Phoebe's Story: Switching Play to make change for other young girls
Phoebe’s journey with Saints Foundation has completely changed the course of her life, turning from anti-social and offending behaviour, to become a confident young person with a sense of purpose.
Watch SUPPORTING PHOEBE | Switching Play to make change for other young girls
Phoebe is 14 and has autism, which caused difficulties within school and other areas of her life, eventually leading to trouble with the police; but this changed when she was referred the Saints Switching Play programme by Young People Services.
“At school I’d struggle because I have autism and couldn’t sit still. When I started year 7, a few months into it, my nan passed away, that was like a hard time. I started messing around, it was the only way I could get it off my head. I had a fight outside of school, it was reported to the police.”
Saints Switching Play works with young offenders within the community to improve mental health and wellbeing, improve school attendance, and reduce the risk of NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training).
Phoebe worked with our Interventions Coordinator, Loly Wing, over the past two years, and has excelled within the programme, developing self-confidence, and working towards the path she deserves. She loves both football and boxing, proving true skill in both, and aims to become either a professional boxer or professional footballer.
Loly reflected on her experience with Phoebe: “She’s definitely one of my biggest inspirations, she continues to strive towards positive outcomes, and hit them aspiration goals, and I’m so proud of her.”
Alongside her involvement within Saints Switching Play, Phoebe has also engaged within other Saint’s Foundation programmes such as the Premier League Kicks, and the Changemakers projects, where she worked to organise and host a multi-skills social action project aimed at introducing new opportunities for young girls to engage in sport outside of the typical school offerings, whilst developing skills, and making new connections.
During the event, she led a boxing session and was incredible at leading a team; she was given the opportunity to talk and motivate young girls by sharing her story.
To thank her hard work and to celebrate how far she has come, Phoebe was invited for a tour at Staplewood, Southampton FC’s training ground.
Whilst exploring the grounds with Saints Legend and Foundation Ambassador, Sam McQueen, she had the chance to meet four of her Southampton FC Women’s heroes, Fran Stenson, Paige Peake, Chloe Peplow, and Emma Thompson, who had an additional gift for her: “They inspired me a lot. They surprised me with two season tickets for the women’s games. The season tickets they gave me were my first ever season tickets.”
Pheobe’s path with Saints Foundation has not come to an end, next year, she will be becoming a Changemaker mentor, where she will continue to inspire and lead other young girls to develop confidence, self-esteem, and attitudes towards leadership.
The Premier League invests in community projects run by 164 professional and non-league clubs, supporting children and young people through focused initiatives and programmes targeting local needs.
These help level the playing field for young people across the country, breaking down barriers to opportunity and providing safe spaces for those that might not otherwise have them.
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