Dan used lockdown to work on making sport accessible

But Dan Crossfield, 25, from Wakefield, decided to use lockdown to try and make sport more accessible for himself and others despite a challenging climate.

Dan used his passion for football and rugby to start his own blog to keep himself and other people in isolation connected with latest sports news.

He has used his time during the pandemic to learn new social media skills including blogging and vlogging which has now inspired him to create a website for everyone to access sport regardless of barriers.

Most sporting fans live for their teams and when the pandemic hit, it was a huge blow to those who ‘live for the game,’ especially when it is a coping mechanism for many.

Dan, who is a big fan of Leeds United and Featherstone Rovers, said that he was “devastated” at the news that games would stop and fans could no longer attend the grounds.

He said: “I was upset initially but I knew I had to get used to the big change in my sporting and social calendar.

“However, I have been learning social media from a coach remotely through Skype and taken part in a free commentating workshop.”

Dan, who has regular online social media training, started learning skills to blog, vlog and create content online.

This culminated in him becoming the accessibility reporter for www.yorkshirefamilies.co.uk which he hopes to do more of with a look at sporting stadiums and their accessibility once things return to some normality.

He also took part in a free workshop with BBC Radio Leeds to learn the art of sports journalism and some tips on how to do commentating.

He has since been practising and honing his skills to be supported by his family and coach to start his own sports blog, will full match reports and his view on the games.

Dan said: “I love writing my sports blogs and especially when my team wins, the words come naturally. It’s nice to be utilising my skills, knowledge and passion for sport into a website and content I can create to share with other fans, especially people who often are isolated but want to stay connected with the game.”

Dan’s big future goal would be for people like himself, who are on the Autistic Spectrum and have a passion for sports, from other areas of the UK, to write and contribute their own local team reports and to have them uploaded to his blog so that it could go nationwide and benefit more people.

Dan now has his own sports blog called Dan’s Sports Blog which can be found at danssportsblogweb.wordpress.com or on facebook.com/danssportsblog