Sky Blues star revisits his former secondary in Leamington to inspire budding footballers

School soccer players were delighted when an ex-pupil and current Sky Blues star turned up for a surprise training session.
Jordan Shipley joined school footballers for a team shotJordan Shipley joined school footballers for a team shot
Jordan Shipley joined school footballers for a team shot

Year 8/9 pupils at Trinity School were preparing for their latest friendly when they were joined by Coventry City FC midfielder and former Trinity student Jordan Shipley.

Despite the rather inclement weather, Jordan threw himself into the session, taking them through some drills and doing shooting practice, before splitting the players up into two teams for a match. He joined them on the pitch, and even scored a goal himself. Afterwards, he was more than happy to have photos taken with the players and sign autographs.

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The visit had been set up by Ryan Murphy of the Trinity PE department, together with parent Rob Cook and Jordan himself. Ryan said: “I’m grateful to Rob and Jordan for organising this and to Jordan for offering his support and encouragement.”

Montage of Jordan's visit to TrinityMontage of Jordan's visit to Trinity
Montage of Jordan's visit to Trinity

Trinity head of PE, Adam Willis, who began his own footballing career with Coventry City FC, said “It was good to see Jordan, his father and his young family again and we were appreciative of him giving up his time to meet and train with our students. We had a chance to catch up a little and Jordan looks back fondly of his time at Trinity. He has certainly developed into a fine young man, and someone we should be proud of as a school.

"Jordan is a family centred individual with a level head and a determination to do well. Qualities that reflect well upon himself, his family and Trinity Catholic School. Jordan deserves to have success, and I am proud of him and his achievements in representing my old club, and our school.”

Speaking after the session, Jordan said: “I really enjoyed visiting my old school and it was nice to give something back after I was looked after so well during my time at Trinity as a youngster. There are some talented players in the football team, and hopefully there’s a future professional amongst them as well.

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"It was also great to see some familiar faces in catching up with some of my old teachers. The whole occasion brought back a lot of happy memories, and hopefully I’ll be back again soon.”

(Photographs courtesy of Christine Burke Photography)

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