As part of Levelling the Playing Field’s ‘Leadership Month’ we are privileged to meet Neeco and Gulraj, two outstanding young leaders from our specialist partners InPower in Wolverhampton.
Despite being just 19, both these young coaches have made the full journey from being a participant at InPower’s boxing and martial arts programmes, progressing into volunteering and now leading sessions and mentoring people who are not much younger than themselves.
“Relatability is really important in a young leader,” says Daryl Chambers, InPower CEO and founder. “Young people on our programmes see themselves in Neeco and Gully – they’re from the same area and they’re like, ‘Wow! He made a decision that changed his life, so I can do the same.’
“They’re great role models and testament to the idea of youth leadership. Some people would say they’re too young and inexperienced, but for me they’re a perfect fit. Don’t get me wrong, I do challenge certain things they’ve done, but only with challenge do they move forward. It's just a beautiful thing to see.”
Neeco
Neeco (pictured above) is an assistant coach, mentor and digital marketing apprentice with InPower, roles he could never have envisaged when he first walked through their doors after watching Daryl give a talk in his school assembly. Three years later, Neeco now delivers those in-school talks himself.
"I wasn’t a bad kid, but I was no angel either,” says Neeco. “I was in with the wrong crowd. I just didn’t care enough. In exams, I’d write my name, close the book and go to sleep. When I went down to InPower and met Daryl, it was really motivational. I know it sounds a bit cheesy but I can’t describe the feeling. I just wanted to do better almost straight away.
“I started on their Unbreakables [early intervention] programme that I’m teaching right now. It installed a mentality in me. I went on to pass all my GCSEs with As and Bs. When I met Daryl, it really changed my life.”
Of his role as leader, Neeco says: “I love that feeling of getting into a class, getting them warmed up, asking ‘How was your week?’ and ‘How you feeling?’, mingling with them and getting into a really good practical session. Even three or four weeks down the line, they’ve learned so much from me and you start to see a change in young people. That is my favourite bit of being a coach and leader.
“Three-quarters of my family and other people around me are ‘on the road’, others I know are in prison or dead. It’s like I was on some train tracks and someone has just flicked the switch to put me onto a different track; the right track. It’s completely changed my life for the better.”
Gulraj
Gulraj (pictured above), nicknamed ‘Gully’, is a three-times Midlands boxing champion (“29 wins in 35 fights,” he says proudly) and works for InPower as a boxing coach, mentor and apprentice.
Like Neeco, he has travelled the full length of InPower’s ‘empowerment pathway’ from participant to leader – and has overcome significant adversity along the way. “I went down the wrong path,” he admits. “I was on the streets, I had the wrong people around me. People in the area were always trying to bring you down to their level.
“The area I grew up in had so much drug dealing, stabbings, knife and gun crime; something new was happening every day. I was arrested twice and I had a wake-up call. I wanted to sort the situation out and Daryl was important in achieving that.
“A lot of things have happened but coming from nothing to something is something I’ve always believed in. I never gave up on what I wanted and that’s why I’m in the position that I’m in today.”
Alongside his boxing career, Gully now coaches, mentors, inspires and guides InPower’s participants who are not much younger than himself.
“I feel like I am making a major difference,” he says. “It’s something that all young people need – that motivation of someone telling them, ‘You can do it!’ I know what it’s like when there’s no-one to sit around a table with you – like me, Daryl and our peers do for young people – to care about them and support their aspirations.
“I want to be a role model and share my experiences – to show them a route that can get them to the top. I know some of them can relate to my past. If I can do it, then they can do it as well. I want to show them they have the potential within them to be great and be proud of themselves.
“Sport can have a major impact on their future. Boxing classes release endorphins, pressure, stress and tension that they might be feeling at home. The first time they do press-ups and punches, they get tired, but when they get home, they think, ‘Even though it burns, it feels good and I want to do it again’. They feel better, happy and pumped up and want to keep going. When young people discover the love for it, it’s amazing to see.”
InPower CEO Daryl (above) is understandably proud of what both have achieved and especially that they have come ‘through the ranks’ to give back to their community.
“What’s good about bringing young people on board who have been a part of our programmes is that they know our culture, what we do, what’s OK and not OK,” he explains. “It feels like they’ve been here forever, even though they’re still really young.
“They’re very different in personality but together they form an amazing team. We give them the tools and what they do with them is their decision. I always throw it back to them - it’s a decision on who they really want to be. With their mindsets they can do whatever they want. They’re both incredible.”
Read more about InPower here.