SPENNYMOOR swimming and water polo coach Adam Woods insists he will not let success go to his head despite scooping a top national prize at star-studded awards ceremony in Glasgow.

Adam was named as the Heather Crouch Young Coach of the Year at the UK Coaching Awards, supported by Gillette, and was also nominated for the Gillette Community Coach of the Year.

The 18-year-old also scooped the Young Coach of the Year award at the County Durham Sports & Physical Activity Awards in September.

Adam first got involved with coaching aged 14 after deciding to give something back to Sedgefield Water Polo Club and it would prove to be a wise decision as he quickly established himself as a crucial figure.

Adam is also well known at Wear Valley Amateur Swimming Club and North East Water Polo and, despite having received recognition before, he claimed its national scale caught him by surprise.

“I’ve won local awards before but this was a big surprise," said Adam, who is in his first year of a sport coaching degree at the University of Sunderland.

“I never thought I would get here and then to win the award was a big shock. Winning the Young Coach of the Year award is really overwhelming and means a huge amount to me.

“But it won’t change the way I do things. The recognition isn’t why anyone gets into coaching, it’s all about helping people reach their potential.

“To get acknowledged for what you do is a bit surreal to be honest. As soon as I started coaching, it was something that I really loved doing and was happy to volunteer my time.

“I work with different abilities, age groups and disabled people as well because it’s important that everyone gets the same chances.

“I would love to think that people I’ve coached have been inspired to want to coach others.”

And in terms of his start in coaching, Woods admits he fell into the vocation accidentally.

“It wasn’t something I was planning on getting into but it just kind of happened,” he added.

“I used to play water polo for the GB talent squad but got dropped, so my coach pushed me towards the coaching area of things.

“I was about 14 and it was a way to help out at the club that I had been a part of for a long time. Once I started I thrived and really enjoyed it.

“I got back to the GB talent squad but was then dropped again, so decided to focus on the coaching side of things and hopefully bring out the best in people.”

After his regional award, Adam said: “It was surreal when I heard my name read out as I was fortunate enough to win it the previous year, but I don’t do it for the awards.

“It is obviously nice to be recognised as I honestly didn’t expect to get it again, and I didn’t expect to get it the first time. I was overwhelmed with emotion.”

After university, Adam then hopes to complete a PGCE to pursue his dream career of being a PE teacher for children with special needs.

“The first few groups I coached when I was helping out through school were kids with disabilities and it was something I found really interesting,” he said.

“They got so much enjoyment and pleasure out of something that some people take for granted. It’s great to see little things mean so much to people.

“Coming to university has helped with my confidence and allows me to explore different types of sports coaching which is helping me think outside the box and improving my communication with others.”

Adam has recently been appointed as Head Coach for the North East Water Polo Girls under 14’s squad, but still teaches water polo at Sedgefield Water Polo Club, and swimming, including disabled sessions, at Wear Valley Amateur Swimming Club.

“I enjoy running a disability swimming session and in the long run I’d like to make them a lot happier than what they could have been.

“I find it incredibly interesting and enjoy seeing them enjoy themselves when they might not have had the best of starts to life,” said Adam.