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Young people today are not living one life. They are living many.
There’s their home life, where family pressures and responsibilities shape who they are. Their street life, where reputation and survival can matter more than anything else. Their school life, where expectations are measured and compared. Their online life, where identity can be built, filtered, and judged in seconds. And their life with friends, where belonging often feels like the only currency that counts.
Each world asks them to be someone slightly different. Each world comes with its own pressures. Its own risks. Its own rewards. And in between all of that, they are still trying to figure out who they really are. So how do we coach that? How do we measure the impact of a session when a young person leaves the court and walks straight back into a different reality, one shaped by influences we may never see? This is the challenge of the moment.
In the UK, one in five children and young people are now experiencing a probable mental health disorder, according to NHS data. Referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services have surged in the past decade. At the same time, digital life has expanded dramatically, Ofcom reports that more than 90% of children aged 12–15 are active online, often managing multiple social identities at once.
Psychologists increasingly talk about the cognitive and emotional load of navigating competing identities, expectations, and influences. No wonder many young people feel overwhelmed. No wonder confidence fractures. No wonder decision-making becomes harder.
But science also gives us hope. Research in developmental psychology consistently shows that one invested adult can dramatically change a young person’s trajectory. A single consistent relationship, someone who shows up, believes in them, and refuses to give up, can improve resilience, increase self-belief, and reduce the likelihood of negative life outcomes. That is where coaching becomes something more than sport.
At The Change Foundation, we are redefining what coaching means. We call it Social Change Coaching, a practice that recognises the complexity of young people’s lives and meets them where they are, not just where we wish them to be. It takes time. It takes trust. And often, it takes one coach. One coach who remembers their name. Who notices when they’re quieter than usual. Who checks in after a tough day. Who celebrates the small wins that others might overlook. Who keeps showing up, session after session, even when progress feels slow.
That kind of consistency builds something powerful: belief. Our Coaching for Change model is built on that principle. It blends sport with mentoring, behavioural science, and lived experience.
Many of our coaches have walked similar paths to the young people they support. They understand the pressures. They recognise the signals others might miss. And they know that change rarely happens in a single moment, it happens through repetition, trust, and presence.
The scale of the challenge is big. Bigger than ever. But so is the opportunity. When you invest in Coaching for Change, you are not just funding sessions. You are funding relationships. You are creating stability in unstable moments. You are giving one young person the chance to believe that someone is on their side. And sometimes, that is all it takes to change the direction of a life.
We are up for the challenge. And we invite you to be part of it.
