Celebrating young heroes of lockdown

Last week we had the pleasure of helping Premiership Rugby celebrate the achievements of six outstanding young individuals – their HITZ Heroes 2021. 

HITZ is their award winning education, employment and training programme which helps over 2000 young people each year get their lives back on track. 

To say life can be tough for some young people is a bit of an understatement and this was only amplified by the pandemic, so pausing the delivery of HITZ during lockdown was not an option for Premiership Rugby and its partner clubs and sponsors. 

Many students demonstrated real commitment and resilience not to let the pandemic derail their aspirations. Each had their own challenges and story to tell, but what unites the six winners is their determination to keep moving forward. 

With the Government reporting that by the end of last year there was an estimated 800,000 16-24yr olds in the UK classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training) programmes like HITZ are more important than ever. The right support coupled with opportunity and a bit of self belief can go a long way to changing lives for the better. 

Sport has the power to change lives and the HITZ Heroes are proof of this!