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Special speech inspires starlets

Steve Hunter @Shunter77

Liverpool's Academy players and staff were inspired by a motivational talk from a Reds fan who was critically wounded while serving in Afghanistan in 2009.

Andy Grant was 20 years old when an explosion in Helmand Province left him in need of lifesaving treatment on the ground from fellow Royal Marines.

Some 18 months after sustaining 27 separate injuries in the blast, he underwent surgery to have his right leg amputated just below the knee.

Since the operation, the Liverpool fanatic has travelled the length and breadth of the country giving motivational speeches to a variety of audiences, drawing on his own experiences to show how any obstacle in life can be overcome.

And last week, he paid a special visit to the club's Kirkby Academy to give one of his much-admired talks to the Liverpool youngsters. 

"It was fantastic for me to come down and deliver one of my talks to the players," said Andy. "From a professional point of view it was good because it gave me the opportunity to communicate my ideas and messages to aspiring sportsmen and as someone who takes a keen interest in sport, that was important.

"But from a personal point of view it was brilliant because I'm a massive Red and I was delighted with the response from the lads. They all seemed to have enjoyed the talk and a lot of them connected with what I had to say.

"I didn't realise how much it affected some of them - in a positive way. A few of them contacted me through direct messages on Twitter to say just how much it had meant.

"This was especially the case with some of the boys who have had to move away from homes around the world to come and train at the Academy. They said the talk would really help them going forward and in settling into their new environment."

One week before Andy was due to have his leg amputated in November 2010, he was invited to speak in front of an audience of over 600 people gathered for a special awards night at Bootle Town Hall.

Despite the vast audience, Andy thrived and the night was a huge success, ultimately paving the way for him to take his motivational talks around the country and to a whole range of different audiences.

Many of the talks he has since given centre around the concept of 'SMART', something Andy devised when he was younger to help him cope with the loss of his mother when he was just 12 years old.

It stands for 'strength', 'memories', 'ambition', 'respect' and 'total positivity'.

Clive Cook, Liverpool education and welfare officer, said: "The rationale behind inviting Andy in was to show the lads that they will not get to the top unless they learn to cope successfully with setbacks along the way, as they are unavoidable.

"Such resilience is what we want to develop in the lads to aid their psychological development. It was superb to have Andy in and the lads were clearly inspired by his visit."

Below is a selection of tweets from the Academy players who watched Andy's talk. You can keep up to date with Andy on Twitter or visit his website by click here>>

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