Andy Lawrence
A Day in The Life of Andy Lawrence, Manager of the Dartmouth Leisure Centre
Dartmouth Leisure Centre Activities Manager Andy Lawrence takes us through a typical day at the Norton Sports Complex.
9am - I open up and check the building to make sure it is all ready for the classes that day. We run a huge variety of classes at Dartmouth, from the high-impact Hot Cycling – what many would call spinning - to Pilates and the incredibly popular Zumba.
Zumba has taken off in the past year and we have a waiting list for it! It combines an aerobic exercise class with classic Latin dance music and moves which makes it such a fun workout. We have big groups who take part and everyone comes out smiling which is the best thing for any type of exercise.
9.30am – The staff and I (including Richard Darch the Health and Fitness manager) take on different responsibilities and classes throughout the working day.
I am one of those trained at giving gym inductions and also setting up training regimes for people in the gym when they have fitness goals to achieve. I have worked here since I took my Sports Science Diploma in 2004 and have so many great examples of people making a big difference to their lives through using the facilities at the centre.
We take referrals from GPs too and this again can be hugely rewarding, as you can help someone work their way back to fitness or even become fitter and more active than they have ever been before.
I have worked with people who can barely walk a few hundred yards and then through hard work and application build up their strength and fitness so that they can walk into Dartmouth and back from Townstal. I love to help people lose weight - they feel so proud of themselves because of that
My colleagues and I love being in roles where we can help people help themselves. They make changes to their lifestyles and get to see real effects that make them feel great – achieving goals in that way is such a brilliant boost to confidence.
10am - 3.30pm – Dartmouth Academy and other local schools use our facilities during the day and this allows us to make the most of all our equipment, because the curriculum covers a wide range of sports and activities.
On a typical day I might find myself setting up the gym, then getting out the trampolines or setting up badminton, cricket, basketball or circuits for the students. It’s brilliant that the schools are making the most of our great facilities because, if children get into sport early, it can become a life-long activity, which is great for the general health and wellbeing of everyone in the Dartmouth area.
This is truly a community hub with so many different groups coming in and out, from the Academy and primary schools, to clubs and societies. It feels really good to be working in a place which is at the centre of so much for the people of Dartmouth.
4pm - 9pm: We run a number of our own clubs and activities in the evenings as well as throughout the day. We have Zumba and Pump on Mondays, Circuits and Spinball on Tuesdays and Hot Cycling on Wednesdays.
We are booked most evenings by a host of clubs and societies – from five-a-side football, to martial arts like Tae kwon do and Karate and even Archery!
We are the base for a number of the town’s clubs: Rugby (Seniors and Minis), youth football teams and the Athletics Club Juniors.
The rugby club is doing especially well at the moment, both with the senior team and the minis. A good quality base such as the leisure centre with the facilities we offer – such as our outdoor pitches - has given clubs the chance to grow and really establish themselves.
The fact that we are such a social place, with large groups of people using us all the time, means we need to make sure that we can support a wide range of sports and activities. We are proud to say we do that really well.
We are also a hugely popular venue for families. With our crèche and soft play equipment we can support mums who want to exercise and we are often the venue of choice for children’s parties. Our bouncy castle is always very popular for these events and it’s a fun part of the job for all of us here.
To find out more about what Dartmouth Leisure Centre can offer, go to www.toneleisure.co.uk, or call the centre on 01803 837010.
First Published December 2011 By The Dart