Community Activator Coach

After finishing school, Max left it too late to start looking at sixth forms and colleges; a route he thought he’d have to take to be successful. Once too much time had passed, he was stuck for opportunities… until Coach Core kickstarted his career.

Having been involved at the gymnastics club already and with a love for the sport, he applied for the apprenticeship at South Essex Gymnastics Club.

Teaching some of the harder skills, especially to kids that didn't think they could ever do something like that and seeing their bright smiles, it's just something different.

When we first met with Max, he remarked on how the children he worked with wanted to grow up and be like him.

Additionally, Max was able to throw himself into all sides of the apprenticeship and tried out other sports too. One of the reasons we regard him so highly is for his ability to look further than coaching and work on other issues within sport, such as his dedication to learning about the mistreatment of athletes and pledge to make his coaching sessions a safe place for all.

It was nice to be in a sports environment and still get an education.

Max plans to stay in coaching for a little while longer but is now set to use his skills and qualification for any professional next step. He has dreams to specialise on focusing on mental-health within sport in the future.