Streetsport & Bon Accord Rotary Club partner up for RYLA

Enthusiastic young participants who attend Streetsport sessions are often grateful beneficiaries of a sponsored place in RYLA’s annual adventures through the Bon Accord Rotary Club in Aberdeen.

RYLA, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, is a leadership development programme run by Rotary for young adults. The aim is to help youngsters discover their potential and develop the skills needed to be a leader in their community, career and everyday life.

Last year saw Jordan, who attended Northfield Academy, attend the RYLA programme at the Abernethy Trust Centre in Nethybridge, just a few miles from Aviemore.

Shortly after his time away he spoke about how much the programme enhanced his leadership and coaching skills through a short Q&A.

What was the most challenging aspect of RYLA?

“Only really when I was first arriving and being nervous. Although I was more confident and outgoing by the end”.

An experience where you took the lead?

“This was great. We went biking the whole day and then went to a lake to build a raft by getting different parts from different areas. The raft fell to pieces but it was great and we ended up swimming. Me and one of the co-leaders were collecting everything as everyone else was stranded!”

How has it helped you for the future?

“I now teach handball in PE 3x a week after helping out to start with and then asking to teach. I’m also much more chilled out, much more in control and I know what to do. I’ve built up relationships with the mentors who all said they were really proud of how I was doing.

“I enjoyed RYLA very much. It was a great time and I made a lot of new friends there. It’s really benefited me with what I’m doing now.

“Thank you very much for the experience, I loved every part of it!”

Stay tuned for news about the latest Streetsport participant who is due to attend RYLA later this year. Thank you to the Bon Accord Rotary Club for their support and continued partnership.