Shaun Excels as Fans FC Participant Turned Coach

One of the participants on our Fans Fighting Cancer programme has recently completed their Level 1 badge as they progress through the football coaching ranks.

Shaun Pearson, 66, says taking part in Fans FC’s weekly Walking Football groups has really helped him through it all.

“Three or four years ago, my son, Matthew, who had had leukaemia got me involved in the programme. I’ve had prostate cancer and Matthew fetched me along to a session. I’ve been here ever since.”

“They are such an inspirational group; they’re absolutely brilliant. The opportunity this programme has given me is the chance to get into the coaching side of things. Whether it be an older age group with Walking Football, or the younger groups because I’ve worked on the Football Camps that the Foundation run locally. I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s opened my eyes to what you need to be doing as a coach at these camps. It’s made me want to put something back in, because I was going nowhere until my son got me into it.”

Shaun credits Fans FC with keeping his spirits up, adding “It’s not all doom and gloom here. I think if you’ve got a positive attitude, it does help you in any fight you’ve got, whether it be cancer [or something else], you’ve got to have a positive attitude. That’s what it’s given me. It’s made me want to give something back. The more I can put back in, the happier I feel inside. If I can help one person, I’m going to be very happy. Hopefully, we can get a lot more into this group and we can help more.”

If you’re interested in getting involved in our Fans FC programme, click here for more information or email health@sufc-community.co.uk.