In the heart of communities across the United Kingdom and New Zealand, an innovative approach to youth football is changing the game. Founded by the visionary Tom Speers, Footy Kids is not your average sports programme. It focuses on ensuring that kids have fun and enjoy themselves while learning new skills, without the pressure of becoming the next Lionel Messi. With a portable inflatable pitch, Footy Kids brings all the thrills of the game right to the doorstep of primary schools and holiday programmes ⚽
Come on board for an insightful chat with Tom, as we delve into how Footy Kids acts as a stepping stone, guiding children into the world of football in a safe and supportive setting. Plus learn how Enrolmy's functionality assists Tom in paving the way for more youngsters to develop a lasting passion for the sport.
Turning Passion Into a Business
I've never wanted to do anything but football.
The journey of Footy Kids began simply with Tom Speers' love for football. Tom had previously been a football coach in England but decided to move to New Zealand for a fresh start. He started coaching football at Football Kidz owned by Malcolm McPherson, which later changed business ownership to Tom.
Tom Speers: On a trip to Australia I saw a lot of activity companies so I thought this was a great idea. So I went back to New Zealand and got [Footy Kids] off the [ground].
After a few years away running Footy Kids in New Zealand, Tom made the bold decision to return to England. Despite the fierce competition in the UK job market, he was determined to set up Footy Kids in West Oxfordshire. Coaching football comes naturally for Tom, and being able to do something he loves every day whilst making a successful business out of it is a massive accomplishment.
I've always been a big kid. So I didn't need a new set of skills, to be fair, to do my job. And I just love football. It's just, that I've never done anything else.
Now, in 2024, Footy Kids has operations spanning both sides of the globe!
We’re in the realm of 40 schools in the UK, and New Zealand around 30-40 as well.
A Day in the Life at Footy Kids
Tom’s day-to-day, is managing activities for Footy Kids back in the UK, and similarly, there is a manager running activities in New Zealand. These activities aim to provide an engaging and fun-filled football experience for children that emphasises enjoyment over competition.
I basically facilitate lots of fun.
Tom: We have links with the schools in New Zealand and here [in the UK]. So every time they [schools] come on a course, we send them an email about where all their local clubs are. So we give them [parents] the opportunity to go and do that. And we're always here to answer any questions.
With inflatable pitches making their way to schools and daycare centres across the UK and New Zealand, Footy Kids delivers on its mission to bring laughter, joy and team spirit back into play.
When we've got the pitch they [kids] love it! And [I] just love seeing their faces.
It's most rewarding when kids are just having loads of fun, and that's what we try and do.
Tom: I'm not trying to teach them to be Messi, I'm giving them football and games where they really enjoy themselves.
Working with Kids
When we asked Tom about his funniest moments working with kids, he said there were too many to tell but it’s more from New Zealand - the kids out there are a “different level”.
The reason I love working with kids, especially working with 5-7 year olds, is because they’re space cadets. Essentially they'll say anything, they don't have a filter. It's amazing. Just some of the things they come out with.
Tom: I'm actually doing a couple of sessions today to cover somebody and it's nice just popping back in. I'll take the younger ones, everyone thinks that they're hard work, but I just enjoy sitting there listening to them. It’s just fun.
One standout aspect of Tom’s approach with Footy Kids is his emphasis on enjoyment and inclusivity. By creating an environment where children are encouraged to be themselves without fear of judgment or failure, Tom has witnessed his young players blossom and share camaraderie among teammates. These experiences not only foster a love for football but also build confidence and essential social skills that extend beyond the field.
It's a really fulfilling job.
Making a Positive Impact on the Community
We create the fun element of football, before they go and take it a little bit more seriously. And that's what we are. We're like a stepping stone to getting kids there.
One heartwarming anecdote shared by Speers encapsulates this drive for Footy Kids and its’ truly transformative impact:
I've got a little story to say, one of the parents I worked with, her son was about eight, or nine years old and didn't even like football. He started coming on the holiday programmes because she was working. And now he's on the team .... He now plays football, and absolutely loves it and three years ago he didn't.
Tom: So that's essentially what my business is about. We're not too serious or anything, we just want kids to have fun.
This story and Footy Kids’ initiative importantly speak to the UK’s nationwide focus on getting kids active. When technology often overshadows physical activity, inspiring children to embrace outdoor play and sports can be a challenge (especially in post-COVID times). Footy Kids aims to bridge this gap in kids’ sports and physical activity, as Speers explains:
Yeah, that is our main link to the community. We just want kids to have fun, there's too many computers, too many screens and different distractions, which we didn't have as kids growing up... We just went out and played, climbed trees, but I think kids don't get that anymore, especially in schools [and their] structure.
Overcoming Operational Hurdles with Enrolmy
Like so many activity providers, running a business like Footy Kids comes with its own set of challenges—from driving bookings and managing staffing to payments and more. No one enjoys the tediousness of administrative work, especially when it comes at the cost of engaging with the community and nurturing young talent.
When you don't like doing admin, everyone wants their life to be a little bit easier, don't they at the end of the day?
However, by adopting Enrolmy as a whole-business solution, Speers and his team have significantly simplified and saved time on these crucial marketing and administrative tasks.
It [Enrolmy] saves you so much time, it genuinely does. Enrolmy makes my life massively simple, with admin... I'm on it every day for both New Zealand and the UK and it just simplifies everything I do.
Driving Enrolment Numbers
Tom explained that getting enrolment numbers is one of the biggest challenges at Footy Kids, particularly with the likelihood of schools cancelling on you and the difficulty of getting parents to commit. However, with the time saved on admin because of Enrolmy, Tom is able to concentrate more on marketing strategies to attract more parents to book their kids into programmes.
In an attempt to supplement limited advertising opportunities within individual schools and the decline of local newspapers, Tom has turned to social media, flyers, and email marketing channels to reach out to prospective participants. These channels, while time-consuming, have become manageable for Tom as his sign-ups only take him two minutes. Despite this, traditional methods remained his primary channel:
A lot of it is word of mouth, I think my main market is by email to my database.
Managing Staffing
Like other children's activity providers, Tom stated that staffing is probably their “single hardest thing at the moment”.
Because Tom and his staff can only be paid if a programme has been delivered, ensuring stability for staff pay can be challenging. Tom navigates this issue by guaranteeing a fair base rate for his employees, even in cases of unexpected weather-related cancellations.
...we are able to create a full-time wage. So whether [staff] do 0 hours or 35 which is the maximum, they get the same amount, so it allows people to actually live.
With the time saved by automation and efficient payment systems in Enrolmy, Tom can efficiently manage and pay his staff—removing the stress from managing multiple payslips and invoices.
Tom’s weekly payment system has played a significant role in retaining committed coaches across New Zealand and the UK. Coaches play a vital role in delivering high-quality programs.
Simplifies Payment Processes
Allocating Parent Refunds and Credits
Enrolmy has a robust and customisable crediting process, that Tom has activated. Footy Kids offers credits, for example, if a child is absent or injured before or a few weeks into a programme.
Instead of a refund, it’s so good we can just ask [parents] “Can I give you some credit, please? We’re going to be back in at the school this year.” Who likes giving refunds really?
Not only does this eliminate the back-and-forth with caregivers about refunds but it gives kids the opportunity to still attend one of the programmes if they sadly miss out. Keeping caregivers in your system and empowering parents to utilise their credits for other programmes in the future, fosters loyalty and longevity in the customer journey.
Makes it Easier to Pay Staff
It makes it easier to pay. Before I got Enrolmy.... we had to email, and create a database that used to go into an Excel sheet and you had to do this and had to do that etc. It was crazy.
Tom explained that prior to Enrolmy, their previous manual systems made it hard to manage an increased cash flow, as well as efficiently paying their staff. Removing these barriers gives Tom the ability to focus on providing the enjoyable experiences that he strives for. He discusses his conversations with similar businesses:
I’ve said to a couple of my mates “You don’t understand how much [Enrolmy] actually saves you.”
The Onboarding Experience
Tom's experience with Enrolmy's onboarding process highlights another critical advantage—the simplicity of implementing it. Even without extensive computer skills, he found the platform easy to understand and use.
Even for someone like me, I'm not very computer savvy. It's very easy to use and work.
The Enrolmy onboarding experience allows new customers to seamlessly integrate key information into Enrolmy, understand key processes, and create a unique business page. This process, supported by Enrolmy’s fantastic Customer Support team, streamlines the transition for businesses switching to Enrolmy.
Tom also highlights the initial and ongoing customer support provided by Enrolmy:
Having Roxanne [Enrolmy's UK head of Customer Support] over this side of the world is quite good.... it is nice, the customer support has always been great. I'd like to say it's the New Zealanders, they’re nice people.
An Investment That Pays Off
It’s absolutely a great product. I had no hesitation in moving over to the UK [with Enrolmy] and getting in touch to see if they could implement it here. And because it's such a simple process, everything goes quite well.
Tom reflected on his move back to the UK and setting up Footy Kids in West Oxfordshire. Tom realised that Enrolmy’s functionality for his New Zealand business was incomparable to anything offered in the UK market, so he reached out to Enrolmy:
It was such an easy thing to get in touch and ask, can you do this in the UK and the fact you went in and did, that was great.
We Asked Tom if He Recommends Enrolmy for Other Programmes
He said: 100%. Yeah I mean, I appreciate that this costs a little bit more than what others would be kind of doing but I appreciate the cost so I don't mind factoring this into it. It’s a balance so I’m happy to pay.
Tom compared how simple his operations are in comparison to his friends who run companies similar to his, who are stuck with archaic systems:
They have to be emailed a form, have the kid sign on and then he has to tick that name off and he has to do this and that etc. I'm like mate?
Tom discussed the convenience of Enrolmy for him and despite the fact he could do the admin on his own, it would take hours. He emphasised:
[Enrolmy] saves you so much time it genuinely does. It's all done and all the money is there - I don't have to really do anything.
“I'm quite happy with how everything goes with this. It's a really good system. I have no qualms about it at all”
As we look towards the future of kids’ activities, it becomes evident that programmes like Footy Kids are essential. Footy Kids’ doesn’t just teach football, they inspire and build character in children, encouraging them to discover their potential on and off the field. By leveraging innovative tools like Enrolmy, Tom and the rest of the team at Footy Kids can focus on what truly matters: providing more children with a fun, safe and encouraging introduction to football. And who knows what future impact it might have!
You’re invited to join Enrolmy!
We love supporting amazing providers like Footy Kids to deliver fun and high-quality programmes that encourage our kids, nurture their passion for football and physical activity and build their skills and confidence.
We are so glad to hear that Enrolmy has proven to be a worthy investment for Footy Kids. Experience how Enrolmy too, can make it possible to fulfil your potential through fast, easy, and robust booking, payment and customer relationship software.