SportsCool expands into Scotland

A Lancashire headquartered specialist provider of sports education for primary schools is opening its first operation in Scotland as part of its ambitious expansion plans.

SportsCool works with schools to enhance the delivery of curricular and extra-curricular physical education, with the view that every child should have the chance to participate, progress and achieve.

Its first branch in Scotland, based in Glasgow, will work with schools across the city. Founded in the North West of England, SportsCool currently has 28 operations across the whole of the UK.

It currently works closely with more than 400 education providers and has over 100 people working within its organisation.

The company’s management team has a wealth of coaching, sport, education, and business knowledge and has set out plans for the next 12 months to accelerate its growth journey. Those plans include opening 20 new franchises in all parts of the UK, including Scotland.

SportsCool’s new Glasgow franchise will deliver its diverse range of sports to local schools, ranging from fencing and archery to ultimate frisbee and tri-golf.

It will be headed by Harjeet Singh. The 28-year-old sports coach is looking forward to making a difference and seeing the operation grow.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to developing SportsCool’s first operation in Scotland and making a real difference in the lives of young people here.

“SportsCool’s vision is all about boosting the mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing of children. Working with young people and seeing the smiles on their faces as they take part in sporting activities is what makes it all worthwhile.”

All SportsCool’s activities are underpinned by the company’s ethos of “Educate: Motivate: Participate”. Its coaches make it their mission to find a sport for every child to love.

The business was started in Blackburn by sports coaches Lee Lysons, Matt Parker and Andy Preston and its head office remains in the town.

SportsCool national director Lee Lysons said: “We’re really excited about opening our first franchise in Scotland and we see potential for further expansion in the country. The service we offer can benefit schoolchildren in communities across Scotland.”

He added: “We’ve witnessed solid growth over the last 12 months and as a result we are now set to accelerate that programme further, with plans to open 20 more franchises in 2022.

“At SportsCool we believe that sports education is fundamental to a child’s development and for 15 years we have been working with primary schools to that end.

“We also believe that every child should have the chance to participate, progress and achieve in physical activities. This in turn has a profound effect on self-esteem, confidence, motivation, physical aptitude, and all-round mental and physical health.

“We use positive rewards in everything that we do, our sessions raise aspirations, are accessible to all, and, most of all, they are fun. As a result, we see the youngsters that we work with blossom into confident, healthy and aspiring individuals.”

He added: “We are also giving people the opportunity to make a career of something that they love, setting up a coaching company, confident in the training, support and business development that we give them.

“We are with them every step of their business journey. We look for people with passion, who want to make a real difference to children. That is at the heart of everything we do.

“Our coaches continue to train in new areas of sports education and take part in continual professional development so that we can offer the best experience to the children and teaching staff that we work with.

“We aim to continue to be leaders in our field, inspiring increasing numbers of children and giving people the chance to forge winning careers in sports coaching.”

• To read this feature in full and access further Lancashire business news, advice and analysis subscribe to Lancashire Business View magazine or join the LBV Hub from just £2.50 per month. Click here to subscribe now.