Move over Adidas, Westmeath has its own football boot manufacturer

Sportswear giants such as Adidas and Nike are the leaders in the global football boot market, but a Mullingar coach has designed and produced a new colour-coded boot and training programme to help young children improve their core soccer skills.

Klaaskickz founder Mark Connaughton, who played with Shelbourne and Longford Town, as well as the Irish colleges team, came up with the idea for a colour coded football boot when he was coaching in America in 2019.

“I was at a camp in California and I was showing a 12-year-old how to do a basic turn [with the ball] where you use the top of the inside of your foot. I was showing him where it was on my shoe and then pointing at it on his shoe, but when he’d go to do the skill, he kept forgetting. He was struggling to identify and remember the part of the foot.

“I was thinking there’s got to be an easier way to do this where you are not always bending down and touching the different parts of the feet. There are two parts of the inside of your foot: one you’d use to pass and one you’d use to shoot. There are also two different parts of the outside. In total, there are eight different parts altogether.

“I then decided to ask all of the 100 children on the camp to locate the inside, the outside, the sole and the laces of their boots. Only nine per cent could do it.

“I thought that there might be something here and wondered if I could create a new boot.”

Mark, who enlisted help of a designer friend from Roscommon as he wasn’t happy with his initial drawings, divides his boot, which is named after his father Klaas, into different colour zones, which players use depending on the skills they want to execute.

Klaaskickz was launched in May last year with an initial batch of 300 pairs of boots. The 300 pairs sold quickly and then, after securing an investor, the second order was for 2,000 pairs, which are being sold at over 40-plus independent sports shops around the country, including The Sports Outlet in Mullingar and Moate Sports in Moate.

Mark and his coaching colleagues have also done 31 school programmes at primary schools in 22 counties.

“How the school programme works is all the kids get the boots and we teach them for six weeks, one day a week. We teach them how to play through colours [on the boots] with the curriculum that we developed. It is going quite well.”

The boots are priced at €40 a pair. Mark says that it was important to him that the boots were competitively priced and were accessible to as many families as possible.

The latest batch of boots have Velcro straps, which helps make them more attractive to younger players and their parents. They also come with training videos, which means that mums and dads can teach their kids the basics even if they haven’t played themselves.

“These boots are for kids who are under the age of 10 and are in their first three years of playing. One of the big facts that I found out during research was that 50 per cent of primary school kids under 10 in Ireland can’t kick a ball correctly. That was a study done by DCU.

“I think primary school teachers are expected to be jacks of all trades. They are expected to be good at everything but sometimes there can be a gap there and that is where we can fit it in with the schools programme.

“I think having coaches that know how the boots work is so important and we are just trying to spread the word. It makes it easier for the coaches too.”

“It’s all about confidence and helping children [improve their skills]. If you have a positive start when you take up a sport, you are more likely to continue, be more healthy, make more friends and be more confident. That’s what it is all about really.

“I just want kids to love football, because I love football.”

The National Ploughing Championships

Klaaskickz is one of 30 businesses from across the country that will have a stand in the Local Enterprise Village at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Laois next week.

It is the biggest event of its kind in the country, and Mark is eager to spread the word about Klaaskickz to some of the hundreds of thousands that will be attending event over the course of the three days.

“It’s our first trade show and we are looking forward to it. I am sure it will be a great opportunity to get feedback, hopefully sell a few pairs as well, and make a few kids happy.”

The last few years have been a steep learning curve for Mark. He is grateful for the assistance he has received from Westmeath Local Enterprise Office (LEO).

“Thankfully I was able to go through the New Frontiers. I hadn’t a clue really, but I rang the LEO and they sent me to the New Frontiers programme. It’s a six-month course to help you develop your business model.

“They [Westmeath LEO] were a fantastic help. There are loads of grants available and they are so helpful with mentors. Even things you wouldn’t have thought of, they have a mentor for that.

“There has been loads of learning. It’s probably the hardest and most enjoyable thing that I have ever done.”

Christine Charlton, head of enterprise Westmeath said that for businesses such as Klaaskickz having a stand in the Local Enterprise Village “is a huge opportunity to engage with thousands of prospective customers every day and this could have a significant impact on their business”.

“We have been working with Klaaskickz on their marketing and merchandising for the event so they can maximise this amazing opportunity. There’s something for everyone in the Local Enterprise Village.”