THE first few weeks of involvement with Chelsea FC and the Hyundai FC grassroots scheme has been “incredible” for the young players and adults at Charlestown Youth FC, says U13s manager Chris Pearce.

Unbeknown to Chris, he and his team were put forward to be part of the 2020-21 initiative by the club.

Hyundai has selected 11 junior clubs from around the country with links to a local dealership, based on their commitment to youth football, mix of girls’ and boys’ teams, and geographical spread.

“I received a fantastic call on September 29 from our treasurer James confirming that the club had nominated us for an award with Hyundai and Chelsea FC and we had won,” said Chris.

“We were put forward for this due to everything I do myself for the club, and the excellent efforts from my amazing team.

“I was absolutely buzzing with excitement to get started and tell the boys,” he continues.

“I had to wait three days until our training session without telling a soul, including my own son Finlay Pearce, who also plays for Charlestown Rhinos!”

The lads were “shocked and filled with joy” when they learned that on October 26, they’d be joined for a training session by Chelsea FC youth coaches Michael and Rory.

“They held a three-hour session on our match pitch catered to the needs of our team: we worked on transitions from attack to defence, positioning and patterns of play,” said Chris.

“The session was amazing and flew by, with the boys enjoying every second despite horrendous weather.

“My fellow coach Tim Lansdowne and myself learnt so much from this experience and have already applied some drills to our training session.”

Ashley Andrew, managing director of Hyundai UK said: “At Hyundai we are committed to supporting fans at all levels of the game – from the grassroots players, coaches and parents at the 11 Hyundai FC clubs to the elite-level through the sponsorship of Chelsea FC.

“We’ve had incredible feedback from our Hyundai FC clubs involved in the launch of the second season of the programme and we look forward to offering them more valuable experiences as the season continues.”

The Chelsea FC coaches will be back in Charlestown in February and in the meantime, the whole U13 team is set to receive new Nike football kit sponsored by Hawkins Motors.

Chris has also been invited to Chelsea FC’s training ground in Cobham for a managerial course.

“The experience has been incredible thus far. We feel extremely lucky and honoured to be a part of it and we really don’t want it to end,” he said.

“We cannot thank our fantastic football club enough for nominating us for this and hope to share our experience with them all.”