We have three sons who could not be more different. The youngest is extremely studious and a potential Oxbridge candidate according to his teachers; the oldest is ruled by music, which he studied at university, and is determined to be a successful musician while the one in the middle lived and dreamed only about sport and was completely devoid of academic ambition. Needless to say, we worried most about him.
Being a real tomboy, he was also accident-prone and we used to spend many worrying hours in Casualty while doctors and nurses patched him up. It was during one of these visits that he was discovered to have a rare knee condition, which probably accounted for his constant falls. After exhaustive investigation and numerous failed treatments, we had to accept that whilst he could be good at sports, he would never achieve the level of fitness required for a sporting career.
From that time on his dream of being a professional sportsman ended, but his enthusiasm for sports did not. He was still one of the school’s star players, but he realised that was the best he could hope for.Not to be defeated, he began to apply himself to his schoolwork. He thought that if he couldn’t play sports professionally, the next best thing would be to become a sports journalist. To that end, he agreed to stay on to do A levels, but he found it tough and that was as far as he would take the academic life.
With university out of the question, we looked for vocational courses that might suit him as his qualifications were not about to open many doors in industry. The prospect of working in an office of any description filled him with horror and there seemed to be little else available. Then one of the physios we had met at the hospital and who had become a personal friend suggested he might become a personal trainer.
Three months later he began the course and loved it from day one. He said he felt like he was university, surrounded by people who all shared the same interests; no time-wasters, like at school. I can’t pretend to understand half of what the course was about, but I know it covered all aspects of health and fitness with things like nutrition, weight management, back care and correct posture etc in modules like biomechanics and the physiology of exercise. He would come home at weekends and talk non-stop about it all.
Being a practical course there was more first-hand experience and less about hours of reading, studying and essay writing. That meant most of his day was spent in the gym, not in a classroom. He also got to practise on members of the public in specially run workshops or clinics, which was an experience he particularly enjoyed. It helped him to develop his communication skills and boost his confidence.
The course was about five or six weeks long and by the end of it he seemed to have a realistic view of where it could lead him. We assumed he would become a gym instructor, but he had other ideas. He found part-time work in a fitness studio in town and also acquired a couple of regular clients in their own homes as he wanted to maintain a degree of independence and build a name for himself.
In no time at all he had picked up one or two private clients and he soon began to establish a reputation for himself. He thinks he is so much more fortunate than his school friends who are stacking up monumental student loans at university and many of whom have uncertain career prospects, while he is now saving to get married in a couple of years. He tells everyone he has the dream job. It’s funny the way things turn out sometimes.
Want to find out more about courses in fitness, then visit John Gray’s site on how to choose the best fitness course for your needs.