George Miller on helping local children through The Cheltenham Town Community Trust, winning a £25k grant and why Steve Cotterill’s standards are driving the club’s success.
This episode of Sport and Life is sponsored by Iglu Bars – providing mobile bars, catering and event services for the South West, Midlands, and beyond. The core of the business was founded on weddings and private events, and has now expanded to see Iglu as a partner and supplier to both Cheltenham Town FC and Gloucestershire CCC. Iglu caters for events of all sizes from 20 to 10,000 – offering food, drink and full event management services.
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Good footballer doing good.
George Miller is a good footballer doing a lot of good in Cheltenham.
As well as scoring goals for The Robins he’s putting in time supporting the charity arm of the club – The Cheltenham Town Community Trust.
“…we talk to the kids who are on their last chance before they get expelled or excluded…”
His off-field focus has been on kids who are on the brink of seeing their lives unravel.
“We’ve got ten secondary schools across Cheltenham and we talk to the kids who are on their last chance before they get expelled or excluded,” Miller told Sport and Life.
“We’re going in and the first session is we coach them, a bit of fun and integration.
“Then they are going to coach each other, they’re going to learn coaching skills, how to speak to each other and authority management.
“The next session we’re going to have a debate. It’ll be tailored to help them argue their point without getting confrontational.”
The importance of saving a kid from expulsion
Miller, assisted by his colleagues at the t*rust, Olly Roberts and Will Mills recently won a PFA grant of £25,000 to fund the programme.
“I heard a statistic that one in three kids who get expelled end up getting a prison sentence later in life.”
And the stakes are high when it comes to children who are close to being barred from their school.
“I heard a statistic that one in three kids who get expelled end up getting a prison sentence later in life.
“If we can help one kid like that, for twenty-five thousands pounds we’ve probably saved a career, a person’s life path”
The gift of time and attention
Football and movement may be big part of the trust’s work. But Miller says the key is giving youngsters what they yearn for most – time and positive attention.
“Will and Ollie have been unbelievable at sorting it all out. I don’t want to take credit as they put so much into it.”
“Kids want attention. Us adults want attention. And hopefully we can give that attention in the right way and they buy into it.”
We should clear that Miller isn’t one to dine out on his charity work. And he says he does it for selfish reasons.
“Selfishly, I thoroughly enjoy it myself.
“Will and Ollie have been unbelievable at sorting it all out. I don’t want to take credit as they put so much into it.”
Miller’s getting better
While Miller helps young people develop off the pitch he says on it his skills are continuing to grow at the age of 28.
He came to the pro game late and says he’s worked hard over the past decade to improve his fundamentals.
“I played loads of sports, but football was where I got my dad’s approval.
“But I didn’t get into an academy or anything. I went straight into Bury’s under eighteen team from playing Sunday league.
“It was probably a positive but hindered me technically compared to everyone who came through an academy… swings and roundabouts.”
Cotterill’s intensity perfect for Cheltenham
Miller signed a new contract at Cheltenham in the summer. He’s optimistic and says manager Steve Cotterill is the right man at the right time to drive the club forward.
“He’s a great manager for the club. He drives standards every day.
“Because let’s be honest, Cheltenham is such a nice place to live and train it could become quite comfortable.
“But the gaffer keeps everyone on their toes twenty-four seven.”
“He’s a great manager for the club. He drives standards every day.”
If you’d like to know more about the community trust and how it could help your school or group head here:
