Matthew Jefferson

Matthew has been involved in many sports since he was 6 years old, representing Derbyshire in tennis and his school in basketball and athletics..His major involvement has been in rugby, where he achieved considerable success, playing for Nottingham, Derbyshire and Notts., Lincs.and Derbys. He toured Australia with NLD in 2003 and showed great promise. A shoulder injury at the age of 19, necessitating complex surgery, ended his playing career, but, overcoming the disappointment, he diverted his energies into coaching and spends much of his time in Primary and Secondary schools coaching youngsters and organising inter school tournaments. He is a great motivator and ambassador for the sport, encouraging all who wish to participate, whatever their level of skill or ability. He relates incredibly well to young people and proves an inspiration to those around him. I feel he would be a worthy torchbearer for the 2012 Olympics.