England Hockey Supports Manchester Active Streets Programme

England Hockey has proudly supported Manchester Active through the February half-term with their Active Streets programme, bringing the joy of sport to local communities.

Active Streets in Manchester is a community-focused programme run through Manchester Active that temporarily transforms local residential streets into safe, car‑free spaces for play, physical activity, social connection, and community events.

England Hockey has teamed up with Manchester Active to aid the running and delivery of this programme throughout the school break, providing hockey equipment and coaching expertise – fronted by Community Sport and Health Officer Apprentice Saman Shiraz.

Saman is one of two England Hockey apprentices currently working to engage more youngsters and communities with hockey and to give more people access to the sport.

Speaking on the success of the Active Streets initiative, Saman said, “it’s great because kids in these areas might not have the chance to play sport, often due to the cost, so when we bring it out to them, it gives them the chance to make friends, take part in physical activity and thanks to England Hockey we’ve provided sticks and balls giving them the opportunity to play.

“It’s great for me as well because I love coaching, I love sports and to be able to go into local communities and teach young kids hockey has been a great experience!”

England Hockey Coach Developer and Apprentice Manager, Paul Connolly, praised Saman’s efforts to deliver hockey to disadvantaged communities in the Manchester area.

He said, “most of these children will not have played hockey so it’s really good to get them out through their front door and partaking in physical activity with Saman who’s been part and parcel of the initiative’s delivery.

“Our apprentices are really, really important because they see these opportunities from the young people’s perspective – for Saman it’s great to see him as part of this team that’s now really involved within this project, out there in his local community helping young children play hockey.

“We know from research that although many people play sport, there is actually a superstar out there that no sport ever contacts, so somewhere in these streets there will be a hockey superstar waiting if we can give them the opportunity to play.”

Others involved with the running of the active streets project expressed their gratitude to have England Hockey’s support with the programme.

Joao Lourenco, Manchester Active Neighbourhood Sports Officer for Manchester Central, who is tasked with organising the Active Streets initiative, was delighted to have the backing of England Hockey.

He said, “it’s been of massive, massive benefit! Previously we didn’t have any hockey equipment and it’s so beneficial to for young children and young people to try something that they’ve not been able to witness before.

“To get a chance to now utilise the equipment with the help of Saman is massively beneficial so that they can learn from a coach on the day.”

Furthermore, speaking on the atmosphere that the programme has generated in the local area, Moss Side Neighbourhood Officer Nathan Mistry said, “it’s incredible really - looking at all the young people enjoying their day and watching the community get together is really nice and really heart-warming.”

Dina Pieri, Neighbourhood Community Development Officer for Moss Side, Hulme and Rusholme, added, “it’s great to see everyone coming out and coming together. We’ve been doing Active Streets now for a while so it’s becoming quite a well-oiled machine, and to have England hockey here, getting kids involved and enjoying playing is great to see!”

England Hockey will continue to support Manchester Active with the Active Streets programme with the shared ambition of making sport accessible to everyone.

Content provided by Luke Rushbrooke.