Soccer school for amputees opens
The Derek Dooley legend has inspired the launch in Sheffield of a special soccer school for amputees.
Tragedy is at the centre of the folklore in that, as everyone knows, Dooley had to quit football after the amputation of a broken leg in 1953.
Now part of Derek's great legacy – the right word in all contexts – is that other people who befall similar misfortune need not necessarily give up playing the game
The Derek Dooley Football Academy, backed by dignitaries including Richard Caborn, will be one of three centres in the country dedicated to help amputees stay involved with football.
It is the brainchild of former Sheffield United director Tony Barrington and carries the blessing of Dooley's widow. "Sylvia told me Derek would have loved this," said Barrington, a long-time friend of the Dooley family.
"I know Derek would have taken part had this opportunity been available to him in his younger years."
The academy, based at Goals Soccer Centre on Norfolk Park Road, joins others in London and Manchester. It will provide support for people with upper or lower limb amputation to develop their physical ability to be involved in football.
Barrington, who has marvelled at skills shown by amputees, said: "Some of them should be playing in the Premier League – they are all Ronaldos when it comes to ball-juggling. Anyone who has never seen football played by amputees should come along and watch these players. It will surprise them, as it did me."
The England amputee team is due to visit the Goals centre on Saturday, August 23 (10am-1230pm). It is open to all but anyone who has lost a limb – male or female – is specially invited.
The academy director is Wayne Perry, an ex-England international visually-impaired footballer who has been involved in disability sport for 15 years. "It's fantastic to be involved in something I feel passionate about," he said.
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