September 2021
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62<br />
Wanstead Village Directory<br />
Aspire to inspire<br />
Aspiring athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds often suffer to<br />
develop their talents due to a lack of resources and guidance. A couple<br />
from Wanstead are working to change that. Troy Da Costa reports<br />
Wanstead couple Dan Sharp and<br />
Arela Williams – who run Sharp<br />
Training out of Target Fit on the<br />
High Street – are dedicating their free time<br />
and knowledge to bringing quality training<br />
and mindfulness to young, underprivileged<br />
athletes. Both highly qualified and<br />
experienced personal trainers, Arela and<br />
Dan have made it their goal to help young<br />
adults fulfil their potential.<br />
Sharp Training currently offers one-toone<br />
sessions and online mentorship,<br />
and are looking to expand their work in<br />
the community through a sponsorship<br />
programme. For a small, non-obligatory<br />
subscription, potential sponsors can help<br />
hopeful youths stay focused on their goals<br />
while receiving a first-class physical education<br />
otherwise beyond their means.<br />
Arela is a former elite volleyball player<br />
and specialist in flexibility, and Dan has a<br />
background in semi-professional basketball<br />
and is a strength and conditioning coach.<br />
Together, the couple has 16 years of health<br />
and fitness expertise to share.<br />
The sponsorship programme has been up<br />
and running since June this year and is<br />
already quite popular. “Athletes who wouldn’t<br />
ordinarily have the chance to train with us<br />
now have an opportunity to be part of the<br />
mentorship programme. They receive a sport<br />
performance direction and join in weekly<br />
leadership meetings on Zoom,” says Arela,<br />
herself just 25 years old. “Sponsors receive<br />
updates and letters from the athletes they<br />
sponsor.”<br />
“I aspire to inspire, and I do that by teaching<br />
and equipping my trainees with tools to make<br />
them more powerful humans first and then<br />
Dan Sharp and<br />
Arela Williams<br />
athletes,” says Dan. “They inspire me when<br />
they excel.”<br />
According to Arela, the best part of her job<br />
is inspiring young female athletes to be<br />
confident within their body and to not alter<br />
their personality because they find themselves<br />
in a male-dominant environment. “Their<br />
success definitely inspires me on days when<br />
I’m not feeling confident within myself.”<br />
Seeing their young athletes put into practice<br />
the lessons taught on how to overcome<br />
mistakes and have a ‘next play mentality’<br />
is one of their great successes. “Watching<br />
a player recover from a miss caused by<br />
overthinking the situation, only to score the<br />
winning shot minutes later is great,” adds Dan,<br />
talking about a youth basketball player.<br />
The ultimate goals of Sharp mentorship<br />
are to build a support platform for youth<br />
athletes, connect them with pros from varying<br />
backgrounds to learn from, and to teach them<br />
how to prioritise their physical and mental<br />
well-being.<br />
For more information on the program, visit<br />
wetrainsharp.co.uk or follow them on<br />
Instagram @sharptraining<br />
To advertise, call 020 8819 6645 or visit wnstd.com
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