Taggart & Filbert Deliver Coaching & Surprises For Local Miami Children

After visiting Official Logistics Partner, DHL, dropping by the home venues of Miami Heat and Miami Dolphins, taking a boat ride through the Biscayne Bay and representing the Football Club at Saturday's NBC Premier League Mornings Live fan festival, Taggart and Filbert headed to Athletic Club Miami on Sunday.

Athletic Club Miami, established in 2013, is a non-profit charitable organisation which aims to provide physical and educational scholarships and continual mentorship to aspiring footballers in the heart of Miami.

Taggart and Filbert arrived in the afternoon and, while many of the children invited to participate had taken part in matches earlier in the day, a healthy number chose to stay for the full session.

Following an hour-long training drill delivered by Taggart, which included short matches and one-touch passing sessions, the children were presented with Leicester City scarves and Club-branded USA flags.

There was one more surprise to come for those in attendance, however, as the Premier League trophy was unveiled to the group - bringing England's top flight quite literally to their door.

Speaking afterwards, Taggart, who made over 100 appearances for the Foxes, told LCFC TV: "That was a fantastic day, with great facilities and the kids have turned up in their numbers.

"I’ve had a couple of really good training sessions with them... photographs, scarves, you name it! It’s all been going on today, but lots of fun. 

"In the coaching sessions, I was just trying to introduce them to just simple passing drills, but with a little bit of technical stuff in there to make them think about what they were doing.

"Not just kicking the ball around for the sake of it, so pretty simple stuff and to be fair, Americans kids, they catch up really well.

"They’re really well behaved and it was really good stuff, really enjoyable for me, it gets me back into doing a bit of coaching."

When the Premier League trophy was revealed, meanwhile, the children in attendance - and their parents - were overcome with excitement.

Lifted by Leicester City in 2016, only five other teams have ever won the biggest title in English football since 1992, and the trophy itself has become one of the most iconic in world sport.

None of Athletic Club Miami's young players were told their day would end with the opportunity to come face to face with the trophy, sparking jubilant scenes at the end of the day.

"That was fantastic!" Taggart continued. "All the ‘wows' and the gasps of surprise and obviously the sheer splendour of the Premier League trophy was just great.

"Some of them even guessed it was coming out, so it just shows you how much interest that they take over here in the Premier League and it was a lovely way to finish off the afternoon."

Gallery 19 Dec 2019

Athletic Club Miami Welcomes Taggart & Filbert In Sunshine State

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For Athletic Club Miami Director and Travel Team Coach, Gabor Pasztor, on the other hand, it was a real thrill to see Leicester City take such a keen interest in the children enrolled at their club. 

"It’s a special moment for me," he said. "I want to thank Leicester City again for having us in this tour. 

"For us, to see a professional player, it’s always something special because, here, not so many professional players visit, especially not from the Premier League.

"To see someone who has reached something in life like Gerry Taggart, that’s a great motivation for the kids, because they only hear about professional football.

"They only hear about professional players, but they don’t actually taste how is, how is that person, how is the surroundings of professional sport."

As soccer continues to grow at a rapid pace in the United States, the work of Pasztor and his colleagues at grass roots level is an essential part of the process.

Athletic Club Miami welcomes children of all backgrounds and was created six years ago to give participants an education into the game while also allowing them to enjoy their football. 

"We founded the club in 2013 and actually we started with five players with a goal in our heads to create a club with a European style, a soccer club, a football club, here in Miami," he explained.

"As you know, the community here is very mixed, which means we have many, many European citizens of Miami, many Latin Americans, from South, from Central America, and a US community as well.

"[They’re] all hungry for soccer. When I came here first time, I was actually surprised by how much the actual Americans here love this sport as well.

"So, it’s not only the ones who come from the old continent and the ones from the Latin American community, it’s the Americans too, who are really hungry to have success in this sport."