Andy Connick Coaching

Had so much fun at The Snow Centre Hemel yesterday, it deserved a place on the grid. Special mention to the guy who took out a giant flower by accident (it wasn't me, I promise!)

We need to stop pretending that "additional needs" is an umbrella term.

Teacher training tends to lump them all in together, leaving ECTs (and even more experienced teachers) using all the right tools for all the wrong students.

Or am I overreacting?

Let me know your thoughts 👇🏼

Anyone who knows me, or who has been here for a while, will know I bang on about the impact my English teacher had on me.

So as we head through the longest, darkest, sh*test term, I just wanted to remind you that what you do matters.

I was about to start my training to become a teacher, I wrote to Miss Thompson to tell her that I was starting this course and was hoping to work in a PRU one day helping to support students who weren't thriving in a mainstream classroom.

Despite having not heard from me since I walked out of her classroom many years earlier, she responded with a long email, an extract of which is above.

Not only was she able to pick out details from our time together, but without any prompting or requirement she continued to build my confidence and reassure me that I had made the right choice.

And then, I had a moment at the beginning of the year where I received a message similar to the one I sent to Miss Thompson.

A former student wrote to me to let me know that he had got into a college in America on a football (soccer) scholarship. Attached to the message was the card I wrote him when I left the school in 2017 that he had kept.

All of this is to say 2 things.

1. What you do is important. The impact you have will be felt for years, and in ways you may not be able to fully grasp.

2. In order for you to have this impact, you have to look after yourself. There's a difference between "getting through" and "getting by"... and it isn't just a change of words!

3. You will have an impact by being you. But all of these moments aren't more important than looking after yourself. You can have this impact AND set boundaries.

So, there you have it. No real purpose to this other than the fact I hate having to limit teacher appreciation to one week in May.

And also to say, in the depths of coldness (yes I'm still wearing shorts let's all move on), there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.

I have no words to describe the last week.

Actually that isn't true. I have a lot of words.

I flew to New York to surprise my 2 cousins who were both in historic soccer championship finals - one for his high school (their first ever championship final), and one for his college (first final since 2019).

Got the best reception on arrival. Had the best time. Watched them both win trophies.

"Overwhelming emotion" doesn't even begin to describe it. "Immense pride" isn't even close either.

And then to top it off I got to spend time with my whole New York team. What a week!

Getting my Sunday steps in

Supplements can be so confusing!

Everyone will tell you to take different things, and which are good for what, and what the side effects are and how it will work wonders and what transformation you'll have and and and.

Whey Protein Powder. Creatine. Amino Acids. Carbohydrate Supplements. HMB. Glutamine. Carnitine. L-arginine...... the list goes on!

But

Supplements aren't a one-size fits all kinda deal.

And being on the wrong supplements can lead to unnecessary problems if you don't know what you're taking them for, and if you don't have a programme that properly reflects that.

So before you Google "what supplements should I take" and pop off to your nearest store, why not have a chat with someone who knows a little something?

Supplements are there to do exactly what they say... to supplement what you're doing. So let's make sure you're doing all the right stuff before pumping your body full of extra things!

Want a chat? Drop me a message today!

Today I was called "cheap".

(Let's go with "good value", thanks)

It makes sense, though.

The teacher who said it has been paying for 2 PT sessions a week.

On average, she misses 2 a month due to things coming up at work (in May she only managed to get to 3 sessions the whole month!)

And outside those sessions, she wasn't doing very much due to stress, overwhelm and lack of time.

For this, she was paying over £400 a month.

She was getting frustrated, because all she was losing was money, motivation and confidence.

Then she joined Andy Connick Coaching.

She now pays less than half the money and has a workout schedule she can stick to.

(I'm sure I don't need to say how helpful it is to save over £200 a month when you're living off an education salary)

She's hitting her fitness targets.

She feels more in control of her time.

She's part of a supportive community that lifts her up on the tough days.

Plus, she gets to speak to me whenever she needs to (lucky her!)

So yeah, she called me cheap.

But I think what she meant was "I can't believe how much I get for so much less than I was paying before."

At least that's what I hope she meant...

Honestly, I really WANT to do the right thing