Celebrating 10 Years of Coach Core in Nottingham
A decade after launching in Nottingham, Coach Core returned to celebrate the incredible journeys of its apprentices and graduates – joined by The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry.
Ten years after launching in Nottingham, we gathered to celebrate the apprentices and graduates who have been part of Coach Core across the city and surrounding areas – with a very special guest.
It was fitting that one of Coach Core’s founders, The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, returned to meet apprentices once again and see first-hand the programme’s lasting impact.
In his speech at the event, The Duke said:
“Coach Core is an initiative that I’ve been proud to support since its inception. Here in Nottingham they’ve helped young people gain real world skills and qualifications. These are mentors that every community needs: young people with lived experience who found a way out and now want to help guide the youngsters as trusted, caring and cool individuals.”
Reconnecting with Ethan
Prince Harry first visited our Nottingham programme in 2017, when he met Ethan, then a 17-year-old apprentice. Nearly a decade later, the two were reunited.
Ethan said:
“It was great to talk to Prince Harry about my journey, about where I’ve come from. It’s been a long time since I last met him – I was 17 at the time. So, 9 years later it’s been great to come full circle, tell him about my journey, how far I’ve come on in my career. And to reiterate how I wouldn’t be here without Coach Core; I think the groundwork that put in for me has stood me well throughout my different roles. He took the time to ask questions, to find out more about what my role has been – so it’s been great to share that with him and it makes you feel part of something special.”
Ethan has built a career he can be proud of. From starting out as an unemployed teenager, he is now a Learning Mentor at a Nottingham primary school, supporting children who struggle with behaviour or find school challenging. He credits Coach Core with helping him build on his passion for working with young people and showing him the importance of seeing the whole person, not just the problem.
Inspiring Journeys
Many of the young people on our programmes do not have the easiest start in life, yet their determination and talent shine through in the careers they are building for themselves.
Max’s story
Max began his Coach Core apprenticeship in 2018 with Trent Bridge Community Trust. He went on to deliver programmes in primary schools and became an Inspires mentor, supporting young people at risk of exclusion through mentoring and one-to-one football sessions. Today, Max is a full-time football coach at Nottingham Forest’s academy – a highly competitive role. He credits Coach Core with helping him back on his feet and rediscovering his passion for coaching.
Shannon’s story
Shannon joined Coach Core in 2018 through Nottinghamshire Club for Young People. During her apprenticeship, she discovered a passion for supporting young disabled people. Since completing her training, she has qualified as a youth worker.
Shannon said:
“I deliver sessions to young people with disabilities: coaching, in education settings, teaching them how to cook or at youth club. If it wasn’t for Coach Core I probably wouldn’t be where I am now, I’d probably still be at home looking for a job. The impact Coach Core have on people is just incredible.”
The Role of our Partners
Lifetime Training has worked closely with Coach Core since 2015 to deliver the training element of our apprenticeships. Gareth, who was the Regional Trainer tutor on Nottingham’s first cohort, reflected on what it means to invest in young people through the programme:
“The opportunity for a small group of Nottingham Coach Core graduates to meet Prince Harry again and some for the first time was a very special moment. Having followed their journeys closely I know how far they have come and I am glad the Duke was able to see that first-hand. Lifetime and Coach Core’s work in Nottingham is leaving a true legacy in the communities here, and it was a fitting way, 10 years later, for this to be acknowledged.”
Looking Ahead
Since 2015, Coach Core has supported 60 young people in Nottingham to transform their lives through apprenticeships. From that foundation, our programmes have grown across the Midlands, and we have ambitious plans to support even more under-served young people in the coming years.
“Coach Core was originally set up through The Royal Foundation, and after three years of successful piloting, our 2015 Nottingham programme became the first multi-employer model – a blueprint for so many of our projects since. The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry was a firm advocate and supporter throughout and we are thankful and delighted that he’s taken the time to meet with some of the programme graduates from across the last 10 years. We understand that Nottingham holds a special place in Prince Harry's heart and we hope he is proud of the legacy and impact that Coach Core continues to create across the city, the wider region, and the UK.”