Banbury Turn Negatives into Positives
It’s been a tough time for some teens and the lack of opportunities or activities during the pandemic will have undoubtedly added to court appearances and in some cases a slippery slope into further offending.
But Banbury RUFC decided that rather than go down that route after vandalism at the club carried out by some local 18-year-olds, they would get to know the perpetrators and help them improve their lives.
"We decided that if our club was truly at the heart of our community, these boys were a part of it, and we should speak to them and get to know them and their circumstances," Says Director of Rugby Activities, Matt Goode.
"We have pretty good CCTV and one of the lads was recognised. I popped round and his mum, a lovely lady, was truly disappointed, she knew who the lads were and the next day they voluntarily turned up to talk to me.
"They are not bad lads, they’d done something silly when they were bored after some drinks and actually they were very remorseful. They asked if they could help in any way at the rugby club to repay the damage and have helped around the club to ensure that what had been broken is fixed. They are also paying in instalments some remedial work cost.
"We discovered that they were out of work, the classic NEET young people - not in education, employment of training - largely because of the pandemic. So using our connections, we successfully found one an apprenticeship and the other two some temporary work with the possibility of full time employment if they do well. The one with the apprenticeship is working really hard and his boss is a great mentor so he’s doing very well."
Matt adds: "For me this is what sport is all about, turning something negative into a positive. We all make mistakes and hopefully we get the chance to learn from them. Hopefully, the mistake isn’t big enough to ruin your life. As a club we need to look at how we can help these young individuals of our town."
Another way that Banbury are helping is with a mentoring programme in schools, sponsored by TGL Energy, where sports mentors go into senior and primary schools to act as positive role models.
Matt has used his considerable experience of setting up the HITZ programme at Northampton Saints and working in the Saints Foundation to help young people in the community to improve their lives to help Banbury RUFC and local young people. Certainly, three teenagers have reason to be glad.
Businesses who would like to help or sponsor the club’s great mentoring programme can contact Matt via Matt.goode@banburyrufc.co.uk
