A football-mad sports science graduate has turned his passion into a successful business.
Chris Thompson, 26, has established a network of football coaching clubs across North Wales.
His company, Kick It Sports Coaching, now trains hundreds of children in after-school and holiday clubs in Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire and Flintshire.
He’s also been appointed as an official Scout for Liverpool Football Club who’s hoping to discover the next Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher.
But it’s not just football. Chris has now branched out to include rugby and netball classes and has plans to introduce cricket and dance sessions too.
Chris is keen to give much of the credit to the Welsh Assembly Government’s Regional Centre Service which helped him get up and running.
According to Chris, he would not have been able to establish the business without the expert advice and support he received from Business Support Manager Trefor Rowlands.
Chris explained: “The advice Trefor gave me was absolutely vital because there were so many things I didn’t know about setting up a business.
“Trefor organised a lot of things and helped me in terms of securing grants totalling £5,500 from various sources which was a huge help in buying the equipment that I needed.
“Without Trefor’s guidance and the grants, I don’t think it would have been possible to set up Kick IT Coaching.
“He also encouraged me to enter the Shell UK Livewire competition for young entrepreneurs and I was a Wales finalist which was a great experience.
“More recently, I was successful in getting a grant to help set up the new website which enables people to book online and to look for information about the course.
For his part, watching the business grow has been immensely rewarding for Trefor Rowlands.
He said: “It’s really satisfying to see young entrepreneurs like Chris being successful and developing their business.
“He has a great personality and the drive to make a success of the venture. Chris does things in the right way and it is paying dividends.”
A native of Wigan, Chris is a former student of Bangor University where he met his girlfriend, Rebecca, with whom he now lives in Conwy.
After graduating, he initially returned to Wigan where he started coaching for another company and realised that he could set up his own company.
Chris recalled: “I came out of university with a sports science degree and I was obsessed with football so I started the business in 2006.
“I phoned a few schools and one of the first to get back to me was Ysgol yr Hendre in Caernarfon and we’ve run courses there every holiday since then.
“We do after school coaching for primary school children across Anglesey and Gwynedd and we do holiday coaching in Conwy, Denbighshire and Flintshire.
“I am in talks now to run courses in South Wales in Cardiff and Swansea – and I’m looking to expand into Wrexham and Chester too.
“The 30 coaches who work for me are mainly part-time and many of them are teachers.
“We also do rugby and netball. I have five netball coaches, we have five rugby coaches and we have 20 football coaches.
“Two years ago I was appointed a scout for Liverpool Football Club and we have established the Kick It Elite Centre in Bangor.
“We seek to identify the players with most potential and coach them at the Elite Centre with the aim of progressing them into the ranks of Liverpool.
“It’s a huge step up and it definitely helps in terms of our credibility as a company.
“We have discovered quite a few talented players and one lad who has just started on a trial with Liverpool is a nine year old lad from Anglesey.
“I want to progress and expand across the UK and introduce more sports – we’re bringing in things like cricket and dance.”
Small businesses requiring assistance should contact the Welsh Assembly Government Regional Centre Service on 03000 6 03000 or visit www.business.wales.gov.uk. For more information about Kick It Sports Coaching go to www.kickitfootballcoaching.co.uk or ring 07738 764274.
