Courtney’s - Story
I started the Get on Track programme in March last year. Previously I had done some bar work and worked in a café but I had been unemployed since December last year. I found out about the course at the job centre and decided to give it a go as I needed to get a job and also get a bit more active.
Before starting on the programme, I wasn’t doing a huge amount of activity. Mostly I was doing volunteer work with at my local church, so I was walking 20 mins each way, doing kids clubs and holiday club but I didn’t have a lot of time to do other activity, just sometimes walking the dog. I used to do a lot of dancing as that was what I did at college but it’s hard to do that now.
We did lots of activities throughout the programme such as obstacle courses and things like that. I learnt to shoot a basketball for the first time which was great! I remember the start of the programme when we did lots of little activities, as a group we all still laugh about doing Jenga reach so many times and still struggling to get to the point we were supposed to!
Working with the athletes has been great. They’re just normal people like you and me but Claire’s determination was a really inspiring thing for me. She’s really caring, a few of the challenges we did were tough physically and mentally but whenever anyone was ever upset, she’d always be there to make sure people are ok. She’s assertive, positive and she knows where she’s going, she’s definitely inspired me.
“Courtney has grown so much in confidence on this programme. She now has a job and is much more physically active now than she was a year ago before she joined Get on Track. She has shown courage, resilience, motivation, work ethic and a real commitment to achieve her goals. I have no doubt she will go on to achieve all of her goals and I am excited to follow her progress.
Well done Courtney, you are a super star! ”
Claire Bennett, athlete mentor
Overall Get on Track has really helped me. I took on a leadership role which I haven’t had a chance to do before which has really helped my confidence and helped me understand leadership. I certainly gained more patience, and I’ve learned how to handle when things go wrong – just remember to breathe, things are ok. I started a new job in August and at times it’s been hard but the confidence I’ve gained from Get on Track has really helped me in dealing with situations that I wouldn’t have coped with as well before.
In terms of activity, I now have gym membership and go with a group of friends – we go at least once a week. More people are going now because we do it as part of a group, we all encourage each other to come along. Unfortunately, I’m not dancing much these days because I can’t really travel or afford to travel and it’s hard to find classes to do as a 19-year-old. Hopefully in future I would like to do dance again as a hobby.
Courtney attended the Get on Track for Wellbeing programme in Folkestone in partnership with Swale Leisure. Thanks to funding from Sport England, we are working with 700 young people in coastal communities all across England to help them become more active.