AT OnSide Warrington Youth Club we have more than 4,300 members aged seven to 19, or up to 25 for disabled young people from across Warrington, this is an example of how we have an impact on their lives.

Mike Toole, 17, was a pupil at University Academy High School in Padgate and has regularly accessed the OnSide Warrington Youth Club gym over the past three years.

He enjoyed fitness and was studying a sports leader course in his last couple of years at school.

Mike showed promise even at this early stage of being an enthusiastic and motivated leader and regularly ran fitness sessions and trained his friends when they came to use the gym.

The sports leader course ran by Nick Neill, who also runs the gym for OnSide Warrington Youth Club, gave Mike a knowledge and passion for sports and fitness and planted the seed to following this as a career.

In October 2016 Mike took the step towards becoming a fitness professional and took part in a level two fitness instructor course delivered by the staff team at OnSide Warrington Youth Club.

This course offered Mike the opportunity to develop and learn in more detail what a career in the fitness industry was about.

He excelled in his learning and was put on a work placement at youth club’s gym under the supervision of Nick and the team.

He showed great potential and was a conscientious and reliable member of the team for the duration of his placement.

He went above and beyond with his placement hours which led to him being offered a Saturday job as a support worker in the gym and then becoming a fully qualified and paid member of the team.

Since his employment Mike has been placed on a traineeship for a level three personal training course which means he can become a self-employed personal trainer or a develop into a senior member of the gym team over a period of time.

Mike also applied for two roles within OnSide Warrington Youth Club and was successful with both; he now has a major part to play in delivering health, sports and fitness to the young people of Warrington.

Mike has achieved so much at such a young age with the support from OnSide Warrington Youth Club and we are confident that he will continue to flourish and excel within this environment and his path in his chosen career will be a fruitful and enjoyable one.