Beyond the Pitch: How Elliot uses football to empower young people

Youth Engagement Officer Elliot Bird has been working with young people since he was 18, but almost four years ago he decided to make a huge career leap, from primary school teacher to youth worker. Now he works at Watford FC Community Trust, helping around 1,500 young people a year through a variety of programmes.  

“A job opened up at Watford FC Community Trust. As a lifelong Watford FC fan, everything felt aligned, and I started leading on the mentoring programme. Then after the funding for that programme changed, I began work on other projects which I currently run now. Working closely with young people and having that direct involvement in their journey is really important to me. I feel I have a bigger influence as a youth worker.  

“My mum and dad split up when I was very young age. I had sporadic contact with my dad when I was growing up (although we are close now). My mum found the divorce incredibly tough and didn’t know how to cope, and so I essentially became a young carer for her. The difficulties I had led to me having anxiety, and so I clung to the really important adults in my life, outside of my home. I had a couple of sports coaches and teachers who I valued, and still value, immensely. They were a huge part in securing me a happy childhood. They were the constants in my life, and through youth work, I get to be that for young people now. 

“Working with Watford FC, football is our hook. But we do so much more. We have cooking classes, dance classes, gardening. We listen to what young people want and also identify what they might need. Our gardening club came about because we had a 12 and 13-year-old session and hardly any of them knew where chips came from. So, from then on we started harvesting potatoes so young people knew where their food was coming from. We can be so creative with how we engage young people and build relationships. And they come to us and they can be themselves. 

“There is a tough reality to this job. Sometimes I am struck by how sad some young peoples’ situations can be. They have had to deal with some brutal situations that really take me back and make me think about my own life and how truly lucky I am. Sometimes a young person will come to me, presenting in a certain way, and it is only when we dig deeper that it comes out and you think ‘woah, this is serious’. There are moments in this job that make me catch my breath.  

“When we’ve done camps and projects where we realise things that seem a bit impossible at first. Secondary school kids who don’t know how to use a knife and fork, younger ones who don’t know how to dress themselves, ten-year-olds who don’t know how to go to the toilet. 

“But on the flip side of that, I witness first-hand how resilient young people are, even in the harshest reality. I honestly think, if I was in some of those situations, I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed in the morning, and they are managing to get to school by themselves and get to our centre. The willingness they show to keep moving forward is pretty special.