PAN Mixed Ability Football
Elisa is a valued member of the GBG PAN Mixed Ability Football Development Team. As an autistic player with mobility challenges, Elisa has been part of the Goals Beyond Grass (GBG) community for around three years, consistently showing determination and passion for the game.
For Elisa, GBG represents something simple but powerful: “inclusive and fun.” This sense of belonging is central to her experience, providing a space where she can enjoy football in an environment that welcomes everyone.
The sessions have a meaningful impact on Elisa’s wellbeing. She shares that they “make me feel good,” although she acknowledges that at times they can also feel stressful. This highlights both the excitement and the challenges that come with participating in sport, especially in a dynamic and team-based setting.
When asked about her favourite part of the sessions, Elisa is clear: “the best thing about the session is when we play a match.” Match play gives her the opportunity to fully engage, compete, and enjoy the game she loves.
One of Elisa’s proudest moments came off the pitch. She recalls: “My best story was when I got nominated for an award at presentation evening last season.” This recognition was a significant achievement and reflects her commitment and progress within the team.
Sunday tournaments bring a mix of emotions for Elisa. She describes feeling “nervous and competitive but also exciting,” while also noting that they can sometimes feel “frustrating and unknown.” These experiences show her resilience in facing new challenges and embracing competition.
Football plays an important role in Elisa’s weekly routine and mental wellbeing. She explains that when football isn’t on, she feels stressed, but when she attends sessions, “there’s a positive difference.” This contrast highlights the powerful impact that inclusive sport can have on emotional health.
Interestingly, when asked how sessions could improve, Elisa says she “can’t think of anything that needs improving,” a testament to how much she values the current environment.
Elisa’s journey is a great example of how inclusive football can provide not just physical activity, but confidence, recognition, and a sense of community.
Shelley’s Story: Finding Friendship with GBG’s Social Groups
At 55, Shelley has been through a lot of challenges that many people couldn’t imagine themselves.
Living with Spastic Diplegia, a form of Cerebral Palsy, Shelley experiences daily mobility challenges caused by muscle stiffness in her legs, which means she has regular physical therapy to help manage her condition, navigating through daily fatigue and discomfort.
Shelley, however, describes herself as living independently and happily, thanks to the Goals Beyond Grass Social Groups!
For the past 3 years, Shelley has been coming to GBG’s Tuesday and Wednesday Social Sessions, starting as simply coming along to activities but quickly becoming something more meaningful. For Shelley, GBG’s Social Sessions mean Friendship, they mean Fun, they mean Relaxation, they provide a Place to Belong.
The sessions provide Shelley with a space where she feels happy, welcomed, and included.
“The GBG Staff who run the sessions are wonderful. They are so welcoming, helpful, and are there for anything that we need!” Says Shelley.
This support can help change lives because many people with disabilities find difficulty in finding opportunities to connect, take part in activities, and enjoy everyday social experiences, our sessions make these moments possible.
Shelley recalls some great moments with our groups, including trips out of Churchdown together, which allow our staff and attendees to experience something with a different group of people to their normal support structure.
“My usual mobility scooter is too long to be allowed on buses, which the guys in the office helped me work out. With the support of GBG, we worked out that my manual chair would be allowed on the us, as long as someone could push me. I had a great time travelling on the bus with the group and watching the Robin Hood Pantomime in Cheltenham!” Shelley recalled. “The trip made me feel excited and happy. I can’t wait to go on another one!”
For many people like Shelley, social isolation is a massive problem. Our sessions help to combat this, enabling people like Shelley to make long-lasting friendships, and create new, positive memories.
Oakley Adult Opportunity Centre
Every Monday, a 74-year-old participant has somewhere he can’t wait to be.
He lives in supported accommodation because of a non-physical disability, but once a week he heads to the Goals Beyond Grass inclusive cycling sessions — something he has been doing since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since then, Monday cycling has become a routine he treasures.
At the track in Gloucester, he has a choice. Sometimes he challenges himself to complete 28 laps, and other weeks he cycles for an hour alongside a blind participant who he proudly helps guide around the circuit.
He smiles when he talks about it.
“I love being the eyes for them. We chat the whole way round.”
For him, the cycling is only part of what makes the sessions so special.
“Being with friends and going round and round — that’s the best part.”
Over time, he has become a familiar face at the sessions. He jokes that he has made “two to three thousand friends” there — perhaps a slight exaggeration, but it reflects just how many connections he’s built.
“Everyone here is friendly,” he says. “Having friends here is important.”
The sessions run every week and have become something he counts on. In fact, since 1 January 2025, only one Monday session has been cancelled due to extreme weather.
“I look forward to it every week,” he says. “It’s always on — unless the weather is really bad.”
After cycling, the difference in how he feels is clear.
“I’m happier for the rest of the day compared to other days.”
When he returns home to his supported living accommodation, where many people live together, he feels calmer and more relaxed. Often, he enjoys a well-earned afternoon nap.
But what means the most to him is something deeper than exercise.
The sessions give him a place where he feels part of a community — somewhere he belongs.
“I love feeling part of a group and making friends with other people.”
For him, the impact on his mental health has been life-changing. During the pandemic, when many places were closed and people felt isolated, the cycling sessions were one of the only places he could safely see others.
And he has no plans to stop.
“I wouldn’t miss it for all the tea in China!” he laughs.
“I’ll still be coming when I’m 80 — even 90 years old.”
Inclusive cycling projects like this give people friendship, purpose, and a place where everyone is welcome.
With your support, Goals Beyond Grass can continue creating these moments — where people connect, build confidence, and feel part of something bigger.
Because for him, Monday isn’t just another day of the week.
It’s the day he gets to be part of his community. 🚴♂️
Charlie
Charlie is a 21 Year Old Frame Runner from the Forest of Dean. She is currently number 2 in the UK, having competed against the best of the best for many years. In 2016, Charlie competed in Barcelona for the World Games and came back with 2 Bronze, 1 Silver, and 1 Gold Medal, being crowned World Champion over 400 meters. In 2022, at the Prince of Wales Stadium, Charlie won 3 Gold Medals with 3 Personal Bests and a World record in those 3 races.
Charlie was doing a Supported Internship course at Cinderford College, and her work Placement was at Goals Beyond Grass, in September 2020. Since then, Charlie has volunteered weekly with us, at many different sessions. At the moment, Charlie helps with our Inclusive Cycling sessions at BlackBridge Athletics Track, which is where she does her frame running training. When our Forest of Dean Inclusive Cycling Sessions are running, Charlie comes along to participate and help out. Charlie also comes to the GL3 Community Hub on a Wednesday Morning to help with our GOGA sessions (Get Out Get Active), then she does some admin work in the office.
‘The best thing about volunteering is meeting and helping new people, whilst also having lots of fun. I really enjoy the inclusive cycling sessions in the forest, the location is amazing’ – Charlie.
Brian, Laura, Kyarna
Brian, Laura and Kyarna are a family from Gloucester. Brian and Laura have been together for years, meeting just 6 months before Laura had life changing surgery, meaning she then became a wheelchair user. Laura has an older son who has learning and physical disabilities, who lives away from home, although he regularly visits and participates in our Sunday Cycling Sessions. Laura and Brian’s daughter Kyarna is only 4 years old, being our Youngest Volunteer, and she learnt to cycle with GBG, as she has been attending sessions since she was a baby.
Laura’s first involvement with GBG was as a participant. She couldn’t bear weight due to her spinal operations, so thought it was amazing to find something she could do as a family. ‘Many things cater for a disabled participant and a carer, but as a mum of a sun with disabilities, and a family who all cared for each other, our options for activities were very limited’. As Laura grew in confidence, she found herself helping out in a voluntary role with the Belmont Cycling sessions on a Sunday. Seeing the difference it made to Laura, and the help they needed due to having an adapted role, Brian then joined in to help out.
This involvement started in 2016, under a different company, until she moved over to GBG with Mary Clare in 2017. Brian then officially joined as a volunteer at the same time in 2017, with Kyarna being born in 2018, and coming along to the sessions almost immediately, as a ‘Little Helper’.
On a Sunday at the Belmont Cycling Sessions, Laura helps out by doing the welcoming of participants, some of the admin, and taking the payments from participants. Laura has recently started helping in the GBG office doing some admin work, such as data input. Brian’s voluntary time is taken up mainly by loading ad unloading the bikes, taking bikes to different people who need them, and maintenance of the bikes. He does this on a Sunday at Belmont, and on a Monday at BlackBridge Athletics Track. Kyarna comes along with the two of them on a Sunday, and on a Monday in the school holidays. Her role is to take care of the GBG Bikes Mascot – Mr Trunkerton, and to smile as much as she can, which helps put a smile on the participants’ faces also.
‘The best part about volunteering is that every day is different, and the participants are great. Learning about other people’s needs and adaptations has also given us a broader outlook on life. The personal gains I have experienced through volunteering are also amazing, such as my increased confidence since starting. After my surgery, I wouldn’t leave the house, and I am amazed at myself for getting out and volunteering twice a week now. Volunteering has helped to get me back into the real world, and I hope this can help me get a job one day. I am also now studying as a Mature Student now, which would never had happened if it wasn’t for this increase in confidence that has been as a result of my volunteering’ – Laura
‘I love cycling the bikes with other people’ – Kyarna
‘She enjoys making sure that the participants are ok, and the hot chocolate when it’s cold’ – Laura when asked about Kyarna at the sessions
Brian enjoys the fact that the sessions can be like a break for him. Volunteering also makes him feel valued, improving his self-esteem, confidence levels, and mental health.