Career Turnaround for RAF Father of Two - 20th Jun 2011
A father-of-two who spent most of his working life in the RAF has decided to make sport his business in a bid to inspire today’s children with a passion for fitness.
Duncan Donnelly, 48, has taken the plunge and turned his passion for sport into a career by taking on his own business under the wing of the UK’s biggest coaching company, Premier Sport – and will now offer free sports taster days to schools across the region.
Premier Sport is dedicated to developing innovative sports coaching which will help children to live a healthy, fit life, and successfully delivers coaching to more than 150,000 children every week.
The company is backed by big-named sporting ambassadors including rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio, Olympic gold medallist Duncan Goodhew and former rugby league champion Paul Sculthorpe.
Duncan, from Jarrow in Tyne and Wear, spent 16 years with the RAF before running his own contract cleaning franchise for nine years.
Now he will be covering areas including Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Boldon, Seaham, Peterlee, Durham and Chester Le Street, offering PE coaching both in and out of school hours as well as holiday camps, breakfast, lunch and after school clubs with his team of coaches in up to 21 different sports under the Premier Sport umbrella.
The keen sportsman, who has played basketball, football and cricket for the RAF, already has experience of coaching football and goalkeeping to non-league clubs and juniors.
The move to set up his own business with Premier represents a huge career change and he has undergone intensive coaching training in Basketball, Gymnastics, Athletics, Cricket, and Racket Sports.
Duncan has already been booked to deliver PE curriculum cover for a day a week at Dunston Riverside Primary in Gateshead, as well as delivering a selection of funded days of sport at schools across the region.
“I want to combine my business experience with the huge passion that i have for coaching and sport. I think it is hugely important to get kids involved in sport, so they develop an active lifestyle in their formative years. Kids of all abilities can enjoy an active lifestyle through the range of sports and activities that Premier Sport can provide.”
(Duncan Donnelly)