Sarah Farrell: finding comfort in Firmitude
Firmitude member Sarah speaks on her experiences in sport growing up, Vincent’s role in developing players and how being a part of Firmitude has helped her well-being.
When Sarah moved to the area to become a secondary school maths teacher, it was important for her to gain social connections and being a part of the Firmitude family allowed her to do this.
From a young age, she competed in Irish dancing to a fairly high level but her foray into football didn’t begin until joining Firmitude. ‘I wanted to try something new - I had no experience in football other than PE lessons at school’.
Sarah recalled to me about how Bournemouth Sports Ladies FC helped her end up at Firmitude. 'I was looking for a football team to join and Bournemouth Sports suggested Firmitude. I was looking for a chilled environment, nothing very competitive or stressful’.
Firmitude founder Vincent Marmion was praised by Sarah, who explained how he helps you ‘get what you want out of the sessions’ and how he is always there to help you improve. ‘Vincent provides support, flexibility in sessions and no pressure which is great’.
For Sarah, the impacts of Firmitude on her well-being have been massive. She spoke to me about how it’s been great for her socially, being new to the area and wanting to make new friends. ‘Being a part of Firmitude has definitely helped with my mental health and well-being because of the social aspect - I do a lot of sports anyways but it’s the social aspect that makes a huge difference’.
Sarah’s story shows that you don’t need experience of playing football growing up to give it a go for the first time - just the enthusiasm to test yourself whatever level you fancy playing to. For people like Sarah moving to a new area, organisations like Firmitude can be huge in people’s social lives and being able to navigate new beginnings successfully.
