Foundation Development Officer, James Collins-Clark, has written about how he has found returning to normal and getting our Rugby HUBs back up and running!
During this difficult period, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how I can improve the impact my role has within The Harlequins Foundation.
I managed to completed several courses, one of which was to become a Level 3 mentor, through Youth Sports Trust ,which will allow me to help mentor our youth in our local communities and help them achieve what they set out to achieve.
Although a period of learning and reflection has been very useful, I’m delighted to be back up and running.
I have had many interactions with our Foundation HUB participants and their families seeing how they have been coping during this difficult time and some have been coping better than others.
We as The Harlequins Foundation, with the help of London Sport, decided to (virtually) re-open our very successful Rugby HUBs . It has been fantastic to have so many of the young people and their families join in on the HUBs which went live on the 15th June.
Leading the activities for the young people on the virtual HUB sessions has been my colleague Hollie Smith who is our Wellbeing Coach.
As a qualified personal trainer, amongst many other qualifications, she has been putting our young people through their paces.
Hollie Smith, Wellbeing Coach, said:
“It has been amazing to be able to reach so many kids (and parents!) during this difficult time. Exercise is not only essential for our physical health but benefits our mental health hugely!
“To have the ability to deliver sessions that are engaging and fun for the kids, where they can still chat to each other and provide their bodies and minds with some needed activity is something I am really proud to be able to play a role in.”
Here’s some of the positive feedback we have received from parents:
“Jaime and Caitlin both enjoyed themselves, I even joined it for a bit too. They found it a bit tough but are looking forward to trying to beat their scores next week. The girls would definitely recommend it to a friend.”
“Once again thank you so much for setting this all up. Not only do I think it’s great for the kids to have some physical activity after these months of lockdown but I really do think it will have a much-needed positive effect on their mental wellbeing as well.”
Its been amazing to see so many of our HUB participants really get involved and to get loads of positive feedback. It’s a great feeling to be back!