Soccer has been Simon’s salvation

Simon Cooper: power of positive thought

A FORMER football hooligan and cocaine addict is inspiring young boys to reach for the stars — through the power of football.

Recovered addict Simon Cooper (40), from Failsworth, is putting all his energy into helping young footballers and people in trouble using the power of positive thought and action.

The father-of-two has set up consultancy Spirit to Believe which helps people with addictions and mental illnesses on a one-to-one basis, as well as football for life-coaching sessions.

He said: “I’m not a psychologist or counsellor, but people with drug addictions can relate to me because I have been there and I understand what they are going through.”

Simon, who for over 20 years was part of a notorious gang of hooligans who followed Manchester City, turned his back on drug addiction and hooliganism after his friend was killed in a gang fight.

“After this I started suffering depression and mental and physical illnesses. It changed my thought process,” added Simon.

He had been living a life of booze and drug-fuelled violence supporting himself by working as a project manager in the construction industry. He was also banned from football grounds.

In battling his destructive drug habit, which left him in debt, he found salvation coaching a youth team at Stockport County.

He is now due to take his UEFA coaching exams in February.

“I use the power of my subconscious mind to instil belief in the players. My goal is to coach a Premiership football team by 2015.”

Simon, now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, no longer drinks or smokes.

It’s a far cry from his troubled youth, where he fell in with a group of hardcore Manchester City fans, eventually becoming a leader in the Young Guvnors.

Simon explains: “My mum and dad split up when I was younger and because I was so young I connected with the hooliganism.

“It was a different mentality back then. It’s not something I’m proud of.

“I was trying to find something to connect to and I ended up becoming a leader.”

But now as a leader of a different kind, he’s helped raise £11,000 as a fundraiser with Used4cash, which helps sports clubs and community projects generate cash by recycling DVDs and CDs.

“The club asks players to bring in their own DVDs to generate funds. Initially it started with football clubs but now it’s other clubs including netball teams. It’s been so successful,” says Simon.

The company is looking to open the scheme up to all community projects.

“I am tired of hearing about all these clubs and charities which are struggling. Used4cash can help them raise money and I want them to know there are other options out there,” Simon tells me.

With the help of money raised through Used4cash Simon manages his third project Bounce, an offshoot of Spirit to Believe. He coaches youth teams at a development centre after the players have been released from a centre of excellence.

“In a year only a few players make it through from these centres of excellence. Once they have been released it breaks their hearts and I’m trying to show them how the power of belief can help. It shows if they come back from adversity they will come back stronger. I’m helping them to bounce back.”

There are 20 players halfway through the current course, which runs for 12 weeks. With a waiting list of 18 he’s hoping to expand the course, which teaches the players life and football skills for an hour and a half on Friday evenings.

“We can use the Used4cash to keep the costs down. It’s better for them to spend £5 on football then spend it on the streets.”

“I am trying to run a project where I can help them sustain their football by sustaining their belief in themselves.

I want to inspire people to reach for the stars and be everything they can be.”

He credits his recovery to his wife Amanda, who he married eight years ago, and his daughter Millie (8) stepdaughter Cherelle (23) and two grandsons Brodie (4) and Logan (1).

“Amanda’s been my rock. I couldn’t have done it without her. Everything that has happened has brought us closer together as a family because I am spending more time with them.”

Simon is now looking to the future but he knows it will an uphill battle.

“The hardest part is proving to people that you can change. It takes years to overcome what has happened. I have to work twice as hard because people are going to doubt me.

“You have to keep proving yourself to people every day to win their trust back, it doesn’t come back overnight.”

The proceeds from his book, Football for Life, detailing his past go to the British Heart Foundation after he had a heart attack aged 32.