Ryan’s Story

The 6th of April 2023 marks the one year anniversary of the #OpenGoal campaign launched by the Sport for Development Coalition.

#OpenGoal is a Shared Advocacy Framework which aims to highlight the contribution of targeted sport and physical activity-based interventions to a number of national policy priorities, such as reducing crime and youth unemployment, and building social cohesion.

To mark the first anniversary we would like to highlight how sport has changed the life of one of our alumni in his own words, we would like to present Ryan’s Story.

I’m Ryan Davies, I am 17-year-old who works for Dallaglio Rugbyworks and I am an alumni of the charity. I’ve grown up in Rhondda Cynon Taff, South Wales, born to a Scottish mother and Welsh father. 

Growing up I wasn’t always the best behaved. Although academically I excelled, I struggled with the social aspect of school, always getting in trouble fighting with my peers. This behavior cause me to be expelled from my mainstream school at the age of 12. I then was out of school for 14 weeks whilst provisions were put in place for me. I then ended up in Ty Gwyn PRU where I was introduced to Dallaglio RugbyWorks.  

I remember my first session with the coaches who led the sessions at Ty Gwyn when I attended. Everyone was looking forward to taking part in the session and letting off some steam by playing rugby. At the time I was struggling with my ADHD and being able to run around in a Dallaglio Rugbyworks session and burn off some steam helped me release my emotions. I looked forward to the sessions every week and seeing the coaches.

The highlight of the sessions was when I took part in a Dallaglio RugbyWorks tournament at Sardis Road where 6 teams competed. It was nice to represent the PRU with my friends many of whom had not played sport for a school before.

During my time as a participant, I worked with a coach who helped me on my weight loss journey. who helped my reaslise the importance of my physical health and encouraged me to have more balance in my lifestyle. I lost over 4 stone in weight which helped me achieve my golfing goals, winning the South Wales Boys U16’s Championship.  

The program not only helped me develop my understanding of the importance of physical activity and a healthy balanced lifestyle but also helped me develop personal skills. The sessions taught me the importance of building relationships, respect and trust others, where before I would lash out with anger instead of speaking to people. 

I won the 2021 Dallaglio RugbyWorks Champion Award and it helped my confidence a lot. In life I’ve never really excelled at anything apart from playing golf, so it made me realise that you have more qualities in life than you think, you’ve just got to believe in yourself! 

I was invited along to a charity fundraising event at Richmond Golf Club to play alongside the organisations founder Lawrence Dallaglio. It was an experience I will never forget! To be able to spend all day with such a big figure in the rugby industry, who is also an awesome guy that will answer any questions you have whether that is about rugby or just life in general. He will take the time and answer it, this is an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life and never forget! 

It also made the day a lot better when I end up winning the event against some good players! 

Since leaving the program as an alumni, I have taken on a part time role as a coach alongside studying at college. I enjoy working with the young people of Dallaglio Rugbyworks as its great to see the positive influence we have on young people that have been excluded and feel like there's no hope for them. Helping them to develop skills that will assist them to excel in not just our sessions but to do well in their time in school and later life! 

I believe that the lived experiences I have from being excluded from school an having been a part of the program when I was younger makes me more relatable for the young people. Having played sport at national level and now in employment with Dallaglio Rugbyworks shows the young people that if you work hard, you can achieve your goals and change the direction of your life even if you have been excluded from school.