THE CARDIFF DEVILS COME TO BARRY
Brent Pope ex Cardiff Devils star and founder of the Devils Community Foundation brought a fast and furious roller hockey session to young people in the Vale.
By The Swoosh Editor.
Heavily equipped and ready to roll, Brent Pope ex Cardiff Devils star and founder of the Devils Community Foundation joined forces with local youth organisation Vibe Experience to provide a fast and furious roller hockey session for the young people of Barry during the Easter holidays.
The Devils Community Foundation (DCF) is the club’s official charity aiming to “ engage, cultivate and re-connect strong relationships within the community of South Wales”. The DCF is well established across Cardiff, successfully delivering a number of youth and community projects. Until recently the DCF had not ventured to the Vale of Glamorgan, but together with Vibe Experience the DCF ran an exciting roller hockey session for both boys and girls in Barry as part of "Splash" a school holiday scheme.
Devils star Brent Pope kindly provided all the roller hockey kit, from skates to sticks and not forgetting the goals. The only thing the young people needed to bring was themselves! This game is fast and furious but lots and lots of fun. This certainly didn't scare off the young skaters. Fifteen boys and girls came along and took part, all varying in age and ability.
Once kitted up youngsters found their feet with some technical and tackling exercises to warm up. Practising their skills in touch and pass; skate and turn; and skate and shoot. Before long the young people's confidence was clear and a full match was put into play. 'Face-off' began! The young players skated skillfully and tackled with speed. Goals were scored one after another, the teams were evenly matched and the game was tense. After a long, tiring, high speed game, it was a draw!
Amongst the sweat and red faces were big smiles, the day had been a great success with the young people of Barry. One young player said "I think it’s a really good idea, anyone can have a go. It's exhausting, but brilliant!". Dominique of Vibe Experience said "We have been very lucky to team up with Brent and the DCF. It offers young people something fun and active for both boys and girls. I hope we can continue to work together in delivering beneficial activities such as this in our local community".
