will’s - story
Before I started the programme, life wasn’t the best. I had a few issues before I joined the programme. I was battling with my weight – I was overweight, I did a lot of binge eating which wasn’t healthy at all and I wasn’t in a good place, it really wasn’t where I wanted to be. Because of this I really wasn’t doing any activity, pretty much walking around the house was all the exercise I did.
I didn’t really know how Get on Track would be able to help me when I first started it. I was a bit hesitant but decided to give it a go and see how it went. At first, I thought, “who is this guy?” when I met my athlete mentor James Kirton, but I soon realised he is a really good guy, very down to earth, friendly and easy to talk to. He has been concerned about me over the weeks and months we’ve been working together, and it’s been great to have James as a consistent presence, supporting and backing me and helping me to keep the right mindset.
My favourite bits of the programme were where we had guest speakers come and talk to us who had been through similar experiences to me. This really helped me to stay positive, stay on track and push myself in the right direction. Normally I’m not good with meeting new people so at first, I wasn’t sure when we had other people join us, but getting to know their stories and situations, really helped me begin to understand my situation more and I found it easier to talk and to ask them questions.
The one to ones over the course of the programme have been great, just having that contact outside of the group sessions with James has been really useful for me.
Over the year, my communication skills have definitely improved. Previously I only spoke to a few family members, but Get on Track has really broadened my mindset and helped me to speak to more people. This improved my ability to communicate and has helped me find new jobs over the last year and helped me get back in touch with old friends, it’s helped massively.
Life is a lot better now. I really feel like my health and wellbeing has improved over the course of the programme, I exercise more, I eat better and have a better mindset these days on everything. I’ve lost more than two stone over the course of the programme and would like to lose more.
I do a lot more exercise and I’ve joined Slimming World which is proving really supportive. I have groups to chat to and get support from. A year or eighteen months ago I was properly unfit and my mobility was shocking. It would take me twenty or thirty minutes to walk into town, a journey which really should only take about five or ten minutes. But nowadays I take my dog out for three or four mile walks every day and if I haven’t got the dog then I go out for even longer walks by myself. This has been great to help me stay stable and focussed and when I put my music on, I can ensure I’m not focussing on things I don’t want to be thinking about. I’ve even braved the bike again recently and although I prefer walking I recently did a 22-mile ride which I was really proud of.
I’m back volunteering in the British Heart Foundation shop which really helps with the daily routine. I’m also back gardening which I find really therapeutic and helps me to think about things going on in my life. Keeping active and busy really helps me with the mental health side of things.
I’ve also got back into my music more recently, I feel like if I put my headphones on and listen to music it’s my safe place in life.
My mental and physical health is in a lot better place than it was eighteen months ago and overall, I can look after myself a lot better now. There are still things I’m working on but I’m definitely in a better place than I was before I started Get on Track. I’m clearer now in what I want to do and I’m looking forward to working towards becoming a music teacher or teaching assistant
I would highly recommend this programme. It’s not just because of the friendly people involved but it really can help people progress and resolve any ongoing issues they might have.
Will 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. We'd like to say thank you to North Yorkshire Sport for their support in delivering this programme.