Sally Warmington

Job title Activity Leader

Employer Fit For Sport

Cast your mind back to your childhood. The days of running around playing tag on the field, playing benchball in the school hall, or even your first ever football match down the park with your friends. Great times, right? Imagine having a career where everyday you get to introduce sports to children and guide their love and understanding of physical activity.

That’s the job of Sally Warmington, an activity leader for Fit For Sport. Her job is to think of new and exciting ways to get children involved in sport and let them learn and be healthy whilst enjoying themselves. Sally spoke to us about how she got into her job and what makes her job so great.

“Personal passion for sports and physical activity”

What drove you to develop a career in sports and physical activity?

I have always loved and been involved in sport from an early age. I started playing football aged fou and continued that on (amongst many other sports) well into my teenage years, before going off to University and finding my love for all things coaching! I think its that personal passion for sports and physical activity that really spurned me on to develop a career for myself within this industry.

“Excellent exposure to everyday sports coaching”

Why did you choose Fit For Sport as the place to begin your journey?

A couple of reasons actually! Fit For Sport Activity Leaders offer excellent exposure to everyday sports coaching and physical activity development, interacting with young children from all types of backgrounds. I think that was the real selling point for me, the kids! The fact that we get to engage and accelerate children into multiple types of sport and physical activity, that they might not ever of had the chance to try before is really rewarding.

“It’s all one big learning and development experience”

Is it necessary for an Activity Leader to obtain a coaching qualification like you did to work for Fit For Sport?

I think it helps, but it is definitely not necessary! That’s another great thing about working here; I get to work with people from vastly varied backgrounds, with different experiences not just in sport and childcare, but life itself. I can share the experiences and knowledge I’ve gained from my time at university and working within sports, and then learn from those who have a more specialised background such as Early Years Practitioners, Childcare Specialist’s or a fully qualified Physical Education Professional. It’s all one big learning and development experience.

Having experience in the workplace is incredibly attractive to potential employers, however they aren’t a necessity. If you’re worried about your CV not having any work experience on it then check out our article here, or if you want to try and find some then check out our jobs section here.

“No two days are the same”

Can you give us some insight into what a day in the life of an Activity Leader looks like?

Well, the first thing to understand about working in this kind of industry is that literally, no two days are the same. I work within Fit For Sport’s primary school provisions, leading session based around sport and physical activity to a wide range of mixed ability children aged between 4 – 11 years old. We do this through a Breakfast Club, Lunch Session and Extended School Club. My personal responsibilities vary day to day, as I could be leading a Dodgeball session for those aged 8+ in the morning, a Cricket session for year 3’s at lunch and then a Mini Olympics for the entire group in the Extended Club. You have a lot of freedom to facilitate a range of sports and activities into these children’s routines – it’s about how well you engage them and the effort that you put in that will make them keep it up.

“Becoming a qualified PE Teacher”

Where do you see your career taking you in 5 years’ time?

I was a little unsure of where I wanted to go after completing my degree and didn’t think a PGCE was what I wanted to do straight away. Having worked in Primary School settings with Fit For Sport for the past few months, I want to go on to be a full time Site Manager within Fit For Sport and then explore becoming a qualified PE Teacher, so I can add the specialist National Curriculum PE sessions to my rota within Fit For Sport.

“Be passionate about making a difference”

What advice would you give to anyone looking to start a career in Sports and Physical Activity with Fit For Sport?

Be fun, be engaging and be passionate about making a difference in the lives of the children you will be working with! If you do, you’ll find it really rewarding and you will see the personal and professional growth you are looking for.

Fit For Sport is great for giving people the opportunity to showcase their skills and also enjoy what their doing, check them out here. Or, if you want to know more about them, then check out our section of the company here. 

Being an activity leader is very similar to being a sports coach, here’s a video on our Careers In Sport YouTube channel which interviews some experienced sports coaches.

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