Doing the 92 is Daniel Storey’s odyssey to every English football league club in a single season. You can follow his progress and read every article (so far) here
It is a Monday morning and the hot weather, finally arrived in the East Midlands, means that all of the doors in the main sports hall of the Portland Centre are wide open to provide a necessary breeze to those wearing leggings and tracksuit trousers. We are a stone’s throw from Notts County’s Meadow Lane, a hop and a jump over London Road, a main thoroughfare into the city.
Notts County’s Foundation, the charitable arm of the League Two club, saved Portland Leisure Centre and use it as the main hub to deliver their community initiatives. Earlier this month, they received a £32,000 grant from the EFL’s Building Foundations Fund and, as such, will be relaying the floor of the hall in which we are gathered. The centre continues to operate as a public pool and gym. Membership fees go back into supporting the Foundation’s projects, community helping out community.
This morning, 25 people split across age range and gender, are involved in light stretches and heavy chatting. Their session starts with a fast walk or light jog, depending upon fitness. The session is led by Josh Stevenson and Lisa Welch. Forget the manager, captain and centre forwards for now; for those participants present, these are two of the most important employees.
This is an innovative programme called CARE, or Cancer Rehabilitation and Exercise. It is a group-based initiative that caters for any individual in the community, Notts County fan or otherwise (yes, I smile at the guy proudly wearing his Nottingham Forest shirt) who is at any stage of their cancer journey.
Clearly a large part of the aim here is to offer an environment for exercise. Various studies indicate that physical wellbeing and fitness play a crucial part in recovery from cancer and best preparation for surgery and/or treatment.
Sessions are completed by way of circuit training stations including organised aerobics, rowing machines, medicine balls, floor ladders, resistance bands and boxing gloves and pads.
“I was diagnosed with kidney cancer, which obviously became a big part of my life,” says Jane, who had also participated in two other Foundation projects, Fit Fans and Healthy Hearts.
“I had side effects so I was in hospital again, but by last June I was ready. I’d been back at work for a few months, although only two mornings a week. I rang Lisa and she told me to come down. I’ve been coming here ever since.”
“They know everybody is in the same boat, so you’re not pushed to do anything. If you went to classes at a ‘normal’ gym then you might feel that you had to keep up. But here you do what you can, when you can. And if you have a problem then you can talk to somebody, instructor or participant, because there’s probably someone here who has experienced it before.”
But there is something else that stands out beyond the exercise. If that is the reason that those across Nottingham arrive at the Portland Centre on a Monday or Friday, every week, when the sessions run for 90 minutes, it isn’t really what keeps them here. The final 30 minutes of the session is set aside for social interaction, but that never really ceases.
There is a camaraderie here that sticks with you; it leaves you with a warm feeling that requires no artistic licence. As the class begins, the group is informed of a new member who is welcomed with a round of applause by all. The lady does not want a fuss, but is clearly touched. For those who come to CARE, it is that social connection that is vital and is visible at all times.
“Everybody has a story,” says Ray.
Ray has had cancer three times and is in recovery after bowel surgery. “It would be very easy to go home from hospital and feel sorry for yourself that you’re not as fit as you used to be. But a few weeks ago I came here and it has been wonderful.
“What happens is that people share their history with like-minded others. When you talk to those who haven’t had cancer, it can be a boring topic! But that mental wellbeing, knowing that everybody you speak to knows what you are going – or have gone – through, is a huge aspect of it.”
It’s a phrase that is repeated often to me, by those on the course and those organising it, three little words that encapsulate the whole morning: “These people know”.
“It’s nice to know that you have got something that you can go to, that is doing you good, where nobody is going to say ‘why didn’t you come last week?’,” Jane says.
“In fact, they might do that but in a lovely way, looking out for you: ‘Were you okay?’. If it’s somebody that you know the number of you might contact them and check in.
“I just think that we all need things to focus on, when you’re coming out of cancer or any serious illness. You need something that you can call your own, where you feel welcome, with no stress or anything other than support. This is my time.”
Notts County are continually trying to embrace the importance of community engagement. This is a family club, one where on matchday you can regularly see three generations of the same clan attending games together, passing on and sharing loyalty and love.
But those connections are reinforced by the work of people you don’t see, whose names are typically only known to those who they affect most closely.
“The Foundation’s CARE programme is a leading example of the fantastic work they do for the local community,” Notts County CEO Joe Palmer tells i. “As a club, we’re privileged to work alongside the Foundation and are taking steps to collaborate even more closely with them on numerous projects to help them reach even more people in the city and county.”
It’s a sentiment that both Josh Wing, the Foundation’s marketing and events coordinator, and Emma Trent, the chief operating officer, agree wholeheartedly with.
”It is essential for clubs to work hand in hand with their charitable arms to strengthen community ties, and we couldn’t be prouder to see this in action through CARE,” says Trent. “Together, we are making a lasting impact on the lives that we touch, and we are excited to see this impact grow”.
”By having a stronger connection between Notts County and Notts County Foundation, we can create that visibility on our projects and programmes with the wider fanbase,” Wing tells me. “Fans of Notts County will see that their club goes beyond just football, who share our passion to deliver a range of innovative programmes that improve the health and wellbeing of people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.”
Jane has a story that fits exactly with what this session means. She has been going to Meadow Lane to watch Notts for almost 50 years, first taken by her father and now she takes her two boys – “They’d probably tell you that they take me now!”
When Jane first attended CARE, she vaguely recognised a face but couldn’t recall why. The man was familiar, but where from? Several days later, the answer twigged: that man had been sat in front of her at Notts County home games for years. She had never spoken to him at football before. Now they had something else to unite them.
For that and other reasons, people tend to stick around here and a community within a community has formed. Participants often meet up after and outside sessions. Forty people attended a self-arranged CARE Christmas party in 2023.
Even beyond the work done by Josh and Lisa, by Josh Wing and others at the Foundation to organise programmes and by Notts County’s help in connection with the charitable arm of the club, these relationships develop organically.
It is inspiring, because it is a simple, effective way of offering support to those who need it most.
But it’s also inspiring because before this morning I had never thought about it before and now suddenly, stood outside the Portland Centre, virtually in line of sight of two football grounds and social institutions, I’m struggling to imagine much else that could be more worthwhile.
Football teams might live for Saturday afternoons and Tuesday nights, but they exist for Monday morning and Friday lunchtimes.
The session ends with more chatter that extends outside of what is now a very warm sports hall and typically ends with the phrase “See you Friday” or “See you next week”.
Most Notts County supporters, let alone outside of their extended family, may not be aware of CARE. But for those who have leant upon it for physical and emotional wellbeing during and after some of the most fearful times of their lives, it is far closer to everything than nothing.
Daniel Storey has set himself the goal of visiting all 92 grounds across the Premier League and EFL this season. You can follow his progress via our interactive map and find every article (so far) here
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