Snooker funding is right on cue for city academy
A Sheffield-based social enterprise supporting young people with learning or physical disabilities through snooker coaching is cued up for success thanks to charitable grant funding.
The Stephen Harrison Academy has received a £1,000 grant from Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park’s ‘Sheffield Legacy Fund’, managed by South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation (SYCF).
Funding has been used to create a new dedicated snooker group for 18 to 25-year-olds providing a continued pathway in the game for young adults.
Previously, Academy support ended once a young person reached the age of 18. Thanks to the Sheffield Legacy Fund donation, the 18 to 25 group now provides a continued pathway - enabling young adults to remain active, independent and socially connected.
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.
The Academy was established in 2007 by Stephen Harrison, who was inspired by his father’s own experience with snooker and how it rehabilitated him after a football injury left him paraplegic.
Based in Attercliffe, adjacent to Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, the centre offers snooker coaching and competitions for children, young people and adults who have a learning or physical disability, while also helping them learn develop life skills, make new friendships and grow their independence.
Sheffield Legacy Fund awards grants of up to £1,000 to grassroots community organisations within a three-mile radius of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
Stephen Harrison, Founder of Stephen Harrison Academy, said:
The funding awarded to us, which has allowed us to continue the groups for 18 to 25-year-olds, has been indispensable for these young people. The session fills a vital gap in a crucial age range often overlooked by existing services.
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.
The group has not only been beneficial for the young people who attend, 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 the tram to the academy by themselves.
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.
Meet Jess
Jess is responsible for leading the team which delivers SYCF's Grants Programmes, focusing on improved ways of working and streamlining. Jess is the lead officer for managing our volunteer recruitment and training for panels - providing on-going support and an annual panel members event. Her working days are Tuesday to Friday.
Jess O'Neill
Grants and Partnerships Manager
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