Leyton Orient defender Omar Beckles on his London community work

Not many teachers would dare to interrupt one of their lessons for a kickabout, even if it stimulated the children to give their full attention.

But when you’re a successful pro football player at the front of the class, you tend to still find that all eyes are on you.

So too for Leyton Orient’s Omar Beckles – League Two promotion winner, dressing room manager, inspirational speaker, youth mentor, president of the Professional Footballers Association and someone who selflessly gives his time to give back.

It’s been an interesting few days for the 31-year-old defender. Last Thursday he was nominated for the second year in a row for the EFL Player in the Community Award, alongside Rotherham’s Hakeem Odoffn and George Edmundson from Ipswich.

On Saturday, the O’s won 2-0 at Sutton United and for a staggering few minutes believed their promotion to League One was mathematically confirmed.

As the players danced for their traveling fans, word got through that a win for Bradford and a last gasp for Stockport meant they weren’t quite awake yet.

There’s a funny result of a video of the players partying posted to Orient’s Twitter feed when manager Richie Wellens comes over and asks the cameraman “are we awake?”

‘No’ is the answer and Wellens isn’t sure how to tell the boys.

But Orient has been head and shoulders above everyone else in League Two all season, so it was only a matter of time. Still, the actual moment of crossing the line was pretty bizarre.

On Tuesday night, with Orient trailing 2-0 at Gillingham after Beckles was sent off in the 14th minute, the Priestfield floodlights failed with 12 minutes remaining.

During the delay came the news that Swindon had beaten Bradford and that Orient had done it. Now the party could really begin – and it certainly did.

The league title was secured this weekend by a 2-0 home win over Crewe.

“It has been a season that I have really enjoyed. We have a great group of guys, a very special group and a togetherness that is unmatched in any other dressing room I’ve been in,” Beckles told Mail Sport.

“Richie has had a huge impact, allowing us to express ourselves and play in a very positive way.

“He says the right things at the right time, which I really appreciate. Knowing when we need a kick in the ass, but also knowing when to take the sting out of a nervous couple.’

But we’re here to talk about Beckles as a community champion and his ambassadorial work at Belmont Park, a school for students with social, emotional and/or mental health (SEMH) challenges in Leyton, is particularly impressive.

“These are kids who may have had gang ties, been involved in crimes or run-ins with the police. In fact, these children are as good as written off,’ he explains.

“To go from one classroom to another, from one corridor to another, you need a key. There are smashed windows on the left, right and center.

“These children have many challenges, they come from difficult backgrounds and families.

“I share my own personal story as I give them a few principles to carry through life. We will talk about perseverance, how they deal with their emotions, conflict resolution.

“My early life was a school of hard knocks, it wasn’t smooth sailing, there was a lot of hardship and I suffered quite a bit.

“People do that, whether it’s bereavement or the rejection that happens in football, it’s hard to navigate through.

“Nevertheless, I get to stand before them as a professional footballer and someone who would be considered of some significance. They understand my journey and such a story encourages them.

“I want them to understand the importance of life choices, to get a sense of times, especially at a time when kids are obsessed with gaming etc. And they start taking school for granted.

“I can really speak to that level of entitlement and hopefully make them more grateful for the opportunities they have.”

Beckles, who grew up in East London and started out at Millwall, can empathize with much of what the children go through in the classroom before him.

“Whether it’s anti-social behavior or being associated with gangs when I was younger, being distracted by girls. I can empathize with their story, I speak their language, so it helps me interact with them,” he says.

‘I also get to share the disappointments in life with them. I’m reading right now. I wish I had been into it sooner and had more of a passion for it in school.

“I wish I had understood the understanding and the ability to really listen, absorb and apply information. If I had been a better listener as a young player, I wonder where I would be in football.

“When I speak of those situations, I hope that a seed has been sown that waters. I’m sure years later I’ll have someone come up to me in a deep voice and say, “Omar, don’t you remember me?”

So is it a challenge to keep such an audience engaged in what you say?

“The kids look at a pro football player and say ‘oh wow’ so the level of engagement I get from a kid that your average speaker wouldn’t get,” he says.

“I’ve listened to a lot of people who are generally very good speakers and I try to pick up little clues and good techniques.

“In the middle of a session, I’ll break it and we’ll kick a ball around – it’s really good for their attention span. Or it could be an ice breaker like ‘would you rather’ or a silly little game on their minds.’

Beckles is also an ambassador for a London-based charity called Project Zero, which campaigns against knife crime with a goal of a year without deaths from youth violence.

He even met the King and Queen’s consort when they visited one of the charity’s youth centers in Walthamstow.

The defender also helps organize futsal sessions for children in partnership with the Leyton Orient Trust.

“It’s just a pretty fluid session. There is a real need for a safe space where the kids can just come and bond with the club,” he says.

“Today, children are bombarded with information about football – stop, start, stand still. It is an information overload and what is neglected is the character building.

“I just wanted to set up a session that restores the distant memories of goal post jumpers. You just rock, play and it puts a little bit of autonomy in the hands of the kids to dictate what the rules might be and just really allows them to get involved.

“They buzzed.”

Like much of the feeling around Orient in this season to remember.