Football, music and coding: why Youth Active activities build more than skills
Every activity at Youth Active has a purpose beyond the activity itself. Here is what we run, how it works, and why turning up to a session in Stratford could be one of the best decisions a young person makes.
Young people in Stratford, West Ham, and Plaistow are growing up in one of London's most vibrant but also one of its most pressured environments. Many face isolation, low confidence, and negative influences that chip away at wellbeing and close off opportunities before they have even had a chance to open.
For some, the risk goes further. Involvement in crime and violence is a real threat in these neighbourhoods, and the consequences can change the entire course of a young person's life.
Youth Active was built as a direct response to that reality. Every week, we open our doors in Stratford, and give young people aged 3 to 18 somewhere safe, vibrant, and worth showing up for.
What's on at Youth Active
Our programme is built around variety. Not every young person loves football. Not every young person wants to be in front of a screen. We run a mix of physical, creative, and digital activities so that every young person who walks through the door can find something that is theirs.
Football
Evening sessions, drills, small-sided games and tournaments
Multi-sports
Basketball, athletics and team games that build movement and coordination
Table tennis
Fast, competitive and open to all abilities
Pool
Focus, patience and quiet competition
Arts and crafts
Creative expression with no right or wrong answer
Coding
Beginner to intermediate digital skills with real project outcomes
Digital skills
Online safety, content creation and career-ready tech skills
Alongside the activities, every session includes mentoring, guidance, and advice from trusted adults who know the young people by name. That relationship is not an add-on. It is the point.
Football at Youth Active
Football is the most popular activity we run. It brings in young people who would not necessarily come for anything else, and then gives us the chance to show them what else is on offer. But the sessions are about far more than just the game.
On the pitch, young people learn to communicate, deal with frustration, support a teammate who just made a mistake, and keep going when the score is not going their way. Those are not football skills. Those are life skills, and they transfer directly.
What a session actually looks like
We warm up with games that get everyone moving, laughing, and working together before anyone touches a cone or hears a whistle. Here are four of our favourites:
Sharks & Minnows
Dribble across the pitch without losing your ball to the Sharks. Tests close control under pressure.
Stuck in the Mud
Get tagged and freeze. A teammate passes through your legs to free you. Builds awareness and teamwork.
Traffic Lights
Green means sprint, yellow means walk, red means stop. React fast and keep your head up at all times.
Relay Races
Dribble through cones, pull off a step-over, and race back to tag your teammate. Speed meets skill.
After the warm-up games, sessions move into skill drills, positional play, and small-sided matches. Coaches and mentors are active throughout, keeping the energy up, managing conflict constructively, and making sure every young person feels seen and included, not just the ones who are already good at football.
Why the activity is only half of it
The real value of a Youth Active session is not the football or the coding or the art. It is what happens in the 20 minutes before and after, when a young person sits down with a mentor and someone actually asks how they are doing.
Trusted adults who are consistent, non-judgmental, and genuinely invested in a young person's future are one of the most protective factors in adolescent development. Research is clear on this. One trusted adult in a young person's life significantly reduces risk of involvement in crime, poor mental health, and dropping out of education.
Resilience
Learning to lose, try again, and push through difficulty in a safe environment builds the kind of resilience that lasts well beyond the pitch.
Positive choices
Mentors guide young people through real decisions without judgement. The conversations in youth clubs change the choices made outside them.
Staying on track
Young people who have somewhere to go and someone to answer to are less likely to fill that time with things that will harm their future.
What we are working towards
Our goal is not just to run good sessions. It is to change what the future looks like for young people in Newham.
- →Empowering young people to develop confidence, resilience, and a positive sense of identity
- →Reducing the risk of crime, violence, and anti-social behaviour in the hours that matter most
- →Strengthening connections with family, peers, and the wider community
- →Opening pathways into education, training, and employment for young people who might otherwise miss out
The young people who come to Youth Active are not passive. They are learning to believe in themselves, in their community, and in what they are capable of. That belief is what changes futures.
Come and join a session
Youth Active is open to all young people aged 3 to 18 in Newham and across East London. Sessions run Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in Stratford. No booking needed. Just show up.