Former footballer scoops training award for work at Total Fitness in Altrincham (From Messenger Newspapers)

Former footballer scoops training award for work at Total Fitness in Altrincham

8:30am Thursday 29th October 2009

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A YOUNG footballer who had his professional career cut short through injury has received a top fitness prize.

Martin Gibson, who works as an instructor at Total Fitness in Altrincham, won the fitness apprentice of the year category in the Trafford College Business Training Awards.

Martin, 22, from Timperley and a former Sale Grammar School pupil, said: “I’ve been studying for my personal trainer award and an NVQ in fitness through Trafford College and apparently I completed the course in record time – just under 10 months,” said Martin. “And that’s why my tutor put me forward and presumably because I’m quite good at what I do.”

The award marks a tremendous turnaround in fortunes for the promising full-back who was a triallist with Chelsea, through Scholarship USA, and a member of the academy at Rochdale as a teenager.

Injury ended his promising football career and he had to rebuild his life.

He joined Total Fitness two years ago and hasn’t looked back.

“I just knew I wanted to do something with sport and this has proved to be the perfect job for me. I’ve started playing semi-pro football again, for New Mills, but I’ll never be back to where I was.”

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