An international hockey player who gave up on sport in school has praised the group that introduced her to the game, as the organisation celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Iona Harrison, from Forest Hall in North Tyneside, was a teenager when she dropped out of football, which she felt excluded from after never getting picked during trials.
But when she was 16 she was taught hockey by Power Through Sport, leading to the now 24-year-old youth worker representing Great Britain at the Ball Hockey World Championship in the Czech Republic.
The group said it aims to give young people opportunities to try “alternative and minority sports”, which are not always popular or common in the UK.
Power Through Sport initially introduced Harrison to the roller-skating version of hockey.
“I found my people in the roller-skating community, whereas in school I’d be the only one,” she said, adding: “That’s minority sports all over.”
She later started playing ball hockey, which is played with regular footwear and has a large following in the United States and Canada, as well as across central and eastern Europe.
This year’s world championship was held last month in the Czech city of Ostrava.
“The whole experience was insane, a big arena with a screen and crowds, and even if there was nobody in the crowd to represent my country as a fan, it’s something I thought I’d never do,” Harrison said.
She now also works as a full-time hockey coach with Power Through Sport.
“My confidence has grown ridiculously,” she said.
“I’ve got an understanding of being their age and growing up in this community, and if I can get any of the kids to pick up a hockey stick, it’s a bonus.
“When you take opportunities instead of giving up, it goes in your favour.”
Power Through Sport managing director Johnny Tulip said: “These sports often survive on the periphery with very little support or funding.”
He said many young people might consider themselves “non-sporty” because they fell “though the net of mainstream sports”, but they “flourish when they find something different”.
He said the group targeted its projects at “low-income, under-served communities” across Tyneside to help combat health inequalities, driven by factors such as obesity and alcohol misuse.
However, he said some of their regular attendees travelled from south of Durham and Teesside, with the group’s catchment area stretching around 100 miles across the region, because they were one of the only organisations offering certain activities.
“Young people who haven’t been given a lot in life are the ones who grab it with two hands – they’re the ones it has the most profound impact on,” he said.
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