My son has always been a real dreamer. His school reports for anything classroom-orientated (which, of course was almost everything) constantly criticised him for this. On the other hand his PE teachers could never praise him enough and called him a livewire on the sports field. His dad, of course, was very proud of that, but I worried endlessly. And I was the one who had to sit for hours with him ensuring each piece of homework was done. The only essay he ever enjoyed writing was about his future dreams: he dreamed of being an Olympic gold medallist.
Sadly, however, his dreams came to nothing when he was in a serious accident at the age of fifteen and broke his leg in several places. He was lucky to have escaped with his life. Fortunately he had an excellent physiotherapist who motivated and inspired him. He also had a great deal of courage and determination.
We gave him all the support we could and he eventually came to terms with the fact that his dreams would never be realised. However his love of sport did not diminish. He continued to do well in sports days, matches and tournaments but the accolades went elsewhere. Not being an academic high flyer, his teachers suggested vocational courses instead of A levels and the careers officer began looking into training courses for gym instructors in local sports clubs.
One thing we all knew was that any kind of sedentary work was out of the question. At eighteen, the future was not looking very rosy and with so few openings, he began to feel quite depressed. When a neighbour suggested he become a personal trainer, it was as if we had been thrown a life-line.
Three months later he began the course and loved it from day one. He said he felt like he was university, surrounded by people who all shared the same interests; no time-wasters, like at school. I can't pretend to understand half of what the course was about, but I know it covered all aspects of health and fitness with things like nutrition, weight management, back care and correct posture etc in modules like biomechanics and the physiology of exercise. He would come home at weekends and talk non-stop about it all.
What he liked best was that he was not stuck in a classroom all the time, but spent most of his day in the gym learning in a practical way. After a few weeks he started to practise with real clients in the regular PT clinics, which acted as a taster of what he could expect in the future. His communication skills improved radically, as did his confidence.
The course was about five or six weeks long and by the end of it he seemed to have a realistic view of where it could lead him. We assumed he would become a gym instructor, but he had other ideas. He found part-time work in a fitness studio in town and also acquired a couple of regular clients in their own homes as he wanted to maintain a degree of independence and build a name for himself.
He is now in much more demand as word spreads very quickly when you are successful. He even does sessions with the local football club (third division, but doing extremely well this season). I'm delighted that he has turned out to have such a good business head and that he is feels happy and fulfilled. What more can a parent ask for?
Sadly, however, his dreams came to nothing when he was in a serious accident at the age of fifteen and broke his leg in several places. He was lucky to have escaped with his life. Fortunately he had an excellent physiotherapist who motivated and inspired him. He also had a great deal of courage and determination.
We gave him all the support we could and he eventually came to terms with the fact that his dreams would never be realised. However his love of sport did not diminish. He continued to do well in sports days, matches and tournaments but the accolades went elsewhere. Not being an academic high flyer, his teachers suggested vocational courses instead of A levels and the careers officer began looking into training courses for gym instructors in local sports clubs.
One thing we all knew was that any kind of sedentary work was out of the question. At eighteen, the future was not looking very rosy and with so few openings, he began to feel quite depressed. When a neighbour suggested he become a personal trainer, it was as if we had been thrown a life-line.
Three months later he began the course and loved it from day one. He said he felt like he was university, surrounded by people who all shared the same interests; no time-wasters, like at school. I can't pretend to understand half of what the course was about, but I know it covered all aspects of health and fitness with things like nutrition, weight management, back care and correct posture etc in modules like biomechanics and the physiology of exercise. He would come home at weekends and talk non-stop about it all.
What he liked best was that he was not stuck in a classroom all the time, but spent most of his day in the gym learning in a practical way. After a few weeks he started to practise with real clients in the regular PT clinics, which acted as a taster of what he could expect in the future. His communication skills improved radically, as did his confidence.
The course was about five or six weeks long and by the end of it he seemed to have a realistic view of where it could lead him. We assumed he would become a gym instructor, but he had other ideas. He found part-time work in a fitness studio in town and also acquired a couple of regular clients in their own homes as he wanted to maintain a degree of independence and build a name for himself.
He is now in much more demand as word spreads very quickly when you are successful. He even does sessions with the local football club (third division, but doing extremely well this season). I'm delighted that he has turned out to have such a good business head and that he is feels happy and fulfilled. What more can a parent ask for?
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