Active Summer Fun: 'Sport will aid your self-confidence and your health'
A new participation campaign created by the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) and National Disability Sport Organisations (NDSOs) is encouraging more disabled people to find out and play out over summer. Active Summer Fun -#ActiveSummerFun on social media - is an exciting new campaign that aims to support more disabled people to find ways to be active during the warmer months.
This summer we will be hearing from various disabled people or those who deliver activities that include disabled people. We hear how they are expecting the next few months to be very busy!
Today, Dan English talks to us. He plays for England’s blind football team, and discusses appearing for his country, the social side of sport and the benefits of physical activity.
Dan’s Active Summer Fun:
I am loud on the pitch, louder than most of the other lads. I am vice-captain, and I’m a backman playing in defence.
It’s important to be loud and forceful, to give instructions to your teammates further up the pitch so they do what you want. You’re relaying tactics from the staff and the goalkeeper, so you have to ensure you’re team are following orders.
Also, I am quite a loud character anyway off the pitch, so the two things come hand-in-hand.
I have more than 75 caps for England, with 100 in my sights, hopefully.
The game has changed a lot since I first started playing – when I first began England’s was a mature squad, whereas now we have a lot of younger lads. The age dynamic of the group has changed, which is excellent because now we’ll pay together for longer and get to know each other’s games better.
Diet and fitness has changed – we train more these days so we have to eat more protein to help us recover quicker and prevent injuries. I go to the gym a lot to improve my fitness and general speed work.
I can’t see anything at all – I’m totally blind. I was visually impaired until I was nine years old, and from the age I became totally blind. I have never seen football before, or at least I was too young to really appreciate it and was not as into sport at that young age.
Our captain Keryn Seal was in his late teens when he went blind, and so he has favourite players that he grew up watching. I don’t model myself on any footballers – I just try to be myself.
Playing in the Paralympics in London in 2012 was my biggest career achievement to date. It was a great honour and, when I walked out to play our first match I had tears in my eyes. And I’m not really the emotional type!
The biggest thing that’s great about playing sport is the social side. I used to go to the RNC College as a student and I took part in activities like football and goalball with some of the fellow students in the football academy.
Seeing them come out of themselves socially, and being able to interact with others and improve their self-confidence, is a brilliant thing. Sport increases your social interactions.
Sport and physical activity is hard at any level. The hardest thing is taking that first step. You might not be brilliant but trust me, it will aid your self-confidence and your health.
Six months or a year down the line you might feel confident enough to try another activity, and that then could be the sport for you.
It doesn’t have to be football or swimming or goalball… it could be anything. But just stick with it and persevere.
Find out more about Active Summer Fun. Find out and play out this summer. British Blind Sport provides visually impaired people with opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.
