Rising Football Stars Attend a Very Different Training Session!

The elderly residents of Chatterwood House, a private care home located in Liss, recently experienced an extra treat with their usual afternoon cup of tea and slice of homemade cake – a visit by players from the Portsmouth Football Club youth team!

The four potential sports stars of tomorrow were at the home to attend a ‘dementia friendly’ training class, where trainer Jeff Williams, from The Dementia Society gave them an insight into how dementia affects people and their families.

The visit was arranged by Portsmouth Football Club’s Head of Education & Welfare, Jon Slater, as part of the local club’s ethos to broaden the boys team’s awareness and life skills, as well as develop their footballing talents. The players attend Portsmouth FC Academy, which delivers a structured education programme for young footballers to realise their full potential.

Chatterwood’s owners, Milkwood Care, with Headquarters in Petersfield, are official sponsors of The Portsmouth FC Academy. Managing Director, Robin Cheesman said, “We are very keen to be associated with the Academy as, we too, strive to foster positive, life-enhancing experiences in our homes and give everyone the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of physical and mental activities. This definitely helps our residents to feel younger, fitter and keep their spirits high.”

Chatterwood House Manager, Di Cooper, said ‘We were delighted to welcome the young Portsmouth players to the home to attend our training session. The boys were really interested in learning about dementia care and took it all in their stride. They then served afternoon tea to the residents and chatted with many of them. It was an enjoyable afternoon and the residents really enjoyed the boys’ company – so much so, the next day they wanted their afternoon tea served by them, again!”