Fitmums & Friends: Can you tell us a little bit about you? How old you are, about your family, what you love doing, and then a little bit about your situation.

Junior athlete: I am 13 years old (nearly 14!!) and have a younger sister who is 10 years old. Apart from my athletics, I […] love baking and spending time looking after my pet cat.

I suffer a lot with anxiety which has gradually got worse over the last few years. As a result, I really struggle with being near groups of people and loud noises, and this has stopped me doing a lot of the things that I would like to do. Finding athletics through Fitmums & Friends has really helped me more than I thought it would. It has improved my confidence a little and has given me an activity I really enjoy to focus my thoughts on and is something I look forward to each week. Although I still get anxious each week when I go, this is gradually reducing as time goes on. By going to athletics not only am I doing something I enjoy and makes me happy, it is also helping me to face being with groups of people and louder noises which I would normally try and avoid.

What worried you (or still worries you) about coming to a session? What are the barriers that make it hard to join in? What makes it difficult?

What worried me, and still does actually, is the initial walking through the doors into the sports hall. The coaches and leaders have helped me a lot with this with me walking in with them. Once I am inside, I do not feel as bad. I take part in most activities but where I find it a little difficult is those activities where you are very close to a lot of people.

What has helped you to be able to attend the sessions?

The coaches and leaders are very kind, helpful and welcoming. There is no pressure to take part. The fact that everyone there is so friendly really helps.

What do you enjoy about the sessions? What are your favourite bits? How does it make you feel afterwards? Do you feel different – happier, less anxious, fitter, tired!?

Every activity is fun and enjoyable. My favourite part of the session is the relay at the end. I enjoy competing and like to challenge myself. I feel a lot happier in myself when I am in the sessions and can feel myself calming down a little as the session goes on. I come out of the session a little less anxious than when I went in.

What difference has it made to you/your life by attending sessions? What has been the effect on you/your family? How has it made you feel?

The sessions each week have made a big difference to me. They give me something that I really enjoy doing to focus on and look forward to. My family has noticed a big difference in me as well, especially straight after the sessions as I am a lot happier and more positive.

Is there anything we could do better or differently to help you?

There is really nothing more you could do better. What you and your team currently do is more than enough and makes me feel happy and want to come back each week.

What would you say to another young person who feels very anxious about attending a session like ours? How would you encourage and reassure them?

Please come. Everybody is so friendly and welcoming. Once you are here you will realise there is nothing to really worry about. If it is something you really want to do, just do it and push yourself. I am so glad I did as it really has made a difference to me.

“The athletics sessions that Fitmums & Friends provides have made such a big difference to both my daughter’s well-being and to our family life that I cannot thank them enough. I never fully appreciated just what a positive impact exercise has on someone’s mental health until experiencing it first-hand with my daughter.

“My daughter has severe anxiety, to the point where everything scares and worries her. Right from the start, I was completely honest and upfront with how my daughter was and Fitmums & Friends did nothing but welcome her.

“At her lowest, my daughter became very withdrawn from everything and was really weak, but after a while she realised she needed to beat it as she hated feeling the way she did. She wanted to do some sort of club but was completely terrified to do so as she really struggles with certain noises, loud noises and groups of people.

“Finding Fitmums & Friends has been amazing for her. Although she was so scared to go to the first session, to the point where she wanted to walk away before she even got in, she managed to persevere and week by week it gets ever so slightly easier. As her mum, walking into that first session was heart-breaking. I could see her getting more and more anxious, scared and fidgety, but with a little reassurance and a big welcome from the coaching team, we managed to get her through the door and she has not once looked back.

“The support Fitmums & Friends offers her is amazing. The patience and understanding the coaching staff has shown her is second to none, which was extremely important at the start as she struggles to talk to people she doesn’t know. This on its own gave her the hope that she could continue and that it could be something she really enjoyed.

“From day one, the coaching team have shown that they want to help her and have gone out of their way to make her feel as comfortable as she can be. It’s the little things that make a difference, like getting her a quieter skipping rope so the noise doesn’t echo in her ears, or a fidget toy for the moments she may feel a little overwhelmed.

“What Fitmums & Friends seems to have created is a safe, welcoming environment where my daughter feels happy, can be herself and knows that she won’t be judged for how she is.

“My daughter from 8 months ago is so different to how she is now. She walks into the sessions calmer and comes out with a big smile on her face. The sessions seem to give her a natural high: she is talkative, laughing away and full of energy when she walks out which we hadn’t seen for a long time prior to her joining. Her outlook on life is a lot more positive as well. It’s also given her the confidence, with the support of the team, to take part in Sportshall competitions with other clubs which totally amazes me!

“Her joining athletics has also had a big impact on our family, which I will always be grateful for. She is happier, more talkative and positive at home. She spends a lot of time with us as a family as opposed to staying up in her room as she did before. And she even gets on better with her sister which on its own is priceless.”