Paralympian praises club that ‘gave him a life’
A PARALYMPIC sprinter wants to raise awareness of the disability football club which “gave him a life” as a teenager.
Rhys Jones, 22,a former student at St John Baptist Church in Wales High School, Aberdare, has recently returned home from Rio De Janeiro where he competed in his second Paralympic Games.
But as a teenager Rhys, from Rhondda, says it seemed very unlikely that he’d have such a bright future – until he joined pan disability football club the RCT Tigers, which formed in 2008.
He said joining the club helped him gain confidence in school and pass his GCSE exams.
The club currently has 40 members ranging from the age of six to people aged 30 and over.
On October 2, the club will complete a sponsored walk along the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal.
When he was two years old, Rhys was critically ill with viral encephalitis. He was resuscitated three times and was in a coma for 12 days.
When he woke up, he had no movement down the left side of his body.
His vision was impaired and he had epilepsy as well as memory and emotional problems – leaving him with no confidence or self-esteem.
But that was all about to change.
“Basically, the Tigers gave me a life,” Rhys said. “In 2008, I heard my friends talking about a disability football club.
“Before I got involved in sport I was shy and wouldn’t say boo to a goose. It improved my confidence in school and helped me pass my GCSEs.
“My best friend was my PlayStation before I went to the Tigers – now you can’t shut me up!
“The Tigers was where my sporting journey began, but it also did so much more than that.
“If it helped me it can help other people too,” he said.
“Lloyd Francis was the same as me when he started there – and now he’s the head coach of the club.”
Debbie Jones, Rhys’ mum, added: “Rhys was sports mad, but felt left out and different growing up.
“We only found out about the club by accident – a school friend said that he was going, and asked if Rhys wanted to.
“There could be so many other people out there in the same position.
“Rhys had nothing to look forward to before that – his future looked bleak. From the time he started he finally felt he had friends and his school work improved.
“The whole social side of going to the club, he’d never had before.”
The football club trains at Rhondda Sports Centre. Every Saturday the over16s team trains between 10am and noon and the under-16s play from 11.30am to 1pm.
The Tigers have a warm and friendly atmosphere and their youngest player is six.
New players are always welcome.
For more details email info@rcttigers.co.uk or call 07581 161066 to talk to one of the committee members.
To donate to the club, visit www.justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/debbiejones-3.