A FORMER Hull City footballer says he is looking forward to getting east Hull active after being tasked with encouraging teenagers to play sport.
Former professional footballer Adam Bolder, who also played for Queens Park Rangers and Derby, has been appointed by Wilberforce College as one of only 150 Sport Makers in the country.
The college was selected by Sport England as an Active College and will benefit from £105,000 of National Lottery funding over five years.
Adam's key task is to make sure all young people are taking part in at least one session of exercise per week for at least 30 minutes.
He will be based at the Saltshouse Road campus in east Hull.
The Hull-born footballer, who was brought up in Bilton, said: "I am really looking forward to this new, exciting role and having the opportunity to inspire the students to take part in sport.
"Working at a college is very different to being a professional footballer but I am enjoying using my experience to increase sports opportunities for young people.
"I will also be working with sporting and community groups, so I can't wait to get stuck in and get east Hull active."
Adam, 32, signed his first professional contract for The Tigers in 1998 and went on to play for Derby County, Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford City and Burton Albion.
In a Football League career spanning 14 seasons and 300 appearances, he was also named club captain at Queens Park Rangers where he helped steer the team away from relegation.
David Cooper, principal at Wilberforce College, said they were thrilled to welcome Adam to the college as Sport Maker.
"This post is about encouraging young people to get involved in sport in all its forms and at every level," Mr Cooper said.
"In Adam we've found someone who is a superb role model for young people – an athlete who has achieved at the highest level and has the ability to inspire young people, both in the college and the wider community."
Adam's role will be to link the college with community sport with the aim of reducing the number of young people who drop out of playing sport – especially bet- ween the ages of 16 and 18.
A key role will be to help governing bodies of sport connect with college students.
Research has shown college students play the least sport of young people aged 16 and over who are in education. About 65 per cent of school pupils aged 16 and over do sport at least once a week, compared with 53 per cent of higher education students and 50 per cent of college students.
The aim is to have an extra 750 16 to 18-year-olds playing regular sport at Wilberforce.
Activities will be run in the college and within the local community.
They will include mainstream sports and those that are more unusual.
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