Wills-Kate launch sport initiative to help Brit kids become 'better people'

London, July 22 (ANI): The Duchess of Cambridge, Princes William and Prince Harry are all set to launch a radical sporting initiative to inspire youngsters far beyond the Olympics.

Their new 'Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry' is funding a groundbreaking training programme to place inspirational coaches in disadvantaged communities and provide a long-lasting apprenticeship scheme for Britain's inner-city schools.

The trio's ambitions run much deeper than just encouraging active lifestyles as they want to use the power of sport as catalyst for social change.

They will train up a network of specialist "role model" coaches, who will inspire students to become "better people" in general. It will also help them mix with other communities and to make them more attractive to employers, the Daily Express reported.

And to make it all a success story, the apprentice coaches are being selected not only for their talent at sport, but also because they themselves come from poorer neighbourhoods and have the crucial ability to engage.

The three royals will launch the ' Coach Core' project with their favourite Greenhouse Charity at an event in London this week.

About 30 trainee coaches aged between 16 and 20 will take part in the 18-month pilot and will be rolled out nationwide with far more cash if successful.

The programme came into being when Michael di Giorgio, who runs the Greenhouse charity, submitted a report about the way sports governing bodies fail to invest at the school grassroots level.

He wants rules to ensure major chunks of lucrative sponsorship and broadcasting deals are ring fenced for initiatives like his.

"One of the things that came from that report was that the Prince William and Kate foundation looked at that chapter and said, 'Isn't this great, let's give you a pilot'.

"So they have given us a whole pile of money to pilot us producing a whole pile of young kids.

"They are trained in a whole range of sports and the idea is to make them more employable, usually on the premise of making them better coaches and simply better leaders," he said.

"We'll give them help with qualifications, including GCSEs if necessary, and once they've gone through all their courses, some will say they want to be a coach, but some will say, 'Actually, it's helped me, and now I want to become a doctor.'

"Sport itself is not the main outcome from this, it's about the young people themselves.

"If you get a good coach who inspires you, then your life can be changed," Giorgio insisted.

"These special coaches are the ones who make all the difference to young people's lives.

"To have that special person in your life is what Greenhouse is all about.

"We are very lucky to have the royals involved, it's great kudos," he added. (ANI)