I was kindly invited to spend some time with the team that run the Study Centre at Crystal Palace Football Club so I joined them in the build up to the game against Everton.
It came about following our decision to nominate the Study Centre to be our charity of choice for a betting competition that we were asked to take part in and represent Palace. Unfortunately, the competition was stopped after only a few weeks and the winning funds were split between the participants. We were please to hand over our share to the Study Centre.
Arriving at Selhurst Park a little after midday was a surreal experience. Plenty of people busy at work doing what needs to be done, preparing for the thousands of fans that were due to descend on the stadium ahead of kick off.
I met Vicky who I was to shadow for my time with them and we quietly crept into the warm corner of Selhurst Park that they are based. Susan who heads up the Study Centre was briefing the Palace Games-makers.
It is a very busy part of the ground as I soon found out and an important part of the match day preparation. A briefing of stewards had earlier taken place in there and I later found out that Alan Pardew and Palace managers before him have used it to brief his players.
The area is kitted out with plenty of Palace and football related gear. There is certainly no question which club you are at but the bookshelf is full of football biographies, one I noticed at the front was Fernando Torres.
The comfy area was the favourite spot as the ball stewards started to arrive slowly but surely. They are all academy players and are handed a Palace jacket, water bottle, gloves and hat. I headed off with Vicky to grab their lunch from the catering area in the main stand. We passed the arriving Palace players in among fans clamouring for signatures and selfies.
The Study Centre are behind the Eaglet match day magazine which is sold for a pound before games. It is aimed at kids but is well worth the purchase. Volunteers arrived to collect their batch of magazines before heading out into the cold wet day to sell them. These are the kinds of people that you do not hear about but are invaluable to the team at the Study Centre.
More ball stewards arrive with their parents as Susan gathers them all together to give them their briefing. There were assessors at the game from the Premier League with one watching what goes on in the Study Centre the whole time I was there. Dotted around the ground would be more of them but described as secret shoppers as they would not be identifiable.
Time will tell how the club did in the report from the assessors but the one in the Study Centre was put to use early on by helping with the ball stewards and making cups of coffee and tea!
The briefing for the youth players was enlightening as I had never really considered what they are allowed and not allowed to do. All of it made sense from not asking players to hand their shirts over at the end of the game to the way that they have to pass the ball back to the players.
As they all munched on their pre-match hot dogs and handed in their mobile phones, Vicky was busy meeting and greeting visitors and the sound of the door buzzing every ten seconds or so. I am sure they will not mind me sharing with you that one of our overseas fans donates his season ticket so that the Study Centre can use it for one of their students each game. That is simply fantastic.
I had a chat with one of the parents of the youth players who was there as a ball steward. He had left home on the coast in the early hours to get his son to his game at the Beckenham training ground in the morning. After the youth game, it was off to Selhurst Park for the duty of being a ball steward. They would not get back home until long after eight that evening. The dedication of parents is quite something.
The team at the Study Centre have a mission. Through their programme of study, they aim to raise achievements by motivating scholars to become more effective learners through activities that improve core skills in literacy, numeracy and information technology. In addition, the Study Centre will develop learners’ self-esteem, confidence and independent study skills whilst encouraging a positive attitude to lifelong learning.
We plan to share future news from the Study Centre in our bid to help increase the profile of the hard working group across social media. To find out more about the Study Centre or to get in touch with the team, head over to their website or contact them on Twitter. Otherwise, just get in touch with us and we will pass on your details.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank both Vicky and Susan for allowing me to spend some time at the Study Centre. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I urge any fans out there to donate by purchasing the Eaglet magazine or in any other way possible.
This is a valuable part of our club and I know for sure that they would welcome your support.
