Every club has that one member who goes above and beyond to make sure that all the club achieve their full potential, and Sittingbourne Community College Archers is no exception - club founder and head coach, Adam Kenyon, has been awarded the BBC Sports Personality’s Unsung Hero award this year for the South East Region.
After leaving a career in the Prison Service, Adam worked for the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust where he realised that everyone deserves to enjoy life, no matter if they have physical, mental or emotional restrictions. He took up archery, as a way to unwind and this soon became a whole family affair.
When joining the science department of Sittingbourne Community College (now The Sittingbourne School), he started the Sittingbourne Community College Archers (SCCA) in 2008. By 2009 he took six pupils to their first Junior National Championships and has been taking junior members to the indoor and outdoor national events ever since with great success. Most of the young people that he takes to competitions would not otherwise have the opportunity as the club is situated in an area of deprivation in the Borough of Swale.
The club has approximately 35 student members with additional adult supporting members and coaches and a new intake of students each year. Adam is the SCCA head coach and has built up the club over time, seeking sponsorship from outside sources and companies to ensure that all members can experience all bowstyles and have the equipment they need, which, for many, would be impossible to achieve due to cost. He has also sourced and built a fixed indoor range wall for the school. Adam runs the club on the core principle of inclusivity and he will accept and coach anyone who wishes to shoot despite any physical, learning difficulty or mental health challenge.
The local community is very important to Adam and the club, which is why he has organised regular activities to include parents, the wider school community and engagement with primary feeder schools. The club has run Start Archery Week events, hosted beginners' and coaching courses run by outside facilitators. They have four senior para archers who shoot with them regularly, and Adam has run and supported the Sittingbourne MS Society with regular sessions.
Thanks to Adams' hard work, SCCA was recognised with an OnTarget award for Junior Clubs, and due to his work with Kent Archery Association to host the Indoor Inter Counties event for the past five years he received an awards from Southern Counties Archery Society in April 2011 and from Archery GB in April 2015 for services to archery.
Club members wanted to nominate Adam for the BBC Unsung Hero this year because of the wide ranging impact that he has had on their lives personally and in their sporting achievements. Adam and his wife will now attend the Sports Personality finals in Salford later in December where he is up for the Overall Unsung Hero award. 
When putting together the nomination form, the club asked members what made this place so special, and all of them agreed that Adam is the main reason why SCCA works so well:
"I started archery 10 years ago and Adam has always been very supportive in archery and life in general. He does his best to help you. I wouldn’t have gone to the Junior Nationals without that opportunity."
"I have been shooting since primary school. Adam is like a father figure. If I have a problem I will go to him as he listens. He has been through all my ups and downs with me. When I changed bow type I was initially scared but he taught me how not to be. He puts a smile on my face in competitions which sees me through my pain. He is my favourite person."
"My son and I shoot at the club. It is clear how Adam relates to adults and children with learning and physical difficulties. My son struggles to make relationships with those outside the family and Adam is one of the few he feels comfortable talking to."
"When my daughter (now an adult) started shooting, Adam invited me to shoot but due to my disability I didn’t think that was possible. Adam didn’t believe this and so enlisted club members’ help to take a cast of my arm and develop a special prosthetic to help me shoot. I then went on to be selected for county and the fast-track programme for the Rio Paralympics. I could not have done this without him - it has been life changing and finding my sport at 40 was amazing."
"I started archery three years ago and wasn’t in a very good head space at the time and Adam hadn’t known me very long at that point but he became my shoulder to cry on. I have nothing but respect for him as I watch him care for so many people - he makes everyone feel safe."
"Due to my disability I cannot do normal PE lessons so Adam ensures I can do my archery as an alternative. My sister and I have anxiety and so the club is our safe space."
‘After summoning up the courage to join the club Adam mentored me and supported me to shoot. I have internal tibial torsion which means I have to work on my stance and posture. Because of Adam’s acceptance, belief and coaching I have pushed myself and I am now in the GB Academy on the Olympics performance pathway. I am always comfortable practicing at my club and am reassured that Adam will always help me if I need it."
"I wanted to speak for Adam with his incredible support for Para Archery in Kent. Without his determination, hard work, persistence and diligence; the Kent Para indoor and outdoor championships simply wouldn't have gone ahead for the last many years. My recently late husband Phil Shoebridge was Chair of CEDAK (Centre of Excellence for Disabled Archers in Kent) and would want me to advocate for him as far as Para Archery goes. Adam gathers sponsors, equipment and with the help of his junior archers puts on the tournaments year after year and they are a massive success. Everyone at CEDAK considers him a friend in archery of the highest calibre and a true supporter of archers with disabilities."
Congratulations Adam and thank you for everything you do!
