Half-term sporting success delivered by parish council and charity teamwork

Haydon Wick Council and charity BEST – ‘Be A Better You’ hosted two successful sport and activity sessions for local children this February semester.

The local council said it saw a record number of participants, with over 40 children benefiting from the event.

Best – Be A Better You is a charity dedicated to providing children and young people with personalized mentoring programs and positive enrichment activities. Haydon Wick Council have been working with BEST for over two years and each session is always very popular during the school holidays.

The first of this February’s session activities included contactless boxing, team games and soccer taster sessions for young people aged 5-12.

A spokesman for the local council said: “Boxing is always very popular and all participants love to try it.

One parent of one participating child said, “My kids really enjoy these sessions and they really help me as a single parent.”

One of the young people present said: “I really hope that we can get there in the summer like last year, we love it!”

The second session was new to both Haydon Wick Council and BEST as it was aimed exclusively at 13-16 year olds.

Young people were given the opportunity to try a new discipline, such as boxing and circuit training. Both Council and BEST recognize that it can be very difficult for young people – especially teenagers – to express themselves positively.

The activities proved to be great for stress management and self-control. BEST’s programs also help build self-confidence and emotional resilience, which helps young people move toward a positive future.

Participants said they thoroughly enjoyed the activities at the session, including tire changes, boxing and a tug-of-war between the local council and the police team versus the youth team.

The community council added that it is very important for youth in the community to recognize supportive and kind adults in the community as it helps break down communication barriers.

Craig Hiscock, Operations Manager at BEST, said: “We are very happy to work with Haydon Wick Council. There are great facilities and we always manage to reach many young people from this community. This semester we wanted to do targeted work with 13-16 year olds in a box-bootcamp style.

“We spoke about the recent tragic event in the parish and asked the young people what kind of help and services they thought the young people of Haydon Wick would benefit from in the future.”

Cllr R Ross, Chair of the Community Development Committee, said: “We are delighted to have been able to work with BEST to deliver both of these programmes, both of which have provided a wonderful opportunity for local children of all ages to have fun, socialize and experience a new activity.

“What really impressed me is the fantastic commitment and team spirit of the children who took part and more importantly, they looked like they were having a great time!”