Delight as new Ace of Sports facility opens in Mold

The Leader reported earlier this week how John Jones, founder of Ace of Sports, was preparing for the opening of his very own sports academy in his hometown of Mold.

Phase one of the Bromfield Industrial Estate-based facility opened on Saturday - with youth football coaching for players from Liverpool and Manchester City.

Mr Jones, 31, founded Ace of Sports around eight years ago after an injury put an end to his own football career.

Image: Ace of Sports (Image: Ace of Sports)Speaking of the opening day, he explained: "It's been really, really good.

"It was a bit surreal driving there to be honest because we've always driven to a venue that's not ours, but now we're doing it at our own place and it has these state-of-the-art facilities.

"The best bit has been the kids - the smiles on their faces say it all.

"You don't realise until you're there how much of an impact it has for them.

Image: Ace of Sports (Image: Image: Ace of Sports)"Some of the youth players we had from Liverpool and Manchester City said it was one of the best facilities they'd trained at."

Mr Jones told the Leader that phase one of the project includes just 1,000 square feet of the site's overall 8,000 sq ft footprint.

He expects the rest of the space to become operational in the coming months - and it will cater for much more than just football.

Mr Jones continued: "The idea with the centre is it is designed to cater for every single sport, from football up to darts.

Image: Ace of Sports (Image: Image: Ace of Sports)"It's going to have replaceable flooring so it can evolve into anything we want it to be.

"There has been no expense spared because we want to make sure it really is multi-use.

"Too many of these facilities cater for just one sole purpose - but I want to bring a multi-purpose live sports venue where you can train and also watch live event action right in front of you.

"The space we have is big enough to make that happen, but also small enough to make people feel like it's just you and them."

He said with the live events, he wants to bring in the best sportspeople in the world because it's "very important to me that children see what is possible."

John Jones. Image: Ace of Sports (Image: Image: Ace of Sports)Describing his own journey into coaching, he added: "I was a player for Liverpool until I was 16.

"I then found out I had arthritis and was told I'd never play again because you can't pass the medical.

"I didn't actually want to go into coaching because I always thought of it as a failure.

"But as I did some and realised how much better the kids were getting, I realised maybe this is more important than my career.

"I didn't believe I'd ever be a coach - coaching found me."