A Storey of success
Released: Wednesday 11th July 2012 at 09:11
FOOTBALL coach Nicholas Storey is celebrating a hat-trick of success today at the Stadium of Light.
Not only is the 21-year-old graduating with first-class honours in BSc Sports Coaching from the University of Sunderland, but he’s also been honoured with a prestigious award for his community work and efforts by academic staff.
And to top it all, the 21-year-old will play a part in the 2012 Olympics, after being selected as a Volunteer Games Maker, one of 70,000 volunteers chosen out of over 250,000 applications.
Nicholas, from Newbiggin, Northumberland, said: “Studying my Sports Coaching Degree at Sunderland has been without doubt the best time of my life so far.
“All the extra hours of study I dedicated this year, giving up playing football and going out with friends, have certainly been worth the sacrifice, having achieved a First – I still can’t quite believe it!
“I really believe you never stop learning and can’t praise the lecturers enough for all their support, they have become huge role models to me and really shaped the person I believe I have become, I’m now much more of a critical thinker.
“One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard was ‘You don’t need to be great to start, but you need to start to be great’.
He added: “This has been quite a week for me, and it gets even better on Monday when I start my duties as a Volunteer Games Maker, it’s incredibly exciting and a huge honour.”
Nick has been on quite a journey to accomplish his degree, developing his coaching skills across the country and becoming the first man from Northumberland to progress through three successive years of FA coaching.
It began in 2008 when he was chosen to take part in the FA Leadership & Volunteering camp and selected to represent the FA in South Africa coaching children with HIV and Aids.
This project is aimed at changing the lives of children through football. Through his involvement with the FA, he was awarded a national coaching scholarship which helped to fund a football coaching award – The Football Futures Programme - which he graduated with from Wembley in 2011.
Nicholas has also coached the sixth-form football development team at Ashington High School during 2010/11, and during the summer of 2011 coached football for six weeks in Hawaii and California for the UK International Soccer Camps, organised by the FA.
He said: “During my time as a student I have been fortunate enough to spend time with two sensational PE departments at Ashington High School and Churchill Community College, which enabled me to see what it is really like in the world of a PE teacher. As well as coaching football, I have also coached athletics, dodgeball, gym, tennis and netball.
“Sports coaching for children is fascinating, and has given me a desire to pursue a career in physical education, to give all students an equal opportunity to develop as young people and to make a difference to their lives through sport.”
In recognition of his relentless efforts to improve his academic and coaching skills, the university’s Faculty of Applied Sciences has awarded him the Human Kinetics Award (£50) for 'Outstanding Endeavour & Community Involvement' across all sports programmes.
Claire Donohue, Programme Leader for BSc Sports Coaching said: “Nick has been presented with this award due to his continued academic effort and community involvement throughout his time at University.”
Nicholas will begin a PGCE later this year, a teaching qualification his lecturers have no doubt he’ll reach his goal!