My background is in financial services and consulting. I’ve spent the last 15 years sat in an office working at a desk and in meetings. Routine 9-5 stuff. Facing the same problems that everybody in the office faces.
I’d always played sport as a kid and was pretty good at a wide range of sports, but mostly I just enjoyed it. Kicking a football about until it was too dark to see. After school I played in various teams, some more enjoyable than others, but always for fun. Then work began to get more serious and I set up my own business.
Time disappeared and my sporting endeavours slowed down somewhat. I’d worked hard and managed to build a business with employees and began to get more and more stressed. I’d also cultured a spare tyre round my middle. I needed some balance back in life so I picked up my squash racquet and joined the local club.
I loved it. I played social squash. Met some new members (friends) and even played for one of the teams when they were short of a player. It was a great stress release. Great for fitness and very enjoyable. I even began going to the gym to get fitter and ready for the squash court. For the first time in years, I went swimming (not counting slobbing out by the pool on holiday!) for both variety and more fitness. I began to remember how much I enjoyed this stuff when I was younger.
Business was going well so I still didn’t have lots of time and my squash endeavours were taking me away from the family in the evening, but I needed something more. I was a bit fitter, but not much thinner. I began thinking about a career change. I wanted to do something that wasn’t routine. Something out of the confines of the office. Something that I really enjoyed. Something that helped other people. Something that didn’t mean I had to where a suit, tie and uncomfortable shoes every day.
That was when I started looking in to coaching. It ticked so many boxes:
- variety
- working with people
- integrating sport and life… I wanted a fitter lifestyle
- flexibility to help with the school run
- wearing trainers and sports kit instead of suits, ties and tight collars
I’d found it. The nirvana. The holy grail. Google here I come, search term... “I want to be a squash coach.”