Student Story: David Somerville - Sport & Fitness

Tell us a bit about yourself and why you came to D&A?

“During school I always enjoyed the different sports and I wanted to be active all the time, I have also been training at kickboxing since I was about seven years old.

I have always been passionate about sport, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with a career, but I knew that I wanted it to revolve around sport. I started to look up courses and came across the ones at Dundee and Angus, they are the best courses in Scotland.” 

What have you got going on outside of College?

“I am usually at College or at training for kickboxing.  I also coach young children from the ages of 3 to 11 years, I do this three hours a session, three times a week.  Outside of this I am training for competitions in kickboxing, this weekend I am travelling to Birmingham to compete in the Arnold Sports Festival UK.  I have travelled all over the world to compete, places like Rome, Vienna, and Orlando, where I have won gold in many amateur competitions at UK, Europe, and World levels. I hope to compete and win at the British title fight in May this year.”

How do you balance coming to college with your personal interests and home life?

“The College have been very supportive of what I have going on outside of the course.  I am a young carer and I look after my mum, she has Fibromyalgia and struggles with mobility, so I help with the day-to-day things, like going to the shops, lifting things and doing chores.  I get help and support from the College as well as from my kickboxing club, they are all there for me.  It is great to have such a supportive community around you.”

What are the highlights of your College journey so far?

“The people I have met, before College I was pretty much just training and coaching and then going home, now I have good friends, friends for life.  I have more of a social life now and I am getting out and about more often.  I used to live in Rosyth and drove to Dundee everyday for training at kickboxing, but I moved to Dundee two years ago to follow my passion for the sport and to gain more skills and knowledge in a career.  Another highlight is learning new things, learning about things that you have an interest in, learning new skills, and being able to use them in my coaching.”

What’s next for you, what are your goals?

“I am in the Intro level of the sports and fitness courses, and I have 4 or 5 years more to be at the College and learn everything for a career in sports.  I hope to go on to do a degree in sports and nutrition, as well as work part time as a PT along the way.  That way I will be able to make a steady income while learning and training.  My ultimate goal is to be a professional fighter in kickboxing.”

If David has inspired you, find out more about our Introduction to Sport & Fitness Course here.

Look out for more student stories coming soon!