David Garside - Derby College
17-year-old David Garside is currently studying for a BTEC National Diploma in Sport, and spends much of his spare time involved in sport too.
For the past few months he has been proactively volunteering with a number of local clubs, and has so far logged more than 70 hours with Derbyshire Sport’s Leadership Academy by volunteering during evenings, weekends and school holidays.
One group David has been involved in is a multi-skills club held at Derby College, which gives children aged between four and 14 from the Mackworth area the chance to try out various different sports.
He has also spent time as a volunteer coach at Normanton All Stars Football Club, and as well as coaching has also helped out as a referee and in an organisational role at events such as the recent Mini Soccer League Awards presentation.
Much of his volunteering work has been organised through Derby College, but he also finds out about opportunities by using the Internet and websites such as the Leadership Academy website, as well as by word of mouth.
David said: “I had always wanted to volunteer but had never known how to before so I jumped at the opportunity.
“I get a sense of satisfaction from having done something of benefit to people such as coaching. People did it for me when I was younger and I see no reason why I shouldn’t be able to.”
He added: “I like staying active and it’s always good to interact and be around young people. I always like to have a chat with whoever I’m coaching and get to know them. When the children are new they are often quite nervous, so I try to get them laughing and then they’re alright.
“I like to get involved in sport as much as possible. At the moment it is just a hobby – after college I want to be a Royal Marine, but once I come out of the Marines I would definitely like a job in sport or the leisure industry.”