Three very excited young men, two from Brandon, an old mining village in the North East of England and one from the Cotswolds in the South West set off for a life changing trip along with 30 other soccer coaches to Holland.

The trip had been organised to take UK & Irish coaches to Holland to visit both professional and amateur clubs and talk with technical directors, coaches and administrators to further understand the best soccer coaching culture in the world.

They saw both games and training sessions from the ages of six up to adults.

Some of the highlights of the trip were a visit to PSV’s training ground to see the first team and U19s train as well as a talk by the Academy Director.

They also saw an U17s game between Willem II and PSV which saw very contrasting styles of play.

The boys also visited two grassroots clubs, watched a professional first division game and had the chance to train with Dutch skills coach Cor Van Dijk.

The three lads would not of been able to afford the trip to Holland had it not been for the generosity of the CNSF.

Charlie Benson, 18 from Cirencester said,

“This has been a truly memorable trip. I can’t thank the foundation enough for helping me experience the best four days of my life.

Before I left for Holland I went on the CNSF website and read Chris’s inspirational essay ‘The Greatest Gift’. You have certainly made a difference to me and I can only thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

(Photo Caption – From the left – Charlie Benson – Jonathan Heslop – Steven Swinyard at PSV on a trip of a life time funded by the CNSF)