My goal is to help kids reach potential

A FORMER Huddersfield Town footballer is helping youngsters achieve their sporting and academic goals.

Shaun Weatherhead, who had three seasons with the Terriers before playing football in Hong Kong, China and South Africa, runs U Can Shine, a company organising educational and motivational programmes to help children keep fit and improve their attitude and work ethic.

Shaun, who lives at New Mill, has already run programmes over the past six years at schools across Cumbria.

Now he is bringing the concept home with a series of one-day motivational sessions at 10 schools in the Huddersfield area involving more than 2,000 children as a first step to running longer programmes.

Lepton CE School will be the first school to host a motivational day later this month.

Said Shaun: “A key part of the programme focuses on raising children’s aspirations and developing attitudes, resilience, motivation and work ethic that equips them with necessary life skills for success at school and their wider lives growing up.”

Halifax-born Shaun has a background in professional sport. He signed as an apprentice for Town at the age of 16. “I was an apprentice on the YTS scheme on £28 a week,” he said. “I had two years as an apprentice and one year as a professional at Town.”

His most vivid memory as an apprentice was Town’s 10-1 drubbing by Manchester City in 1987 during Malcolm Macdonald’s tenure as manager when Shaun was in charge of the kit skip for the game.

After leaving the club, he had a season at York City then played professionally in Hong Kong, China and South Africa – where he was also involved in coaching youngsters in townships including Soweto.

“The last club I kicked a ball with was Accrington Stanley,” he said. At the age of 23 a back injury put paid to his playing career, although he admits he was already growing disillusioned with the game.

He went to college and became a personal trainer working in the fitness industry, including a spell at Fitness First in Lockwood.

Shaun launched his business U Can Shine 12 years ago as a way of using his background in sport to provide programmes for youngsters that combined keeping physically fit with self-motivation and improving attitudes. Shaun Weatherhead (right) launches the U Can Shine programme of life skills with mascot U Man and the Snickers Workwear team in Meltham

Shaun has secured sponsorship from Meltham Mills-based Snickers Workwear to support the motivational days.

U Can Shine – and its superhero mascot U Man – are seeking more corporate partners to help roll out the programme.

“Snickers Workwear is the first business we are engaging with,” said Shaun. “But we are also looking for a wider business audience to take an interest in their local communities – and the youngsters who are their potential future workforce.”