Bibury School were the first to take on the Hot Shot Challenge on Thursday afternoon.
The Hot Shot challenge could be coming to a school near you but it was Bibury School who kicked things off yesterday.Each week the Robins, with the help of Whaddney and groups of players, will be taking the club’s inflatable penalty shoot out machine to junior schools in the Gloucestershire area to challenge local youngsters.
Members of our community team turned up at Bibury school yesterday with the Hot Shot inflatable and gave the pupils the chance to record their strongest shot. Cheltenham Town players Connor Roberts and Sam Deering also took time out to spend time with the children and even gave them a mini coaching session before taking part in the challenge.
Our top challenger of the day was Daniel McDermott, 8, who recorded a massive 39mph with his very first shot. Coco Dobbie, 8, was our top girl at Bibury with her strongest shot recording 28mph!
The inflatable’s special radar system registers how fast a shot is and the challenge is to find not only the hottest young shot but also the fastest school. The pupils had three shots each and these will all be recorded to see how well Bibury School does against many other schools from around Gloucestershire. Each week the Gloucestershire Echo will capture the challenge in words and pictures for the paper and at the end of the season the individual winner will receive a complete Robins kit while the top school will be given a VIP match day experience at the Abbey Business Stadium.
It wasn't just the children of Bibury School that had a go though! Whaddney the Robin recorded a personal best of 32mph, Connor Roberts struck a 56mph shot but it was Sam Deering who took the professional's crown with a 58mph effort.
The Robins Echo Hot Shot Challenge has kicked off in November but any junior schools wanting to take part should contact Meg Lancaster at the club (01242) 588104 or e-mail Meg.Lancaster@ctfc.com.
If you want to learn more about the CTFC Community Programme and the work they do in your local area, please head to www.ctfccp.com or email community@ctfc.com.
*Thank you to the Gloucestershire Echo for the use of their photos from the day. Photographs courtesy of Simon Pizzey / Gloucestershire Media*