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Coach Zac Roswell with youngsters at his Talacre basketball class |
DON’T SACK OUR COACH, PLEAD KIDS
Fears for future of leisure centre as sport staff face axe
A POPULAR basketball coach based at Talacre Sports Centre has been told he faces the sack because of funding cuts, prompting a wave of protests from children and parents.
The move comes despite assurances from the Town Hall that it will not risk services at the celebrated leisure centre in Kentish Town, widely regarded as one of Camden’s major success stories in recent years.
Leisure chiefs are currently in negotiations about the future of Talacre with private operators set to take control of its management.
With seven years of service, basketball coach Zac Roswell is part of the highly regarded staff who have helped make the centre so popular.
But he and other coaches have been told their contracts will not be renewed at the end of the summer.
Parents, whose children are aged between six and 15, have organised a petition against the move.
Olga Darwish, who takes four children each week to the centre, said: “I had a child who did not like sport, but Zac got him into it – and that’s not just basketball, but football and cricket too. Zac has transformed him.”
Jean Duran takes her son Ramy, eight, to Zac’s sessions.
She said: “Zac has made a huge difference to his self-confidence and self-esteem. He is such a good role model and if he goes, it will be a terrible, terrible loss.”
A letter sent to the head of Camden’s sport services signed by parents said: “What cannot be underestimated is the impact of this kind of coach on the trajectory of a child’s life. Mr Roswell is unique. He is genuinely an irreplaceable asset.”
Mr Roswell, 27, is banned from talking directly to the New Journal under the terms of his contract, but friends said he is known he is happy to continue in his post. Mr Roswell, who went to Hampstead School, has coached basketball for 10 years and also worked with young people who have been excluded from the school system.
The future of Talacre, also known for its top-rated gym, trampolining and football classes for children, is up in the air and has been the subject of a series of discussions among the ruling Lib Dem and Conservative coalition. It is looking at handing over the running of the centre to private operators Greenwich Leisure, which manages the Swiss Cottage Leisure complex and the Oasis Leisure Centre in Holborn. Labour councillor Nasim Ali said Mr Roswell’s case should ring alarm bells. He added: “Every time you hand over the running of a centre to someone else there tends to be job cuts and the overall quality of the service goes down. Talacre staff are brilliant. They should be celebrated not sacked.”
Leisure chief Lib Dem Councillor Flick Rea said the centre was a victim of its own success which meant users placed huge demands on its services, although pledged to look into Mr Roswell’s case. She said: “We are rich in talent but we do not have enough space. I am afraid this will become more and more of a problem as we approach 2012. There is a limit to what we can provide at Talacre.”
The Town Hall said last night (Wednesday) a grant from Sport England had come to an end and this had led to a re-think in the classes provided. A spokeswoman said: “We are reviewing our programme, and will work hard to secure additional funding to allow basketball to continue at Talacre. If this doesn’t prove possible we will signpost users to other basketball activities we provide.” |
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Your comments:
THEY are mad.Zac, a.k.a coach as i call him is a brilliant basketball teacher, ive had numerous lessons with coach at my school and he teaches basketball the way it should be teached. If they sack coach they dont know what there missing!
Jake Constantinou |
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