The team has also bought a cover for players sitting on the bench in the first half of games. The weather was atrocious over the winter, so the cover will keep the bench dry for them."

The sports awards encourage staff to volunteer in the community, support grassroots sport, promote healthy living, teamwork and develop sports opportunities.

Matt Andrews, from Lancing United Football Club, said: “We really appreciate the donation from UK Power Networks. The money has been put towards some new training equipment and balls for the boys, which is vital for teams such as ours at grassroots level to develop and grow. The boys are over the moon with it all.”

Lancing United Colts usually train on Saturdays and play home matches on Sundays at Croshaw Recreation Ground, in Grafton Drive, Lancing.

A summer football camp with expert coaches is open to all children aged four to 13, with a 15 per cent discount for Lancing United Colts members. Camp dates are August 8 to 10 and August 15 to 17, with bookings available for an individual day or the full three days.

From themed tournaments and striker clinics to footwork and agility drills, the camp covers all aspects of the game, as well as team-building activities, friendly competitions and plenty of fun in the sun. Visit www.elitecoachingsocceracademy.co.uk/football-camps to book.