Yesterday a few hundred thousand 18-year-olds opened an envelope (or a phone screen) and found out their A-level results.

If that was you, your kid, or someone you know — well done. Genuinely. However it went, I hope it opens the door you were hoping for.

I remember that feeling well. But there's a different grading system I think about more, and it's from when I was 13 or 14, playing for QPR.

We got graded too. Every session, every match — handling, command of your box, footwork, leadership, distribution, the lot. Letters, just like school. A's, A+'s, the odd B. I was a decent keeper for my age, and the coach we had was brilliant at getting the best out of us. Ex premier league striker. Firm, but he built you up. I left every session and match wanting to be better, not scared of being worse.

Because I was doing well, I got pushed up an age group. New coach. Much harsher. And over about a year, without my actual ability changing much at all, my grades did. A's became B's and C's. Then C's became D's and F's. Same kid. Same hands. Same games. Same drills I'd been doing for years. What changed was the voice giving me the feedback. I remember grading day well. I still have the reports. It's actually burned in my memory. Sweaty palms walking up to see the manager at the stadium. His sturn eyes, ruthless talk.

That was the worst football I ever played as a kid. I got released not long after.

I think about that a lot now, coaching adults. Most people walking into a gym for the first time in years have already been "graded" by something — a crash diet that didn't work, a class that left them limping for a week, a mirror, their own inner voice. And a lot of them have quietly decided they're a D student before they've even started.

It's a big part of why I coach the way I do. Controlled technique over momentum. Building the foundation properly before loading it up. Progress people can actually feel, session to session — because that's what turns an F back into an A, not shouting louder.

If any of that struck a chord — what's the "grade" you've been carrying around from a past gym or coach?

On that note — the new studio's nearly ready, and the coaching waitlist opens in two weeks. If you've been waiting for the right time to start (or come back), this is worth keeping an eye on.

Sam