Emiliano Insua lent his support as Liverpool and Everton launched the Premier League 4 Sport initiative in the city on Tuesday afternoon.
The Argentina international was joined by Blues defender Sylvain Distin at the event at the Greenbank Sports Academy.
The Premier League 4 Sport scheme aims to introduce four different Olympic sports to youngsters in the region - volleyball, judo, table tennis and badminton.
The initiative hopes to curb the drop-off in young people's participation in sports after leaving secondary school, as well as offering five hours of activities to youngsters as part of the government's 2012 legacy plans.
And Insua and Distin were both quick to get into the spirit of the event, trying their hands at each of the four sports - including judo.
"I think it's important for young people to try different sports when they can," the Reds' No.22 told us.
"When I was younger I used to play in a lot of different sports, and I liked volleyball a lot.
"I'm always keen to try different sports and I enjoy playing table tennis at Melwood after training sometimes.
"It's been good to come along today and play against the kids in some of the sports. It's really important for them to get involved and it's special for me to be able to help out."
Liverpool FC Community Sports Officer Stephen Park added: "Today's event is a good opportunity for the kids to try their hand at the different sports and also help raise the profile of the Premier League's 4 Sport programme. Having the players come along helps us to do that.
"Getting kids to play sports such as football, basketball and cricket might not be too difficult, but badminton, judo, volleyball and table tennis are sports they may tend not to play, so it's good to give them an opportunity to sample them.
"There's a huge drop-off rate in kids joining sports clubs outside of school, so we want to utilise the power of Liverpool and Everton to try and get the kids in and address this.
"But it's also an opportunity to give the kids something to do and be part of something to do with Liverpool and Everton."
With the programme, the Premier League hope to establish a new, vibrant and modern network of young people focused sports clubs which are attractive to, and accessible for, a wide audience of young people.
These 'satellite' clubs will help more young people progress into community sport. The Premier League 4 Sport model will define how schools can reach out to local community sports clubs, and will enable community sports clubs to reach out more effectively towards schools.
Reds PR manager Brian Hall said: "In a city like ours, football is, without any shadow of a doubt, the dominant sport.
"But not everybody is into football or interested in playing it, so why not encourage young people to take an active part in other sports?
"You don't have to play the sport seriously, it just has to be enjoyable. There are also social aspects to this and it promotes a healthier lifestyle.
"By using the brand names and bringing along first-team players, it really does help promote the whole concept of Premier League 4 Sports."
Liverpool FC Head of Community Bill Bygroves admits he has been delighted to work alongside on the pitch rivals Everton in helping to launch the initiative.
"It's vitally important for Liverpool Football Club to be involved in initiatives such as this," he said.
"In our city, where it is very competitive between the two clubs, it's good to remind people that we want to keep the passion, but lose the poison.
"We want to work together in community activities where we can, to encourage young people to get involved in all sorts of different activities."
Everton's Jackie Twort added: "It's really important for kids to have the opportunity to try something different, particularly in Liverpool where the dominant sport is football. This programme is definitely the way forward."
The Argentina international was joined by Blues defender Sylvain Distin at the event at the Greenbank Sports Academy.
The Premier League 4 Sport scheme aims to introduce four different Olympic sports to youngsters in the region - volleyball, judo, table tennis and badminton.
The initiative hopes to curb the drop-off in young people's participation in sports after leaving secondary school, as well as offering five hours of activities to youngsters as part of the government's 2012 legacy plans.
And Insua and Distin were both quick to get into the spirit of the event, trying their hands at each of the four sports - including judo.
"I think it's important for young people to try different sports when they can," the Reds' No.22 told us.
"When I was younger I used to play in a lot of different sports, and I liked volleyball a lot.
"I'm always keen to try different sports and I enjoy playing table tennis at Melwood after training sometimes.
"It's been good to come along today and play against the kids in some of the sports. It's really important for them to get involved and it's special for me to be able to help out."
Liverpool FC Community Sports Officer Stephen Park added: "Today's event is a good opportunity for the kids to try their hand at the different sports and also help raise the profile of the Premier League's 4 Sport programme. Having the players come along helps us to do that.
"Getting kids to play sports such as football, basketball and cricket might not be too difficult, but badminton, judo, volleyball and table tennis are sports they may tend not to play, so it's good to give them an opportunity to sample them.
"There's a huge drop-off rate in kids joining sports clubs outside of school, so we want to utilise the power of Liverpool and Everton to try and get the kids in and address this.
"But it's also an opportunity to give the kids something to do and be part of something to do with Liverpool and Everton."
With the programme, the Premier League hope to establish a new, vibrant and modern network of young people focused sports clubs which are attractive to, and accessible for, a wide audience of young people.
These 'satellite' clubs will help more young people progress into community sport. The Premier League 4 Sport model will define how schools can reach out to local community sports clubs, and will enable community sports clubs to reach out more effectively towards schools.
Reds PR manager Brian Hall said: "In a city like ours, football is, without any shadow of a doubt, the dominant sport.
"But not everybody is into football or interested in playing it, so why not encourage young people to take an active part in other sports?
"You don't have to play the sport seriously, it just has to be enjoyable. There are also social aspects to this and it promotes a healthier lifestyle.
"By using the brand names and bringing along first-team players, it really does help promote the whole concept of Premier League 4 Sports."
Liverpool FC Head of Community Bill Bygroves admits he has been delighted to work alongside on the pitch rivals Everton in helping to launch the initiative.
"It's vitally important for Liverpool Football Club to be involved in initiatives such as this," he said.
"In our city, where it is very competitive between the two clubs, it's good to remind people that we want to keep the passion, but lose the poison.
"We want to work together in community activities where we can, to encourage young people to get involved in all sorts of different activities."
Everton's Jackie Twort added: "It's really important for kids to have the opportunity to try something different, particularly in Liverpool where the dominant sport is football. This programme is definitely the way forward."
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