Where Did Casual Ballerz come from?

The founder and creator of Casual Ballerz, Ashley Watson, has been working on the idea of Casual Ballerz for the past five years. The idea stems from personal experiences coupled with educational in London and California. 

 

He, like many others, was involved in professional football academies, youth teams, and semi-professional teams. He was a part of Watford FC Academy, then Shrewsbury Town Youth team, ending up involved with several semi-professional teams between Vanarama South level to Ryman South level. While still pursuing football, he attended the University of East London and graduated with an Undergrad in Sports Coaching with Psychology in 2013. After graduating he was able to use his FA Level 2 coaching license to embark on a new experience of coaching in several west coast areas in the US, leading to being exposed to the sporting and educational opportunities there.

In 2015 he was offered a full athletic scholarship from San Francisco State University to study Kinesiology (Sports Science equivalent) at a Master's degree level. This required him to train, play and study full time for 2 years. During his time in San Francisco, he was able to make great football connections. Here was where ideas for Casual Ballerz became more clear.

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His experience in the US allowed him to develop as an individual, learn several new skills and make great connections. This positive experience could have been the route for many of his former teammates who were unable to break into the professional game, however, they were not made aware of unique opportunities such as this. Through Casual Ballerz we make opportunities similar to Ashley's, as well as other opportunities, more accessible to as many youths and young people as possible.

Where is he now?

He is a proud owner of an Undergraduate Degree from the University of East London, a Master's Degree from San Francisco State University and an FA UEFA B coaching license.

After graduating with a Master's degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis on social sciences, he turned down the opportunity to play and live in California to return to the UK and immediately start working on bringing Casual Ballerz to life.