A winning formula for your teen to succeed in the new school year

Yesterday I did my first coaching session of the new academic year.

I was pleasantly surprised.

When I hit the zoom button a bright yellow blur appeared in front of me. My new student was sitting in a van and he was wearing a hi-vis vest.

“Are you on a building site?”

“I am.” He said.

“Are you grafting? Are you carrying bricks?”

“That’s it exactly.” He smiled.

“Are you earning a few quid?”

He smirked and nodded cheekily.

“I bet you are sleeping at night.”

“Like a baby.” He responded.

My faith in young people has been restored.

We promptly got to work and with 3 moves or fixes to his school week, I am very confident he can hit at least 450 points next year in his Leaving Cert.

Here is a video with the 3 moves.​

This session was in the stark contrast to the young guy I spoke with last week.

He beamed in from a dark bedroom.

The curtains were closed and I could just about see him on a scratchy screen.

It was 2pm and he had just climbed out of bed twenty minutes earlier to do the session.

His Mom told me he stays up all night.

He spends all night gaming and he cannot sleep.

He is on medication and he is struggling severely with his mental health.

His parents are doing everything to help and are spending thousands on psychologists.

I see this more and more unfortunately these days.

Technology has made it too easy for teens to retreat to their bedroom.

This boy has not worked for the summer. He even got fired from his TY work experience job.

The solution is obvious. He needs to get outside.

He needs to do something physical. He needs to interact with the world.

He needs to make himself tired not spend his day thinking or hypnotising himself all night on a screen.

Many young people do not know how to work or physically graft.

Many see physical labour ‘as beneath them.’

The town I grew up is an agricultural town in North County Dublin.

Rush is famous for its potatoes and glasshouses.

I know lots of growers who cannot get staff.

And I don’t see many young people in overalls or wearing rubber boots queuing up for their breakfast rolls in the local shop.

For all our technological advances, have we lost something in the last few years?

Have we made life too easy? How are they paying for their electric picnic tickets or holidays to Greece? Who is paying for the call credit or the internet?

Call me old-school but there is nothing better than the satisfaction of a good day’s work.

Or paying for your own breakfast roll (or the more healthier chicken wrap).

Let’s get back to basics.

Work hard and sleep.

It’s a winning formula.

Until next time, keep RAYSING THE GAME!