As a professional football player, with stints at clubs including Birmingham City, Reading, Ipswich Town and Hull City, Nicky Forster considers himself lucky to have lived in some beautiful places. But Surrey, and more specifically, Oxted, will always be his home.
“I’m a Hurst Green boy: I was born here, I grew up here, and I went to Oxted County SchooI. After some time away, I moved back to this area with my family. We lived in Lingfield and Blindley Heath for a while but I knew I always wanted to return to Oxted so, about two years ago, we moved back here.”
Achieving his goals
Whenever Nicky was on the pitch, he’d set himself targets:
“I’d think ‘I’m going to get five shots on goal in the first half’. Then, I’d expand that to ‘I’m going to get 10 goals by Christmas, and another 10 by the end of the season.”
With over 700 games and 200 goals behind him, goalsetting and developing the mindset needed for success are skills Nicky utilised in his subsequent managerial career, and then later, in his post-football life, as a qualified personal trainer and gym owner. The Spot, in Godstone High Street, is a micro-gym and wellness centre, offering one-to-one training and personalised fitness plans that help its clients identify, and progress towards, their health objectives.
The Goal Setting Coach
Nicky has also branched out into coaching, working with clients from sports and business backgrounds, as well as schools, most recently de Stafford School, in Caterham:
“I generally work with year 10 students, running workshops where we discuss what goalsetting is, why it’s important and how to do it. They participate in activities, thinking about where they want to be in life, before starting to plan how they might get there. I help them see that they’re accountable for their actions: if you do nothing, you get nothing. If you take action, even something small, you’ll get results.”
Away from work, Nicky can be found either on Limpsfield Chart or relaxing in an Oxted cafe:
“My therapy is running and cycling, and I like nothing more on a Sunday morning than drinking coffee and watching the world go by. I don’t mind a gin either, so I’m always happy visiting The Ginistry, too!”
