Frosty's - Story
Before Get on Track started, I wasn’t really doing much at all, this opportunity came up and I thought it was too good to turn down. I decided to sign up because it was something I’d never done before – knowing that I would have to speak to a bunch of people I’d never met before seemed like a big stepping stone for me if I could do it. I originally just accepted the opportunity just to get up and do something but then it became something I was looking forward to weekly.
At the start I was nervous as hell. I wouldn’t turn my camera on, and I wouldn’t talk at all. It probably took me about four or so weeks to feel comfortable to talk and another couple of weeks to turn my camera on. I felt nervous to start with, worried people would judge me, but I realised people wouldn’t judge me as time went on and that’s when I felt more comfortable.
In terms of activity, we’ve done a bit of everything on the programme, we’ve done lots of yoga for one thing. We’ve had other athletes come on and do sessions. I really enjoyed doing taekwondo with Henry Cookey and it’s been good to meet Chris Elliott, Jenna Downing and loads of other athlete mentors over the last few months.
Before I started Get on Track I used to dip in and out of personal training but that was about it. I walk a lot more now than I used to, so I feel more active than I was before.
The course has been amazing! It’s really helped with my confidence, helped me understand myself a bit more and understanding there’s good and bad in everything.
My athlete mentor David Hill has been brilliant. He’s been understanding, he’s pushed me out of my comfort zone but never panicked me. He’s been really supportive of everything. He taught me how to push back at myself and how to notice and use physical triggers. He got me thinking about having a physical trigger to do when I’m feeling down to try and help me find that good emotion. I always used to look at the negative side of things, Dave has helped me to understand there are good parts to me as well, I might need to dig a bit, but they are there!
“It really gives me energy as mentor when I see how the programme has changed Frosty’s life. I really look forward to connecting with him session after session to see how he has implemented the learning from the previous session. Frosty is graduating from the programme in a much better place; with renewed confidence and people skills, and motivation to further his learning.”
David Hill, athlete mentor
Now the programme is coming to an end, I’m looking at college courses to go onto to learn more about accounting as I’ve always wanted to be an accountant. The programme has given me more confidence around talking to other people, particularly on a video call. And it’s given me a LOT of confidence to do things I wouldn’t have been able to do before.
Overall Get on Track has helped me a lot with my mental wellbeing and I feel it’s given me a platform to move on from for the future. One really positive outcome is that I’ve been spending more time with my family, I always stayed in my room before, but it’s given me confidence to spend time with them and now I spend at least a couple of hours a day with my family.
Frosty attended the Get on Track for Wellbeing programme virtually. 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. Participants on this virtual programme have all been referred by the DWP and the programme was run in partnership with Swale Leisure.