ADAM Summerbell was a little boy who loved playing games and, like most children his age, he had his fair share of bumps and bruises from running too fast or stumbling over a football.

He would often wake up with what his parents thought were growing pains, but his family knew something was wrong when their son fell and scraped his knee that began to swell up.

He was taken to hospital where after months of tests, he was diagnosed with chronic arthritis at just nine-years-old.

His dreams of playing rugby league professionally were dashed when he secured a position to play at a North-East academy, but the arthritis in his left ankle made it too painful to carry on.

Mr Summerbell, 18, from Shildon, said: “I’d hoped to land a professional play contract and join a Super League team.

“Unfortunately, by the time I was 15 the damage was so bad that I needed a new cartilage.

“I had a limited range of movement in the ankle and after playing I’d wake up in terrible pain – it ached for days. I knew then that my playing days were over.”

However, the determined teenager decided that his condition would not stop him from ending his career in the sports industry.

He added: “During my time at the Gateshead academy I’d done a lot of gym work on strengthening and conditioning my ankle.

“I’d seen at first-hand how a qualified instructor could make a huge difference and I thought, ‘I could do that’.”

The St John’s Sixth Form College student has since signed up to a 16-week course with Darlington-based Corporate Personal Fitness (CPF) that will see him master skills to plan and deliver effective fitness training for others.

Mr Summerbell said: “Although there are shorter courses I chose CPF because its course doesn’t just cover fitness training.

“I’m also learning about anatomy and physiology, nutrition and advanced training methodologies.

“The support and encouragement I’ve received from my instructors has given me renewed passion – I can’t wait to get my new career started.”