Tots United: starting them young in Renfrewshire
Gary Campbell of Tots United talks to Ethan Barlow about the not only teaching kids the football fundamentals, but self-confidence too
Amid the world and the UK’s cumulative lockdown woes, Tots United have gone above and beyond the familiar Scottish kid’s club setup to provide Renfrewshire with a fantastic football coaching experience for children aged 18 months to eight years.
In just over three years of existence, the club has become highly successful, delivering education in the beautiful game across multiple locations in the West of Scotland.
Working with the club founders Ajay Singh and Yousif Ahmed, head coach Gary Campbell is a franchisee of the business and is more than happy to explain the club, his role and the experiences of the job.
“For me, it was the perfect opportunity,” he relayed.
Photo by Robert Benke
Gary had to prioritise bringing up his own children earlier in his life but combining that challenge with over a decade of residential child care experience fused the perfect mix for coaching kids football skills as well as growing them as individuals.
“I’m transferring 13 years of residential child care, which was obviously older kids – 12 to 18, you’re more adolescent, more challenging you would say, physical as well as verbal,” Gary explained. “When you go into the environment of teaching young kids football, it’s a lot easier. Even if I have difficult moments in the session, I always go back and think at least it wasn’t that.”
Photo by Robert Benke
For Gary, being acknowledged as a ‘Top 20 UK activity clubs for kids’ was a nice recognition but he believes there’s still work to be done in maintaining the level of coaching, adding that “what it should mean is the best classes you could possibly put on.
“So, when I put my classes on I give everything. I prepare as much as I can and of course I don’t get everything right, but I know it’s not because I haven’t tried.”
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Gary reinforced the point by adding how despite it being a financially viable enterprise, providing the best possible experience for the children is of the utmost importance to him and is something he prides himself on.
“Of course it’s a business but I genuinely do it because I do actually care about kids getting active. I’m writing a book about it as well. That comes from childcare where I’m dragging kids out, they should be dragging me out. That to me, is very sad.”
Gary’s approach of going above and beyond for the kids has led to the recognition he didn’t get in his previous childcare endeavours.
“One parent said to me that their two boys were very timid when they first came in. She’s texted me at least three, four times saying ‘we love your club’, and things like that. I worked in residential care for 13 years and I never got thanked once.”
Photo by Robert Benke
Pondering another story about the affection shown by people involved in the club, he said that “a kid came in, I hadn’t seen him in about eight weeks. I’ve coached him about three times.
“My session had already started so I didn’t see him coming and he just gave me this massive big hug. I was going up the road thinking that’s brilliant.”
As a football fan, Scotland’s disappointing Euro 2024 campaign inspired Gary to seek change in the nation’s mentality through his coaching.
“I know it’s going to come from grassroots clubs, like ourselves or whoever, we’ll change it, it’ll not be the SFA.
“If we can’t get our technical players better in the next generation by starting at one-year-old and one-and-a-half-years-old then we’ll never get them. That would make me really happy if I could see a few players I coached make it.
“If I’m helping produce some of the next generation or just keeping kids fit, both mentally and physically, I’ll say it again, it is a business but that will genuinely make me very happy and give me a lot of satisfaction.”
Clearly Gary Campbell and Tots United offer children a unique exercise and football coaching experience before players can naturally progress to older age group clubs. And while it’s still early days, the club’s resume over a short period of time speaks for itself.
For more information, contact Gary on email or WhatsApp 074365 00611. To find out more about Tots United, visit the website.