Why we do it

"The Foundation is all about giving kids access to sport and what you find, is that they get right into it.  The idea is to make sure that at as early an age as possible, young kids will get a liking for sport that will stick with them for the rest of their lives."

Tony Blair

We’re not just another organisation set up to encourage people to play sport - we're much more than that.......

Local communities and clubs could make much more use of their sporting facilities if there were more people to organise activities. Extended schools are great for getting children and young people involved in sport - but only if there are enough trained adults to supervise them.

And as any successful sportsperson will tell you - it's often the coach who inspired them to keep at it that made the biggest difference.

We will provide the tools for you to become role models with the leadership and drive to make change happen in your community. We work with some of the best people in sport whose energy and commitment help us to help you make a difference.

TBSF Tennis Coach Dennis Laycock has a great story to tell:

When Dennis met his future wife who happened to be Secretary of the local tennis club, he added tennis to his portfolio of sporting interests!

At the time there were around 12 children coming along to play tennis at the club and Dennis saw very quickly that to encourage more children they needed more coaches, so he qualified as an assistant coach and helped out when he could.

But Dennis could see the potential of the club and knew that if they wanted more young people to get involved the first thing they needed was more qualified coaches.  That's when he was recommended by his Community Coach to get in touch with the Tony Blair Sports Foundation. With the help of the Foundation Dennis successfully completed his Level 2 coaching qualification and was able to set up his own coaching sessions for local kids.

Now, warmly known across his local community as 'Tennis Dennis' he runs sessions at the club to cater for over 80 new young players - an amazing increase in membership.

And it is not just the fitness side that benefits the kids.  A mother of one of the youngsters who attends the club commented:

"My son's confidence has grown so much thanks to the people here.  He is such a quiet boy who wasn't particularly interested in football and such.  Thanks to Dennis, he has really come out of his shell and has found a sport that he enjoys."

Tennis Dennis tells us:

"Because of the extra coaching hours we have now that I'm qualified, for the first time we are able to run sessions throughout the winter.  This will help maintain the children's interest and become an all year round activity.  We are also offering cardio tennis classes for adults which are new to the programme and these are proving very successful."