The Wearside teenagers who became instant hits in Poland when they did The Worm dance
‘It was the best experience I’ve ever had in my life’
Four Wearside teenagers became instant stars in Poland 14 years ago
Elice Clark, Nathan Brewster, Miranda Makepeace and Lewis Pye were among 300 people from 41 countries who were gathered at Wroclaw for the Eurocamp 2012.
Most of the group did not speak the same language as the Mackem contingency but the Sunderland quartet knew exactly how to break the ice. They did ‘The Worm’ dance.
The proudest person in the audience that night was Tina Reed, Football Development Officer for Durham County FA, who handpicked the foursome to take part in the prestigious event.
“It was great, ” she said at the time, “so funny. They had literally no time to prepare but they got up there, got everyone laughing, and then spoke really confidently and clearly about their involvement with Football Futures, the Olympics and where they come from.
“Then they got the whole audience to do the Poznan, a Polish celebration dance. Lots of people came up to them afterwards and said how much they’d enjoyed it. It sounds cheesy but they were speaking from the heart.”
The English teenagers are all part of the Durham County FA’s Football Futures programme, a grassroots project to help young people build skills through coaching, training and leading.
Miranda Makepeace, then 15, was a pupil at Oxclose Community School and ran a lunchtime football league for children aged seven to 10. She also played for Nissan under-16s.
She said: “It was the best experience I’ve ever had in my life. I learned a lot about other cultures and how different they are to what I’m used to and about communication and how to overcome the language barrier.”
Her year got even better when she and the rest of the Nissan under-16s won a Sunderland Echo sports award.
Lewis Pye turned 16 the day the group travelled to Poland. He said: “I enjoyed meeting new people and being part of an experience of a lifetime.”
The Bede College student coached the under-9s boys team at Farringdon Detached Football club and played for their U18 team.
Kepier School pupil Nathan Brewster, 15, said: “I learned how different other countries can be, but also how similar we all are. I had the best week of my life.”
The four teenagers were also chosen to organise Football Future’s next Leadership Camp, the event at which they were selected for Eurocamp. We would love to hear from them.
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