A football-loving grandma has gone viral after a video of her performing incredible skills from her wheelchair was posted online.
Violet Slater, 80, from Telford, Shropshire, was dubbed ‘Gran-aldo’ after she was filmed volleying a football into the top corner of the net from her chair.
Her grandson Kodi, 11, has been sharing the clips of his gran to raise people’s spirits during coronavirus lockdown.
They have since been shared hundreds of thousands of times after being uploaded to social media by Violet’s 34-year-old son Phil.
Violet Slater, 80, has gone viral after footage of her scoring goals ‘top bins’ went viral on social media
She performs her trick shots in her son’s back garden where Kodi has a special football training area.
Violet is seen bouncing the ball off a net before scoring goals and chipping the ball into a bucket in her son’s back garden.
The internet sensation also slots the ball into the bottom corner of the goal after threading it through two red gates.
At the end of the video Violet also manages to chip the ball into a bucket without even looking.
Her husband Harry died in 2017 from dementia but football has brought a smile back to her face.
Easy does it: The 80-year-old chips a pink and yellow football into a net. She is a passionate fan of Premier League side Wolves
Big grin: Violet celebrates as she sinks the ball into the net, just one of the many skills she has perfected
She said: ‘It’s put the life back into me to keep on going. It’s so exciting to know all my friends and family are watching.
‘I get so carried away watching football especially if it’s my favourite team Wolves. My deceased husband was a keen fan.’
Her skills, which she also performed in her living room, do still need a bit of work though as she can be seen kicking a ball over the garden wall and kicking the ball into her own face.
With lockdown rules still in place though she has plenty of time to perfect her skills from the comfort of her chair.
She said: ‘I don’t like to be beaten so I persevere until I get it right.
Training: Violet even practises volleys from her wheelchair and manages to score in the top corner, making it look easy
The crowd goes wild! Violet celebrates another successful goal by lifting her shirt over her head and spreading her arms out wide
‘I tend to stick my tongue out when I concentrate though, I have a good teacher in my son and grandson.
‘I can’t wait to get back to practice to keep me on my toes – which as you can imagine is difficult in a wheelchair.’
Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker retweeted the clip and said: ‘well played Violet.’
Her son Phil works as a full-time carer for Violet.
He installed the mini football pitch in his back garden so he could train with Kodi and Violet asked if she could join in.
Violet (left) is being cared for full-time by son Phil (middle) and grandson Kodi (right) has been playing football with her
Kodi had a trial with Premier League side Wolves and has been helping his grandmother recover from a broken hip by teaching her football tricks
Phil said: ‘She was heartbroken after what happened with my dad.
‘We found a passion for football in her which came from my boy. We started getting her out in the garden and we both trained her up.
‘The smile was back on her face, she was loving the activity and exercise and created a unbreakable bond between the three of us.
‘It’s amazing to see my mum now get involved in football, in the same way as my dad. She’s so determined and she absolutely loves it.
‘You can see by the massive grin on her face when she nails a trick. She’s got so many different illnesses as well so it really does her good.’
Slow motion: One unfortunate trick goes wrong and heads straight into Violet’s face and there’s no time to react
More practise needed! Violet pretends to be upset in the video after the ball bounced in her face and knocked her glasses
Violet fell out of bed while on holiday in Jamaica and broke her hip and football is part of her rehabilitation.
‘She had major operation and we were using the football to try and build her back up just before the lockdown happened.
‘She was in a home for respite care and physiotherapy but Kodi and I took it on ourselves to get her involved in our football sessions and she just loved it.’
He said: ‘It gets her legs moving and the blood flowing. She is starting to get more shots in than she misses.
The internet star, who was retweeted by Gary Lineker, practises her tricks and skills in her son’s back garden
She’s done it! Violet smiles as she successfully chips the ball over an obstacle and into the waiting net
‘Its brilliant to see, her face just lights up. It’s lovely to watch.’
‘Kodi has had so many opportunities and he’s done amazing – but it seems to be mum who is now stealing the show.’
Kodi also became famous on Facebook after clips were shared of his football skills and he quickly built up 9,000 followers.
The former champion kickboxer even trained with Premier League side Wolves.