Dan sets goal after goal on his way to a career in community sports and wellbeing

: Created: 27 November 2019

It was a decision he wouldn’t regret, despite keeping his options open for further study or even university. And although his first outings into the world of working in the leisure industry didn’t exactly match his desire for meaningful employment, he soon got to find his bearings and realise his aspirations through planning ahead and setting himself a series of goals and targets.

From a young age Dan was interested in sports and excelled at PE in school. He played for their football and rugby teams and was a keen athlete. He knew his future lay in something sports-related but he had no idea what.

“After I enrolled at what was then Orpington College, I started to get a sense of what was possible for me and what types of careers and roles were available,” says Dan. “Whilst studying I managed to get a job as a swimming pool attendant - which was a bit mundane - after completing my lifeguarding training and then achieved a football coaching qualification too. I then gained employment with Charlton Athletic Community Trust as a coach and I was on my way.

“Soon I started working as a Social Inclusion Community Coach working with children and young people at risk of permanent inclusion from school - re-engaging them with their curriculum through sports; particularly football. I fell in love with this job and really felt I was contributing and helping my community. After six months of this, I moved from just coaching the sessions to coordinating and planning, community relations, promoting healthy lifestyles, drug, smoking and alcohol awareness as well as anti-bullying campaigning.

“In 2015, through the skills and experience I had gained over the intervening years, I landed the job of my dreams to become a Sports Development Manager with Peabody based in Thamesmead. In this role I facilitate a range of different sport and fitness activities targeted at various age-groups, demographics and abilities. I work with a newly opened sports centre in the area to increase participation with schools and members of the local community. I and my Sports Development team help to support teachers and develop PE lessons to be more inclusive and engaging, and I am currently involved in a 30-year-long regeneration project of Thamesmead to ensure sports and physical activity is embedded and implemented in all areas of town and social planning.

“I’m almost five years into this role and each day I either achieve or learn something new and that is what gives me job satisfaction. Working with people is great and seeing those people who had previously very little in the way of healthy living benefits, people such as young mums, older men and women are now taking advantage of low-cost physical classes and workshops that improve their quality of life immensely - that makes me feel good too.

“The future for me sees me continuing in this role and maybe looking to gain more qualifications if I want to climb the ladder further. Coming to this College got me started and gave me options, flexibility and balance. I had great teachers who were passionate about helping us all progress and become unafraid to try different things, ask questions and make things happen - for both ourselves and others. I have gone on to work abroad in Spain and South Africa as a coach and engage other young people in the way I was myself. Education and training does all of this for you; it enables you and equips you with just about everything you need to succeed.”

London South East Colleges has campuses across Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich. It provides vocational education and training, apprenticeships and traineeships, professional courses and degree programmes. The College is a member of the London and South East Education Group consisting of two academy trusts providing both alternative and mainstream secondary provision throughout Bromley and Bexley. Recently, London South East Colleges has been named as a winner of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its pioneering provision of high quality technical and vocational education. Please click here to read more.