Case studies
Danny Baker
Before I got involved with YourStory I didn’t really know what I wanted to do - I was just floating around taking what life gave me. I knew I always wanted to be involved with sports, whether it was coaching, playing or simply just watching it.
It took a good friend of mine, Rachael, to tell me about YourStory. She had been involved with them as a team leader for The Princes Trust and she had sent some of her students to them and had a lot of success. She knew I wanted to get involved with coaching of some kind so she passed my name on to Andy and within weeks I was sitting in Clapham at a desk in the YourStory office! I was interviewed by Adrian and he asked me where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do with my life.
Within a few weeks I found myself coaching tennis and basketball for YourStory. It was then I knew that this is what I love and what I do well. To this day I continue to learn more and more about myself and the people around me.
YourStory has helped me so much by giving me a chance and I am forever grateful to the lads for giving me a start and believing in me. Adrian, Andy and Darren continue to want the best for me, both as a team mate and a friend.
I am now YourStory’s head coach and that’s within 18 months! My job requires me to help with the running of all YourAfterschool clubs and the Schools Re-engagement Programme in which I teach young people how to become a qualified sports leader or a community sports leader, as well as supporting the tutors with personal development workshops and mentoring.
In the future I will continue to do what I am doing now, learning and improving as I move forward with my life. I find it such a rewarding job - everyday brings a different challenge. I am pleased to say that I love what I do and I know that not many people can say that about their job!!!!