At ASDAN, we know that meaningful learning often happens beyond the classroom.
CrossFit Llanelli’s recent delivery of the ASDAN’s Sport and Fitness Short Course is a powerful example of how alternative learning environments can help learners develop confidence, build relationships and achieve recognised accreditation.
Delivered through a partnership between CrossFit Llanelli, Carmarthenshire County Council and local schools, the programme supported a group of teenage girls to engage in physical activity, personal development and accredited learning in a way that worked for them.
Creating opportunities through partnership
As a local authority, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Sport and Leisure Department works collaboratively with schools, youth services and community organisations to create sport, physical activity and workforce development opportunities for young people.
Nick Reynolds is a Young People Officer within the team. For this programme, Nick and fellow colleagues identified learners who would benefit from increased confidence, greater engagement and an alternative learning setting. The group included 12 girls from two local schools, many who were less engaged in mainstream education and traditional PE settings.
The opportunity came about through collaboration with CrossFit Llanelli, who were keen to expand their community-focused work. For CrossFit Llanelli co-owner and coach Rhiannon Starling, the project reflected the gym’s core values.
“Strength and community is what we’re all about,” she explains. “If we’re going to say that, we need to show it in action.”
Why ASDAN?
The flexibility of ASDAN’s courses made it possible to tailor delivery to meet learners’ needs while ensuring their achievements were formally recognised.
Carmarthenshire County Council chose ASDAN because of its strong focus on personal development and its ability to support learners who may not thrive in more traditional educational settings.
The ASDAN Sport and Fitness Short Course provided a framework that combined practical activity with structured reflection, allowing learners to build skills, track their progress and achieve an accredited outcome.
For CrossFit Llanelli, it also offered an opportunity to challenge common misconceptions about CrossFit.
“People often see CrossFit as this intimidating environment,” says Rhiannon. “But at its heart, it’s about community, support and helping people realise what they’re capable of.”
Rhainnon and her team were also aware of ASDAN through The Academy Programme, an alternative provision and youth development programme that uses CrossFit and other functional fitness techniques as a vehicle for engagement, education and personal growth.
The Academy also delivers the Sport and Fitness Short Course. Co-founder Hannah Mitoo explains the difference it makes to the young people they work with.
“The course became a natural fit for our delivery. It bridges real world experience with a positive reintroduction to education, delivered in a different environment, the gym, outside of traditional school walls. It creates a space where learners feel safe to try again.”
Learning through movement
Sessions were carefully designed to combine practical CrossFit workouts with theory-based learning around health, fitness and wellbeing.
Learners took part in structured physical activity, set personal goals, reflected on their progress and developed their understanding of fitness in a non-classroom environment. The delivery team quickly identified approaches that worked best for the group.
“We found that if the learners completed the workout first, they were much more focused and receptive during the theory sessions afterwards,” says Rhiannon.
This flexible delivery model helped create an environment where learners felt comfortable, engaged and ready to participate. For many, it was their first experience of this kind of structured physical activity.
Although some arrived with little knowledge of CrossFit, they gradually developed confidence in trying new movements and challenging themselves physically. By the end of the course, learners were reflecting on achievements they had not thought possible when they started.
Building confidence and connection
One of the strongest outcomes of the programme was the sense of community it created.
Bringing together learners from two different schools could have presented challenges, but instead it became one of the programme’s greatest strengths. The girls developed friendships, communicated more confidently and supported one another throughout the course.
“The thing that really stood out from their reflections was how much they valued the friendships they’d built,” Rhiannon shares.
The programme also introduced learners to positive female role models. Being led by female coaches, the sessions gave participants the opportunity to see women confidently engaging in strength training and leading the fitness space, helping to challenge perceptions.
For Rhiannon, this visibility matters.
“It’s important that young girls see strength training as something that’s normal and accessible to them.”
Meaningful outcomes
The impact of the course extended well beyond physical fitness. Learners demonstrated improvement in areas such as physical competence, increased confidence, a greater willingness to try new challenges, and stronger communication and teamwork skills.
For some learners, the experience has already encouraged continued participation in physical activity, with CrossFit Llanelli now offering dedicated teen classes to support ongoing engagement.
The programme also created opportunities for staff development, enabling coaches to build confidence in working with new learner groups and broadening their own professional practice.
Looking ahead
Following the success of this first cohort, CrossFit Llanelli is keen to deliver future programmes and build on the relationships established with local schools and support services. Rhiannon also strongly encourages others to consider ASDAN delivery.
“It creates opportunities not just for learners, but for organisations too. It helps bring that community element to life.”
For Carmarthenshire County Council, the project demonstrates the value of strong partnerships in reducing barriers and creating accessible routes into learning.
“We would highly recommend ASDAN,” says Nick Reynolds. “It provides a meaningful framework to recognise personal development alongside practical achievement.
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