My case study for The Champions' Training

I have recently completed the Champions’ Peer Motivation training course, which took place from the 6^th - 22^nd of July. Within the training I learnt lots of new skills that I can utilise in my volunteering and hopefully continue to use it with any work I do is the distant future. The most important bits of training for me were:

·         Learning about “Safe Touch” and when it is necessary.

·         The use of Action Planning to motivate and to help visualise goals.

·         The use of icebreakers to get people motivated and to add a fun start to the day.

·         Creating collages to show interests, ambitions and inspirations. I think this is also a good way to show creativity and also to show how the individuals may picture themselves.

For me, the main skill that stood out for me was the Action Planning. I really like the idea that if you set yourself one main goal then layout however many stepping stones and milestones between your start and final goal with a set time period, that it will give you a clearer picture of how you can get from A to B. I plan on creating an Action Plan for myself when I have the chance to, to help me get a better understanding of what I’d like to pursue as a career.

I also enjoyed the Icebreaker activities at the start of each training session. These got my motivated for the day and got my brain working so I could get stuck in with everything that was planned out. My favourite Icebreakers were the ones where you had to throw the juggling ball to someone and say your name as you did it. This was a good way to kick start your brain so that you remembered who people were. At the end of the day we played it again but instead of saying your name when you threw it you had to say the name of the person you were throwing it to. This helped a lot when it came to confidence. If you can put a name to a face then the person doesn’t seem intimidating no matter how kind they really are. I also enjoyed the Rhythm Snake. This was another great memory activity. Everyone stood in a circle and had to create a dance move to go with the syllables in their name. As you went round the group you had to remember each persons different dance move and copy it. When you got back round to the start it would speed up or go in reverse. It was a fun way to start the day and I would really enjoy incorporating it into anything I have to make people feel more comfortable.

Since finishing the training I have been much more positive and have a greater outlook on my day-to-day life. I look forward to starting my motivating both as a part of The Champions project but also within my local youth club/community. There are things I thought the training may have helped a lot with but only gave a slight nudge to. These will have to be worked on if my hopes of being a music teacher or teaching assistant are to happen. I think they may be improved by my own Champion but if not, there’s always the next lot of training I can do to help it.