Nottingham connected
Community
21
THE PYTHIAN CLUB – OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNGSTERS By Anna Nagy
Helping others and raising awareness on issues regarding mental health, street and domestic violence, knife and hate crimes, racial inequalities among others are pertinent issues in our communities should be accorded the necessary priority. The provision of such avenues does not only transform lives of individuals but rather filters out the ill conducts which are entrenched within our communities. One outstanding figure who has been championing such initiative within the City of Nottingham is the founder of the Pythian Club, Ben Rosser. Formerly a Police Officer, Ben used his experience from the force and sports and came up with the idea of defeating the negative coverage and bad blood among youths through sport, music and other recreational activities. The Nottingham based Pythian Club offers young people the opportunity to get involved in sporting activities like football, boxing as well as music or drama. The club also provides support to young people through mentoring, self-defence and self-confidence. According to Ben many young people feel that they lack self-confidence and or are not good enough which goes down to damage them but, “at the Pythian Club we want to show that they can do it, they can achieve it. This is in benefit of the community just as it is for them”, he insisted. Mr Rosser said some young people are filled with disillusions and that being a bully or carrying around knives is cool, but at the Pythian Club they want to support them with positive initiatives, by being a role model for them and let them know that the way they think of life is not in benefit of them nor for their surroundings. “This is why we have numerous events around boxing, football and music to engage young people more, to network to meet likeminded people and to have fun while doing something that they really enjoy”, he continued. After successfully managing the football, boxing and music classes for years members of the club expressed their interest in having a drama club to create more awareness of the issue of knife and other forms of crime.
They worked with Double Edge in which nearly 800 people have been involved in creating videos and plays. He noted that since football, boxing, music and drama are the activities that mostly attract young people, they decided to hold free football sessions for communities as they want to offer opportunities to any young person who can benefit from the team and their mentoring. “Fortunately, it is possible for those young people who could progress a lot and feel that they can do better to access more opportunities and to be involved in Pythian FC. Pythian FC currently has 8 teams who play in proper registered league. There are different age groups so anyone who is interested in playing football professionally can join and be part of the teams”, he revealed. The Club’s service is about coaching their members to help them develop new skills and to be part of a positive and supporting social environment. They teach self-defence, respect, discipline while having fun and enjoying themselves. They also have a music studio where young people can learn more about music and audio creation, write lyrics and express their feelings in creative ways. There are around 250 young people weekly who come and enjoy the courses offered by the Python Club. “Thanks to the growthoriented approach, it is possible to be involved in the mentoring program as a young person to help other young people who are struggling as a result of some difficult circumstances”, Rosser explained. They call the young mentors ‘Young Leaders’ because they get training to handle their duties and become helpful to those who rely on them for mentoring or/ and coaching. This empowers them to be strong role models, to improve their lives, to learn, to work and to just simply achieve more for themselves. “Living life is not always filled with rainbows but even if someone going through a difficult time it is important to remember to embrace these challenges, talk about this with others and learn from what you have experienced during the challenging times, hence the moto of the Pythian Club is to bring people together and create change while help each other”, he concluded.
