'Without Greenhouse, I would have been an ordinary kid — now I am extraordinary'

Maryam started secondary school full of excitement, but the pace and volume of the work soon got to her and she began to skip lessons, and then to bunk off entire mornings.“I would leave home in my school uniform and go and hang out in a local park,” she says. “I went from freaking out at not having enough time to do my homework to not even being bothered, and as I started missing more school, I fell further behind and my grades became worse and worse.”Maryam’s school in Newham, East London was deeply concerned and the head of year called her home to find out how they could help, but Maryam refused to engage either with her mother or the school.“I was 12 years old and didn’t know how to communicate my feelings, so I gave one-word answers that shut down the conversation, or I got highly emotional and screamed and shouted,” she says.With 3,000 pupils in the school and 450 in her year group, Maryam was content to disappear into the crowd, but the school had a secret weapon they could deploy.That trump card was Jago Streete Campbell, the coach-mentor employed by Greenhouse Sports to run basketball at the school, and with whom Maryam seemed to have formed a bond. Coach Jago, 30, recalls: “Maryam had started doing basketball in year 7, but when all the girls in her year dropped out, she alone had continued, and because I had a rapport with her, it was decided I would be the one to reach out.”Maryam and basketball Coach Jago Streete Campbell John Nguyen/JNVisualsWithin a few months, Maryam’s teachers would turn to Jago and ask in amazement: “What’s happened to Maryam? She’s coming to class, she’s asking questions, she’s engaging. What’s changed?”The Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund has pledged £500,000 to the campaign, of which half will fund Greenhouse programmes in five secondary schools in London. The other £250,000 will support four other charities, offering coach-mentoring in football, boxing, martial arts and kayaking. To reach more young people like Maryam, we are seeking donations from corporations, philanthropists and you, our readers.How your money can help Greenhouse Sports £15 Could enable a young person to access their programme for a week£65 Could provide 4 weeks of sports coaching and mentoring, helping a young person build confidence, resilience and a sense of belonging£165 Could provide coaching and mentoring during school holidays£800 Could provide a full year of coaching and mentoring, ensuring they stay engaged with school and develop the life skills to fulfil their potentialHow did Jago turn things around?“I do a lot of work with girls, especially in the insecure young-teenage age group, and they can feel excluded and start acting out,” he says. “In Maryam’s case, she had fallen out with friends and was the only girl in her year who continued with basketball, so she trained one-to-one with me and also with the boys. And while we were doing this, we started having conversations to help her navigate her life.”Maryam, now 18, jumps in: “I wasn’t the kind of person to talk to my parents, but I didn’t have to say much for Coach to really get it. Coach helped me to control my emotions and to express myself without shouting, and through Coach, I got more comfortable crying when I needed to cry, and also communicating with my mum and with teachers about things that upset me. If I am honest, I had a bit of an attitude problem — at basketball, my nickname was ‘Unserious’ — but as I practised, I started to enjoy the game and I wanted to improve and play matches and take it seriously.”In the school photograph of the First Basketball Team that hangs outside the gym, Maryam is the only girl in the picture, and she would go on to become the best female basketball player in the school. But before that, she hit a road block: Jago would not allow her to play matches if she missed lessons.“That was the turning point,” says Jago. “If she wanted to play, she had to fix up. From then, the bunking stopped and Maryam’s behaviour and grades began to improve dramatically. She also found her feet as a leader, becoming confident in social situations, and taking the courses needed to become a basketball referee and table official to keep score and run statistics.”What was the key to her change — sports coaching or soft skills mentoring?“Both,” says Maryam. “By committing to the sport, I built my relationship with Coach. I would train four times a week after school, plus most lunchtimes and sometimes before school as well. Coach became the scaffolding for my day, my go-to guy for any problems. From then on, the idea of missing school seemed a bad idea because I didn’t want to miss training. Coach would tell me: ‘you have to act professional before you can be professional’. I started to plan my time so that I could prepare properly for assignments and exams — the soft skills I learned on the court, I took into the classroom and into life.”Today, Maryam, who came to the UK from Pakistan aged three, is enrolled on a Level 3 sports diploma at an east London college and has plans to become a physiotherapist. She still shoots hoops, playing in the London Metropolitan Basketball League, the largest basketball association in London, and hopes to one day play abroad.Where would she be without Greenhouse Sports? She smiles. “I would have been a shy, ordinary kid —but now I am extraordinary.”The Standard has joined forces with Greenhouse Sports to deliver sports coaching and mentoring to young people in secondary schools across some of London’s most deprived boroughs. So far, £500,000 has been raised, with £250,000 going to Greenhouse Sports programmes in London and £250,000 to four other youth charities across the capital. We are calling on corporations, foundations, philanthropists — and our readers — to donate. All funds raised will go to Greenhouse Sports programmes in London.Sporting ChanceThe Standard