The Stephen Harrison Academy
The Stephen Harrison Academy was established in 2007 by Stephen Harrison, an ex-professional snooker player. Inspired by his father’s own experience with snooker and how it enabled his rehabilitation after a football injury left him paraplegic, Stephen started this social enterprise to deliver snooker coaching and competitions for people in Sheffield with learning and physical disabilities.
The academy offers children, young people, and adults with learning and physical disabilities an outlet to learn new skills, establish friendships and grow their confidence in an inclusive and like-minded environment.
Stephen Harrison Academy was awarded a £1,000 grant through Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park’s ‘Sheffield Legacy Fund’, which is managed by the South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation (SYCF).
Sheffield Legacy Fund awards grants of up to £1,000 to grassroots community organisations within a three-mile radius of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, which facilitate activities around the mental and physical wellbeing of local residents. This grant helps the organisations to fund this vital community support, aiming to cover the majority, if not all costs associated with activities and events.
For the Stephen Harrison Academy, this grant has allowed them to run a new group for young adults aged 18-25, as the services already in place stop once children turn 18.
The funding has allowed 18-year-olds and over to continue attending the academy, which has not only been beneficial for the young people, but their parents as well. The sessions they attend can allow parents to watch as their children thrive and create a life where they can achieve small everyday tasks, such as, taking a tram to the academy by themselves, where, without these sessions, they may not have been able to do so.
The young people who attend the 18-25 group have also gone on to create their own snooker team, and play in a league with 14 other teams, which they themselves independently run.
Stephen Harrison, Founder of Stephen Harrison Academy, said:
The funding awarded to us, which has allowed us to continue the groups for 18–25-year-olds, has been indispensable for these young people.
It’s amazing to see how far they’ve come, and we wouldn’t have been able to see this accomplishment without the funding we received.
Due to the success of this group, Stephen is now looking to set up a second team and create a project to encourage more girls and young women to take part in snooker moving forward.
Stephen said:
We’re an inclusive club, so it’s important that all feel welcome to attend. Snooker is seen as a predominantly male sport and environment but that’s not the message we want to get across here at the academy. Snooker isn’t just for men, it’s for everyone.
Claire Fretwell, Operations Manager at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, said:
The Stephen Harrison Academy is a fantastic example of how sport can be a tool for inclusion. The difference this project is making in young people’s lives is exactly what the Sheffield Legacy Fund is here to support.
Jess O’Neill, Grants and Partnerships Manager at SYCF, said:
We are so pleased to support the Stephen Harrison Academy in continuing their work with young people with learning or physical disabilities. It’s vital that services don’t just stop at 18, and we’re proud to help bridge that gap.