Above anything else, sport was always my passion whilst at Friesland. Having played football for the school team, Derbyshire Schools and Derby County Academy, I knew I wanted to be involved in sport as a career but the options always seemed limited. When I was released from the academy in Year 11, I had to face the reality that professional football wouldn’t be an option for me and had to change my plan.
I had some fantastic advice from the Sixth Form staff, my Form Tutor and my parents. After some time spent doing work experience, I decided Physiotherapy would be a great option for me to tie in my interest with Biology, Science and Sport. I achieved A*,A,B in my A levels and I studied Physio at Brunel University London, training in the London teaching hospitals as part of my degree. I worked initially across Derbyshire before moving to Brighton, gaining some experience working in the NHS on the south coast. I continued to do some voluntary work at the London and Brighton marathons and a small amount of private work. In 2019, I decided I wanted to travel and experience life abroad. When I set out to be a Physio, I had never realised how sought after the skillset was abroad and after weighing up options in Canada and New Zealand, myself and my girlfriend decided New Zealand would be the way to go.
After 3 months spent travelling the country, I began working in a private clinic in Tauranga and worked up to a senior clinical role over an 18-month period. Nine months ago I was appointed Lead Physiotherapist for Bay of Plenty Cricket, gaining the opportunity to work with representative, first class, international standard cricketers. As well as working closely with the senior Bay of Plenty teams and local cricket academies, I have had the opportunity to treat international standard triathletes, hockey players and of course football players. I am now studying towards my Masters degree in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy at Auckland University whilst we live beachside in beautiful Mount Maunganui.
It was a lot of hard work to get to this point. Learning to be adaptable and solution-oriented has been so important and was a valuable lesson learned at Friesland and one I’m still learning now. I love my job and I am extremely excited to see where the path will lead to next.
