Story added: 8th December 2023

Darren Huckerby visits the Extra Time programme

On Wednesday 6^th December, canary legend Darren Huckerby visited our Extra-Time participants at Carrow Park.

Extra Time, a Foundation-run activity aimed at over 55’s, encourages people to stay fit and active and engage in a range of physical activities from football, to badminton, to table tennis. Hosted once a week at Carrow Park, an hour of exercise is followed by an hour of social time, in which participants have the opportunity to sit down and have a chat over a slice of cake or a cup of tea.

The Extra-Timers are occasionally visited by a guest speaker at their social sessions, and on Wednesday it was ex-city winger Darren Huckerby.

Huckerby, who is now a Norwich City Club Ambassador, was guided through a series of questions about his own professional career, taking time to talk about who his favourite teammates were at each club, which clubs had a positive impact on his playing style, and why he made the decisions he did when moving from one club to the next. He was also quick to disregard his goalscoring statistics on Wikipedia – saying that he scored over ten more than the website states!

The Extra-Time participants then asked Huckerby some questions of their own, with the NCFC Ambassador answering each one with the best insight he could provide.

Questions included Huckerby’s apparent immunity to injury during his playing days and his favourite pieces of football memorabilia collected during his time at the football club – to which his answer was the boot he scored with for his wonder goal against Birmingham!

The social element of Extra Time is incredibly important to the programme, as it gives participants the opportunity to express and share opinions about something they feel passionate about, and by inviting a famous face like Darren Huckerby to the sessions it presents members with the chance to interact with someone different who has a professional insight into the beautiful game.

When asked what he made of the programme, Huckerby was nothing but complimentary.

“The Extra Time programme is brilliant. You know, over 55’s coming in for a little bit of fitness, tea and coffee, a bit of a chit chat – week in, week out. It really is beneficial for everybody involved.

“I’d say get yourself down here. You know, as soon as you hit 55, come and join the group. Everybody here has a great time.”