TJ's - Story
Before Get on Track started, I would stay at home, I didn’t have anywhere to go. I had lots of anxiety about leaving the house. I couldn’t really have a conversation with someone I didn’t know and so because of this I didn’t really speak to anyone.
Because of this, I wasn’t really doing any activity. Just before I started this programme I found out about Mencap who have a centre, so I would go to there and play on the Wii or play a bit of pool. It was here I was told about the Get on Track programme and I was keen to start.
Doing the programme really got me doing lots of different activities. We did free running, skating at Rampworx, football, gym work and went to Henry’s Ninja Warrior Gym. My favourite thing was doing the free running as they have a bouncy floor and you can just throw yourself around, it’s like there are no rules - well only a few rules!
“TJ was extremely isolated before starting Get on Track, he suffers from bad social anxiety and depression and very rarely left the house. Since being on the programme, he’s a completely different person. He’s come out of his shell, is way more active and is now one of the biggest characters in the group. ”
Henry Cookey, athlete mentor
I usually don’t get on within groups of people but in this group, it’s been great, everyone’s really chilled and supportive of each other.
Working with Henry and Neil (athlete mentors) has been amazing and what made me want to stay on the programme. They know how to talk to you and make you want to talk back, they know the right thing to say. They passed on skills, but a lot of it was just about get up and go. They said whatever challenge you face, just go for it, try it, and learn from it.
The course has been better than I thought it was going to be, I really thought I’d give up after first couple of weeks.
Now that the course is coming to an end, I’m hoping to get fitter, stay healthy and get more active. I play football twice a week with the Mencap group, and I walk everywhere now, I really want to start going to the gym when I get a bit more confident, that is the plan. I have an activity tracker now to track my steps. As well as all that I want to hopefully get into volunteering and then get a job.
Thanks to Neil & Henry, I have built my confidence so much. Previously I would only say hello to people, but now I am speaking and having conversations with people I don’t know and attending lots of different sessions. I really look forward to anything I have to attend that week. I feel like have found my voice.
For example, the other week I got called to play football last minute, previously I would have said no and made excuses, but I got up and went without thinking about it.
TJ attended the Get on Track for Wellbeing programme in Liverpool. 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.