In Your Shoes - Rachel Osborne and Sean Dillon

Skilz Academy is a charity that’s aim is to use the power of sport to make a positive impact on the lives of young people we work with. In a short space of time, Skilz Football Academy has firmly established as one of the premier football coaching programmes in Arbroath, Dundee and Perth. Offering excellent coaches and a positive learning environment and always putting our students first.

Rachel Osborne – Academy Manager

Sean Dillon – Head Coach

MONDAY 18TH JUNE 2018

Rachel - Today is a work day for me so once the nursery run was done it was time to catch up on the emails, Facebook messages and phone calls from over the weekend. I scheduled some posts for our social media for the week and dealt with the rest of the administration duties. I drove to Perth in the afternoon to our classes at Letham FC, we had some new starts joining the classes and I wanted to make sure they settled in and parents were well informed. Later in the evening I settled down to watch the World Cup England v Tunisia before heading to bed.

Sean- I started the day walking Shea (my big boy) to school and back to spend some time with Finn (my little boy) before getting some study done. I spent the afternoon helping by god daughter who is studying in Dundee move into her new apartment. I don’t get to see her as much as I would like so it was good to spend a few hours with her today. Then it was straight up to Soccerworld to put the final touches on this weeks sessions. We have two sessions in Dundee tonight and this week we are working on volleying techniques with players keeping the ball up themselves. Home for dinner and an early night to watch love island.

TUESDAY 19th JUNE 2018

Rachel - I headed to the gym for a workout first thing this morning, then spent the rest of the morning cooking meals to batch and freeze. In the evening I regularly attend Skilz sessions so it’s good to get on top of the cooking at the start of the week, and I don’t need to worry about it when I come home. I headed into Soccerworld late afternoon to meet with our coaches and update them on Summer Camps and holidays coming up and got the chance to catch up with parents and players attending the sessions. Home to collect Gracie from dance class and spend some time with her before bed.

Sean – School run with Shea and drop Finn to playgroup this morning. More study done before heading to Soccerworld to meet Rachel and plan for summer camps and classes. First class on Tuesday is our youngest class of 3+4-year olds so it can be a little crazy but its all about the fun for this hour, then we have our class for 8-10 years who are a great bunch too. Quick get away after class to head to my own training with Montrose. Its great to get back to pre-season training after a few weeks off. Home for dinner and a Love Island catch up before bed.

WEDNESDAY 20TH JUNE 2018

Rachel – I woke earlier than usual today so I decided to get on with some Skilz administration before Gracie (my 4 year old) woke up! Once the nursery run was done, it was off to the gym again for a HIIT session. Gracie had a swimming lesson in the afternoon and I was dashing off to a meeting with the Skilz Trustees and Sported. We had a positive and exciting planning session. I headed down to our Arbroath sessions to check in with coaches and collect payments. It was home for cuddles and stories with Gracie before bed.

Sean – School run and into town to get my hair cut this morning. In the afternoon I pick Shea up and head into Soccerworld as he takes part in the first class. Its great being able to have him there, and it’s a fantastic group of kids. The second class are our oldest group and it’s a smaller class so gives me time to focus on the individuals a little more. Home for dinner and kick about with Shea before bed and then settle down for Love Island.

THURSDAY 21st JUNE 2018

Rachel - Today Gracie had a morning visit to Primary 1 as she starts school after the summer.  I spent the afternoon doing some work at home before heading up to our Dundee classes.  I took this opportunity to get some photos and videos to share on our social media platforms! It’s a fantastic way to let parents see what has been happening in the sessions.  I headed home after the classes and Gracie and I watched The Greatest Showman before heading to bed.

 Sean – School run again this morning and home to spend some time with Finn before getting some work done. Soccerworld this afternoon for another two classes! Once the classes were done its off to my own training and Yo-Yo test which isn’t the most enjoyable part of any session. Home and only managed the first 15 minutes of Love Island before I fell asleep.

FRIDAY 22nd JUNE 2018

Rachel – Today the sun was shining, and I had a day off work so Gracie and I packed a picnic and headed to Edinburgh to the Royal Highland Show for the day. We had the best day eating ice cream and sitting in the tractors.

Sean – After the school run I spent the morning in the garden.  Cleaning, cutting, trimming and doing anything else I could while Finn tried to soak me. We ended up having a water fight on and off for most of the afternoon in between playing football and having dinner.  Brilliant end to the week.