Company Directors (currently updating)
James Hatch
James is the senior Director and Head Coach of Creative Sports Coaching CIC, which he established in 2023, having left the Luton Town FC Community Trust charity where he held numerous roles, most notably senior project manager between 2008 and 2023.
During his spell as senior project manager, he was responsible for delivering a wide range of sports, health and educational projects throughout Luton and Bedfordshire in partnership with the Premier League Charitable Foundation, English Football League Trust, Active Luton, The Prince's Trust, Bedfordshire Football Association and The Professional Footballers Association.
James holds a Level 3 in Education and Training, is a qualified Personal Trainer, Sport Coach and Swimming Instructor having graduated from Barnfield College in 2004 after which he took up a position as Head Coach for Luton and Beds Community Sports Group up until 2008.
James has been a sports provider to over 50 schools in Luton and Bedfordshire throughout his career and is currently a school Governor at Templefield Lower school in Flitwick where he chairs both the Health and Safety and Finance committees.
James has resided in Central Bedfordshire all of his life where he lives with his partner and co-director Samantha Riley and their two young children.
Samantha Riley
Samantha is a qualified Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) who is currently undertaking her teaching degree to become a fully qualified teacher at The University of Bedfordshire.
Samantha joined Ferrars Academy in 2007, a large Luton based academy where she held several roles during her 15 years of employment, progressing from a Teaching Assistant to a HLTA. Samantha was also in charge of the Eco team and coordinating the extracurricular activities before moving to Kingsmoor Lower school in Flitwick, Central Bedfordshire in 2022 where she has taken up the role as the Forestry school lead, alongside her HLTA role and is responsible for various different roles including the lunchtime provision, medical lead, fire warden and PSHE planning and supervision.
As well as being a busy working parent, Samantha was a part time volunteer at Stray Cat Rescue animal charity for 6 years and for the past 2 years currently provides a foster home for small, domesticated family pets for the RSPCA.
Samantha was born in London but grew up living in Luton for over 20 years before moving to Central Bedfordshire in 2011 with fellow Co-Director James Hatch and their two young children.
Daniel Read
Kevin Thoburn
Recently retired from Luton Town Football Club after almost 30 years of service where he held numerous roles, most notably, CEO of the Club's registered charity the Luton Town Community Trust between 2008 and 2024.
During his spell as CEO, where the role included securing funding for and
delivering a wide range of social cohesion, health and educational projects throughout Luton & Bedfordshire, the charity worked in partnership with national and local partners including The Home Office, National Literacy Council, National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Prince's Trust,
Luton Borough Council, Bedfordshire & Luton Community Foundation, Bedfordshire Police and Active Luton.
On his retirement the charity was placed in the top 5% of all UK registered charities in terms of overall financial turnover reaching almost 5,000 local residents each week and was the recipient of several awards including recognition locally from Bedfordshire Police and Love Luton.
A qualified Chartered Surveyor, having graduated from Leicester Polytechnic in 1978 with a BSc in Estate management, Kevin worked in the West End of London for various commercial estate agents for over 20 years before joining Luton Town Football Club in 2006.
Kevin has resided in Luton for almost 30 years
Creative Sports Coaching CIC aims to provide targeted benefit to communities within Luton and Bedfordshire including both adults and children. We are a sports and education focused social enterprise that aims to make a positive impact through the provision of physical activity engagement, social impact projects and healthy lifestyles activities that support positive mental health and well-being.
Our four main aims are to:
1. Provide curriculum and wrap around care (extra curriculum) sports-based and educational activities within local schools including:
· Activities targeted at SEND pupils
· Girls specific activities
· Social Impact Projects
· Activities provided for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds
· Teacher mentoring
Our objectives to achieve our first aim is to improve PE delivery across school curriculum and to increase participation in healthy activities raising self-esteem and resilience of young people, improve behaviour for SEND pupils and for those with behavioural issues, increase participation in healthy activities for girls and through the provision of wrap around care (extra curricular) activities, help busy working parents.
2. Provide daytime adult health hubs providing activities such as:
· Walking clubs – male\female.
· Walking football sessions.
· Aerobic classes – male/female
Our objectives to achieve our second aim are to provide regular activities that combat social isolation and loneliness, improve mental health and wellbeing for
participants through group activity as well as improve health outcomes through
increased exercise and activity
3. Provide school holiday multi sports ‘health and food’ activity camps in partnership with local commissioning authorities:
To achieve our third objective, we will provide fun holiday activity camps for pupils on free school meals, signposted as SEND or have specific EHCP’s (Education, Health and Care Plan).Through their increased participation in healthy activities we’ll raise health, self-esteem and resilience of young people
while also providing hot meals for all participants which support family budgets in school holidays.
4.Provide child and adult disability multi-sport focused activities at specially designated satellite centres and local schools.
To achieve our final objective we will provide regular activities to combat social isolation and loneliness for the excluded groups, improve mental health and wellbeing for participants through group activity as well as improving general health outcomes through increased exercise and in turn raise self-esteem and resilience of all group members.