Spread across six mini pitches were over sixty local boys and girls - some with hearing impairments - who were taking part in Romford FC's soccer week, organised by Chairman Steve Gardner and his team of junior coaches.

Wednesday was different though as a team of the new FA Tesco Skills Coaches were present - including former Leyton Orient stalwart Matthew Joseph -to take the children through some basic skills training, whilst passing on some tips to the coaches of Romford's FA Charter Standard club.

Summer holiday courses are one way that non league clubs like Romford can engage with local children, and whilst unlikely to challenge the appeal of Upton Park on a Saturday afternoon, Gardner told TheFA.com he hoped he could provide a safe and enjoyable environment where loca children could develop their skills, irrespective of ability.

The FA Tesco Skills programme was launched by Frank Lampard in a hail of publicity at Wembley Stadium, but across the capital on the London/Essex borders, one theme was recurring from Regional Coach Development Manager Tessa Payne and her team.

"This programme isn't about finding the next England star," she said. "It's about providing children with the fundamentals which will become the foundations for players to develop skills."

Much has been written about the obesity timebomb ticking in many of the nation's children, but Payne and her team believe societal changes have made English children less agile and less able to perform basic physical skills.

"Even a generation ago, the first thing many kids would do is go after school to the local park and kick a ball about.

"Now parents are far more wary of where their children are and in an increasingly litigious society, activities such as hopskotch, skipping or climbing frames which taught agility, balance and coordination are often outlawed in school playgrounds.

"By our team of Skills Coaches going into local clubs and schools, hopefully we can help get children active again and inspire teachers to want to provide pupils with more PE time too" added Joseph.

More important than anything, as Coaches we have to put on the 'hat' of a child. What will they enjoy doing?

"Our job is to also alter the culture of coaching, so every child gets lots of touches of the ball, and we as Coaches step in less and encourage the children more to make decisions of their own, which in turn inspires more self-confidence and builds teamworking skills."

For more information on TheFA Skills, click here...

For more information on Romford FC and their junior teams, email: JonGildersleeve@aol.com