Pablo surprises youngsters with cerebral palsy – Leeds United

Pablo Hernandez surprised a group of youngsters with cerebral palsy (CP) recently as they took part in a Leeds United Foundation training session.

The cerebral palsy team celebrated their one year anniversary earlier this month and in celebration the Leeds United midfielder was invited along to take part in a game of football with them at the Ramgarhia Sports Centre.

The fans favourite has already built a strong relationship with the group of children having visited them last year and inviting them to a game at Elland Road during the 2018/19 season.

Hernandez was keen to meet with them again this season to see how much theyd developed, spending the majority of the visit playing in a small-sided football match before having photos with the participants and their families and signing autographs.

Pablo spoke to LUTV during the visit and said: "I came last year and I had a great time here, I feel like I know all of the players now. I said then that it's amazing for me to come and watch these kids and their families, they are so happy playing football even with their disabilities, it's unbelievable. Weneed to learn from these children, it's very special for me to come and spend time with them.

"I brought my family with me as well today because I thought this could be a lesson for my two sons, they are so lucky and these children show us that if you want to do something, if you fight and you have the support of your family, you can do anything."

The cerebral palsy team was launched in August 2018 after a physiotherapist from the NHS got in touch with Leeds United about creating a special partnership which would involve holding regular football sessions for both framed users and youngsters suffering with CP.

Disability coaches from the club's official charity now deliver weekly sessions with the team and receive support from the NHS, who help to refer youngsters interested in developing their football skills.

There are currently 12 full-time members of the team and a number of those now play competitively in the West Riding Ability Counts League.

During the sessions, the FA qualified coaches help the children to improve their footballing ability with various training drills and small games whilst also supporting them with developing a number of social skills, including; teamwork, leadership, motivation and self-confidence, among others.

The cerebral palsy football team are just one of the many disabled groups the club work with, others include; wheelchair users, amputees, people with autism or a visual impairment and older participants suffering with early-onset dementia. The coaches that work with these groups enable them to not only gain access to play football but to also socialise and develop other life skills.

For more information on the Leeds United Foundation disability programmes, please contactAnthony.Hall@leedsunited.com.

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Pablo surprises youngsters with cerebral palsy - Leeds United