KickOff@3 on Crisis Management communities and the police authorities within those postcodes. However, like many industries and organisations that have based themselves on getting children and young adults playing sport and more active outside, they’ve never had to face a crisis like the global covid-19 lockdown. Ashley reveals however that he was not surprised at how resilient their community proved to be. A couple of months ago the presiding “call” for parents and communities was to make sure that children spent time playing outside with their friends and not sitting inside stuck on their consoles. Suddenly this has shifted to keeping them indoors and not socialising. KickOff@3 have been sport community leaders for a long time, bringing a great sense of purpose and family to communities in and outside of London. We got in touch with KickOff@3’s co-founders Michael Wallace and Ashley Levien to discuss the message that they are sending to the members of their sporting community. Also to touch on how teamwork and focus is the key to winning this game. JUST ANOTHER CHALLENGE Ashley, who beyond the realm of KickOff@3 is a bus driver in London and has been working throughout the lockdown says, “I think it is a difficult and trying time where many people are feeling helpless with the situation,” he explains, “However it is something that we are more than capable of getting through.” He highlights how their community, which he co-founded with police officer Michael Wallace as a direct means of getting children off the streets and into sporting games, has always been highly sociable. Since they were founded in 2017 their entire approach has been centred around bringing different area codes and communities together in unity. Their use of football (and also basketball with TipOff@3) and their tournaments have proved a highly effective tool for bridging the gap between
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“It is just another challenge,” he says, “We work with some communities where knife crime, domestic violence and gang related trouble are all part of people’s lives. Sport has brought them together and made them very tough. The work we’ve put in on the field has made them stronger off it.” SAME MESSAGE, DIFFERENT FIELD There are a few things that have had to be managed. KickOff@3 had a focal point on football because the founders grew up playing the sport, but there was just as much chance it could have been rugby related or volleyball. At the core of their community was the messages that they gave to their members. This has defined the success of the group, installing philosophies that hard work and patience pays off. That a person’s health is more valuable than any amount of money and that we are all responsible for our own happiness. Now that they aren’t able to use a good kick-around or a tournament to do this and with many of their future tournaments now being rescheduled, the message has had to be related in a different method and this has seen the founders and ambassadors turn to social media. “We founded KickOff@3 in 2017,” he says, “So we have always used the power of social media to connect with our ambassadors, members and organisers. It has always been an invaluable tool. What has changed though is that we need to get our messages across to young people and it’s difficult to engage on the same level.”
