Youngsters from the academy took part in a session aimed at helping them protect themselves following a recent incident which saw two of them robbed of personal possessions following a confrontation.
The session took place at Unit1 Fitness & Martial Arts‘ Brimington Road base, delivered by award-winning coach Dave Cartawick.
Dave, who does much to support the academy, explained: “I took them through some basics of self-awareness and self-defence. Self-awareness is about not getting into a confrontational situation. Try not to be the one who is going to be mugged, picked on, bullied or whatever.
“Self-defence covers some basic principles to put into place if you do find yourself in a confrontational situation.
“Youngsters are going to get in situations when they go out into the wider world. Hopefully some parts of the session will lock in their minds and help them if they are in danger.”
Academy manager Neil Cluxton felt that the training was of great benefit to the youngsters. He said: “Dave did a really good job, not only on the practical side but also talking through the incident and the thought process, advising them how to react and keep calm as much as possible.
“It’s a protective measure in the event of any of them finding themselves in a similar situation in the future and I think it gives the boys some confidence.
“We’re not actively encouraging the boys to be violent at all but it will help them if there is a situation where they do need to protect themselves as much as anything.
“The lads really responded to it well, including the lads who were involved in the incident. We’ve had a good chat with them and the club has been very supportive of them.”
Neil expressed his gratitude to Dave for his ongoing support, adding: “Whenever I get in touch with Dave, he’s more than willing to put these sessions on, giving up his time to help our young footballers, which is very much appreciated.”
To find out more about Unit1 Fitness & Martial Arts, please visit https://unit1.co.
