Morecambe midfielder’s coaching hopes have been put to one side

The Morecambe midfielder has his own coaching set-up that has proved a hit with school pupils.

On the basis of keeping close to home, Kenyon picked a site that he knew better than others.

He said: “I’ve been working with a local school where I’d gone in every Wednesday and we were three weeks into a five-week course.

“All the kids had paid money up front so I’ve sent money back to their parents for the two weeks that have been missed.

“There was also the personal stuff that I’d been doing one-on-one; the facility I’d been using closed down and we can’t do the work on grass because of the two-metre rule.

“The school I went to was one where I knew the headteacher because she was my old headteacher.

“She asked how many kids I needed and, after I’d said 10, she said that might be a problem because I’d probably have about 30 who wanted to do it!

“We went into a couple of classrooms and asked who wanted to be coached by a professional footballer and about 20 kids in each classroom put their hands up!

“I felt that was going was tricky so I decided to do it on a first come first served basis for 10 kids but, even then, I needed the headteacher outside as well because you need two adults in that situation.”

The money earned from those sessions is always welcome, especially for players plying their trades in League Two.

Not only that, Kenyon has also derived satisfaction from watching his young pupils listen, learn and improve.

He said: “I’d had five sessions with a lad from the (Morecambe) Academy.

“Even in those five weeks I could see the difference in how he was training; he was always keen and listening.

“One of the things for me was his passing and his weight of pass.

“We did a session just before the lockdown which was his fifth and he loved it – and it was the best I’d seen.”

Having already obtained his FA Level Two coaching badge, Kenyon is hopeful of passing the next stage in his journey.

Not content with doing that, he has also dragged a couple of Morecambe team-mates along for the ride.

“I was close to getting my UEFA ‘B’ badge as well,” he said.

“Luke Conlan, Aaron Wildig and myself are doing it together and we’d been watched twice.

“After the third time, that’s when they tell you that you’ve passed or they need to watch you a couple more times.

“We were just one session from being told whether we had passed or not so it’s just bad timing for everyone.

“However, I know I want to play a part in the future and this is just the start.”