NAR Kollective: Enhancing Sports And Education Access For Cheshire’s Next Gen
In 2017, Adam Beasley saw an opportunity to bring football coaching to the Cheshire community, with the goal being to provide young children with access to high-quality coaching, facilities and equipment.
His vision led to the formation of NAR Sports, with the pitches at Nantwich’s Brine Leas High School playing host. What began with a small group of kids soon blossomed into a large thriving community, emphasising the need for fun and engaging football programmes.
Fast forward five years and NAR Sports has evolved radically, culminating in a recent rebrand to NAR Kollective, which umbrellas three core services – Sports, Education and Community.
Not only does Beasley and his team continue to deliver the sports coaching sessions that got the ball rolling half a decade ago, but they have extended their focus to include charity initiatives and, more recently, a partnership with Reaseheath College for a brand-new educational offering.
“The growth over the last five years has been amazing. You very rarely stand back and acknowledge how far things have come and what we have created, but we’ve grown an awful lot since we started out,” Beasley expresses.
“As it stands, we have had just shy of 6000 kids come through our programme and, over time, have been able to develop lots of pathways for these children to progress into, whether that’s staying with us, or with someone else. We have 10 great sponsors and 100 children every Saturday morning – it is something we’re really proud of,” he adds.
For many, it’s the smaller details that go a long way. One example being the partnership with local greengrocers Perry’s Fruit & Veg, who supply every child with free fruit after sessions. Amidst a cost-of-living crisis, it’s a gesture that epitomises what NAR stands for and helps them achieve a balanced diet.
And you would be right in thinking their achievements to date are impressive, but Beasley isn’t resting on his laurels. There are huge plans for development within both the charity arm and education programme this year.
“Our charity golf day is a really popular event, which, through generous donations from local businesses, helps three or four children from less affluent areas become sponsored NAR athletes,” Beasley says.
“This is a new initiative, that will essentially give disadvantaged young people the opportunity to follow their aspirations, by joining a sports club of their choice. It doesn’t have to be with us either – we are there to facilitate a funded pathway into sport, which isn’t readily available for them due to circumstances out of their control,” he explains.
Alongside this, NAR’s collaboration with Reaseheath College is providing aspiring sports coaches with a Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Sports Coaching and Development.
The initiative, which is led by owner Beasley and supported by Adam Landstrom, Ben Tew and former Crewe Alexandra and Northern Ireland winger Steve Jones, has revolutionised the offering for students at the College and utilises their impressive on-site sports facilities.
NAR and Reaseheath unite for groundbreaking new offering
While Beasley is proud to already be working with four local schools, this newly-formed partnership is a big step forward in their mission.
“Our relationship with Reaseheath allows us to give back to the local community in a different way – through education,” Beasley says.
“This course combines all of our experience in sport and will give young adults another pathway into the industry, as football coaches or strength & conditioning coaches.”
When talking to ‘Beaso’, his optimism for what lies ahead shines through, and it is his affinity to the local area and his own sporting background that drives him on to make positive change.
“Having played football locally myself, I am really passionate about accessibility and opportunity,” the former Nantwich Town player says.
“I appreciate that new football boots and monthly subscriptions to sports clubs can be unaffordable for some, but we believe everyone should have access to sport, not just for the physical and psychological benefits, but to build some really valuable social skills. It’s more than just sport,” he emphasises.
One child who has benefitted from the programme is Sola Temple, who began his NAR journey as a five-year old, before joining Manchester City’s prestigious Academy. Now playing for City’s Under-9s, Sola joined as a ‘shy, small kid’. Over time, he grew in both confidence and stature, and found his feet within the NAR family.
Sola puts pen to paper at City
Looking ahead to 2024, Beasley is hoping to emulate Sola’s story within other sports, with a basketball group being put together and new membership format being rolled out in the near future, which will enable members to leave the programme and come back at any time using their bespoke membership number.
Beyond that, there are ambitions to build a NAR facility, which would become an active hub within the community. This would allow NAR to deliver similar projects to what they do now, but on a much larger scale, across a diverse range of sports – benefitting more and more children, young adults and families across the Cheshire region.
For more information on NAR and their initiatives, please visit www.narsports.co.uk, or email info@narsports.co.uk
