Meet the teenage Washington football coach who has set up his own business
“It was quite daunting setting up on my own, but I’ve been blown away by the response it has received”
A teenage football coach has set-up his own business teaching the sport he loves thanks to support from a team of regional business experts.
Frazer Barker, 19, from Washington, set up Technical Focus after working for another football coaching business and being inspired to set up on his own.
Providing group coaching as well as one-to-one sessions and holiday provision, the business caters for budding players aged six upwards.
Over 40 young people participate in Frazer’s sessions every week and with demand growing, he now has a roster of coaches sub-contracted to him and has bold ambitions for the future.
He said: “It was quite daunting setting up on my own, but I’ve been blown away by the response it has received.
“It started off with me delivering one group session a week but that has quickly grown to four, with up to 12 people in each.
“I’m also delivering one-to-one training outside of the classes which is proving really popular. So much so, I’m now working with two other coaches to help me cater for the demand.
“I was working for another football coaching business prior to starting Technical Focus, but I wanted to start up on my own. Being only 19, I didn’t think I had anything to lose and thankfully it’s all worked out.”
Frazer delivers his sessions at The Millenium Centre and The Hub in Washington, with prices starting from £15 per session.
Alongside running the business, he also plays Northern League football and hopes that, through his coaching, he can “inspire more kids to stay fit and realise the benefits of getting involved in sport”.
Frazer added: “I enjoy playing football and working with children so that was really what inspired me to get into coaching. I personally think playing football from an early age has shaped who I am today and given me the drive to do it.
“Football has a whole host of benefits, from improving your mental wellbeing to learning vital life skills and staying physically fit and hopefully the work we are doing can help inspire more young people to get involved in the game.”
Having no prior experience of running a business, Frazer turned to the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) to help him get the business off the ground.
Working with business adviser, Helen Wardropper, he was guided through the process of registering the business with HMRC and is now also exploring funding avenues to expand.
Frazer said: “Helen has been a huge help. Not only has she helped me register the business and make sure I’ve done everything right, but she also assisted me with my business plan and has helped me network and widen my business circles.”
Helen said: “Frazer is a remarkably motivated and driven young man, who has studied hard to qualify in his chosen career path and then used this, alongside his natural ability to work with young people, to set up a thriving business.”
The start-up support that Frazer received from the BIC is part of Enterprising Sunderland project which received £523,541 from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund Programme.