From player to coach: Jaime recognised with Community Captain award
BHAFC Foundation coach Jaime Quinn has been recognised for her fantastic contribution to youth football in Sussex.
Jaime, a football coach and PE teacher for the Foundation, first got involved with Premier League Kicks as a young player before being employed as a coach.
When she was 14 years old, Jaime was struggling to find opportunities to play the game she loved. That all changed when she discovered the Foundation’s free Premier League Kicks programme.
Jaime thrived thanks to the programme and the pathways offered to her; she is now inspiring the next generation of players as a community coach at the Foundation’s Premier League Kicks sessions in Brighton, while she also teaches PE lessons at Parkland Junior School in Eastbourne.
In recognition of her dedication to supporting young people, Jaime was given a Community Captain award as part of the Premier League’s More Than A Game celebrations.
She received her award at a special session attended by former Albion striker Glenn Murray.
Jaime reflected on her time with the programme: “I was always interested in football but before I got involved with the Foundation, I didn’t have the facilities to pursue it as much as I wanted to.”
“I grew up in quite a rough area, there wasn’t that much support and there weren’t many positive role models,” she said.
“I was a girl playing in a male-dominated sport. I faced a lot of obstacles trying to play, because of my background and because of money. For a lot of clubs you have to pay fees to sign on. I was pretty down.
“I stumbled across the work of the Foundation. It was accidental. When I first got involved, I was the only girl there and a lot of the participants were a lot older than me.
“But the coaches got me involved straight away, they made sure that I got a lot of touches on the ball. It massively improved my confidence and made me feel like I was able join in those sessions, even if I felt a bit out of place at the start.
“Attending that first Premier League Kicks session was definitely a life-changing moment for me. Not only has it helped shape the person I’ve become but it’s also shaped my whole career up until this point.”
Over the years and through her transition from a player to a coach, Jaime has seen a significant development in the availability of girls’ football locally.
“Premier League Kicks offers opportunities for anyone under the age of 19 to play, for free. It is superb,” Jaime says.
“Now we have more facilities, more funding and there’s a lot more for the girls to do such as tournaments in different countries and around the UK.
“As a coach, the most important responsibility is to be there for the participants, for the girls, to be there for them, to be someone who they can go to and have a good relationship with. It is less about the football and it is a lot more about the relationships you’re building with them.
“A lot of things have changed about me through Premier League Kicks. From when I was a participant, it massively improved my confidence to get involved with things that are outside of my comfort zone and then being a coach, it’s about improving as a person, my people skills and my impact on the community.
“Coaching makes me feel good about myself. It makes me feel like I’m giving back to people in the best way that I know how to. Premier League Kicks is like a second family to me. The programme has taught me to stand up for myself and that if I want something, I have the ability to go and get it.”
Jaime was given her award by former Seagulls striker Glenn Murray, and she was also congratulated by Premier League CEO Richard Masters and Albion COO Paul Mullen.
“Being named as a Premier League Community Captain hasn’t sunk in it,” Jaime said, “I never expected it in a million years. It’s a massive honour and it feels really nice to be recognised.
“I only became aware of what was happening today when I got told to stand next to Glenn Murray! Receiving the award from him was very overwhelming at first but then also very exciting.
“When I reflect on all the things I’ve done with Premier League Kicks, it makes me feel very proud to be a part of it, it also makes me feel very grateful for the opportunities that I was given when I was younger and that I continue to have now.”