8 young Spartans at the ceremony in Generali Česká pojišt'ovna Arena won the Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award. They became graduates of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award (DofE) programme, which was founded 65 years ago by Prince Philip. All Premier League football clubs are involved in the programme, which now operates in 130 countries around the world and reaches 1.3 million young people a year, following the example of Manchester City. AC Sparta Prague has been involved for 3 years and has had 69 players involved in that time.
For players at AC Sparta Prague, the programme is compulsory for U15 players, as it is at Manchester City. The aim of participation is, among other things, to teach young athletes how to volunteer in the context of coaching pre-season. Goalkeeper Matěj Chloupek evaluates the experience positively.Seeing the little goalies learning from me is an amazing feeling. Tried I advise them on the basics of goalkeeping technique and how to set their mental game." According to coach Michal Vychodil, the training is the most important part of the programme. He believes that some of the players who are completing their coaching experience have the potential to join the ranks of Sparta coaches in the future.
During the ceremony, it was revealed that many of the players involved had taken up playing a musical instrument as part of the programme. It was no different for midfielder Adam Vais, who set himself the goal of learning Metallica songs.Before I joined the program, I didn't even know how to hold a guitar. Now I play regularly and different genres." Participation in the program also enriched the players with a multi-day adventure expedition where they tried hiking in the wilderness, sleeping in a tent, cooking from pre-purchased supplies and not having technology on hand..
All these experiences are meant to develop young players not only on the sporting side but also on the personal side, which was emphasized by Petr Hrdlička, a member of the AC Sparta Praha Board of Directors, in his speech.: "AC Sparta Prague represents a name and a brand that commits us not only to winning on the league turf, but also to playing a significant social role in the development of our society. Our task is to contribute to the education of new football talents, but above all to the education of young, educated and decent people. The DofE programme makes a significant contribution to these aims and their achievement."
