Rotherham United and the Rotherham United Community Sports Trust were delighted to take part in a Virtual Sports Day with four local schools with Paul Warne, Richie Barker, Matt Hamshaw, Andy Warrington and Miller Bear all dialling in to a video call with students being put through their paces.
Primary school students from Greasbrough, Roughwood, Rockingham and Herringthorpe donned their P.E kit for the Friday morning Sports Day which took place virtually and saw the children undertake an array of different challenges from the comfort of their own homes and garden.
On hand to give them a pre-Sports Day pep talk were members of the Millers first team staff, while assistant manager Richie Barker worked up a swear alongside the teachers from the various schools by getting involved in the session.
Resident club mascot Miller Bear earned his honey too, getting involved with all of the challenges alongside the pupils!
The Millers and RUCST are continuing to endorse the EFL’s ‘Joy of Moving’ campaign which aims to get children active and teaches the importance of healthy eating, so we were thrilled to raise our heart rates alongside members of the local community by joining in the Virtual Sports Day.
Head of Community Jamie Noble, whose staff are always looking to help young people in the area get active, was delighted to be able to support the local schools with the ’virtual’ appearance of the first team management, explaining that the Community Sports Trust are continuing to look at new ways to engage with the community during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I think the idea of a Virtual Sports Day is a fantastic idea and I think everyone – the teachers included – were really pleasantly surprised by just how many people joined us on the video call,” he told www.themillers.co.uk.
“As I have said so many times previously, we are incredibly lucky to have a first team staff who are so receptive to our ideas and have a deep understanding of their influence in the local area. I certainly think their pep talks gave the kids an extra 10% in the exercises!
“The whole thing was really well-organised and I think that as well as being active for the morning, the most important thing is that everyone had fun and took part with a smile on their faces.
“Just because schools are currently closed, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have a P.E lesson at home and we would definitely encourage kids to use this time away from the classrooms to get active.”