It all started when Shannon, a promising hockey player with Grosvenor High School, decided she wanted to concentrate on a sport that gave her more individual satisfaction and development.

George and Jordan – both Player of the Year award winners at Malone Rugby Club – and Jacob were happy to tag along with big sister. But now all four are in the same class at Prokick and can’t get enough of the sport.

George senior said: “We were thinking about how the kids would be approaching their transfer tests and weighing up how much balance there was between education and physical activity. We find it very important that the kids have a sporting interest but that their education is a priority.

“I had to take the boys out of rugby for the period of time they were concentrating on their 11-plus exam but when it was time to go back they seemed to go off the idea of playing again.

“We tried swimming, diving classes and other sports. But their older half-brother Michael is a kickboxing coach at a club and has just qualified as a physio and the kids saw that kickboxing had been good for him. I thought it would be good for Shannon to learn self-defence too. She wasn’t getting anything out of hockey expect tears because her team was losing almost every game. She is very interested in drama and learning the art of kickboxing is just like performing a role on a stage.”

The young Eyre clan have all gained yellow belts and are due to be assessed for orange belt grade.

Their dad added: “George, in particular, is a different person since he started at Prokick. He was a painfully shy boy but since he started kickboxing he has come out of his shell. He has been selected for a part in a play too, which is something we are completely surprised by.”

Prokick coach Billy Murray said: “The Eyre’s are a wonderful family. The kids are very supportive of one another in class and it is healthy competition that they are in there together.”

 

Story by Alex McGreevy