Gary Deegan visits a Down's Syndrome Football Session as part of Community's Disability Awareness Week
Sticking with the Down's Syndrome Football programme run by Shrewsbury Town in The Community, Town star Gary Deegan was the latest player to take part in our Disability Awareness Week.In the session held at Shrewsbury Sports Village led by Community Sports Officer Bryn McGilligan Oliver, Gary looked to be enjoying it just as much as the others that were taking part – if not more!
The midfielder’s sheer enthusiasm throughout the hour had such a positive impact on the guys taking part in Bryn’s drills, and the shooting practise in particular had everybody running around with a spring in their step!
After managing to pull Gary away for a moment, he said: “I love it! As you can see I get stuck in, it’s always nice to give a helping hand out and show a little appreciation to what you guys do here, it’s been fantastic so far.
“It’s good just to get a little kick of the ball, show the kids that you’re having a good time and they’ll join in, so it’s all positive.”
Gary’s competitive nature doesn’t seem to be on show solely on a Saturday, and joked that he hadn’t been putting away as many goals as he would have liked.
“To be fair, I’ve left my shooting boots at home! But no, it’s been good.
“I love doing this, but I’m getting a little bit of a dab on here!
“I’ll say it again, the work you do here is fantastic.”
This Saturday will see everyone involved in our disability programmes take to the field at half time when Town host Bradford at Greenhous Meadow, and Gary feels it will be a great end to the week.
“It’s great because they get to see us on a Saturday and then here on a more personal level,” he said. “you can see that they’re trying to impress you with what they’re trying to do, it’s been good.
“To walk out at the club that they support, it’s always a nice thing and a great gesture. Long may it continue.”