Mintridge Presentation Programme with Jade Windley at Prior’s Field School.

It was another exciting afternoon for Team Mintridge and our amazing Ambassador Jade Windley, as we were back again to virtually visit the Sports Scholars at Prior’s Field School, to deliver the second of their inspirational presentations, that they will be having throughout this year with the Mintridge Ambassadors. They have already listened to Emma Wiggs MBE talk about her sporting journey and how that might help them with their own ambitions and this time it was Jade Windley’s turn to share her insights about overcoming setbacks and dealing with pressure.

As a former professional tennis player and Wimbledon competitor, Jade has experienced some incredible highs in her career and has often had to work alone to achieve her goals, especially during her younger years. It is these stories of success and how Jade dealt with having to attend competitions and prepare for them, that were really informative for the students at Prior’s Field to hear about and also relate to their own sporting contexts.

However, like most successful journeys, Jade’s hasn’t been without challenging setbacks to balance out the incredible highs. After dealing with major injuries and talking about how she managed her mindset and the return to court, Jade shared some valuable advice with the students to help them when they experience a major set back. Lots of the students could relate to Jade’s feeling of hopelessness at times and her lack of motivation, during that low time in her career. It was incredibly beneficial for the students to hear how Jade overcame those setbacks and bounced back to achieve even greater things on her journey.

“Surround yourself with positive people, and work towards your goals and you can go on to achieve anything you want!”

As we spend our summers watching the Wimbledon tennis tournament and seeing the big names take to centre court, we often forget how much preparation has gone into that moment for the athletes. Jade spoke a lot to the students about the preparation and training routines, that regularly consumed her weeks and months and the sacrifices she has had to make as well as the parties she has had to miss to reach the top of her game. It is these messages that bring some comfort to the sports scholars, who are trying their best to manage their school commitments and sport, as well as work towards their own goals. The students were particularly interested to learn all about Jade’s pre-match routines and how she gets herself motivated when stepping on to the court.

Throughout the presentation, Jade touched on lots of topics and gave lots of advice to the scholars about areas that can help them in their sports but also in their home lives and during their studies. We loved that the students took the opportunity to ask Jade lots of brilliant questions. Some of the best ones were;

Who was your biggest competition on court?

What age did you stop playing and what did you do after that?

When you were at the age you went to the ‘On to road to Wimbledon Competition’ how much were you playing?

During your career what was your lowest point and how did you come back from it?

What was it like at Wimbledon when you played your first match after injury?

What was it like when you were competing at Wimbledon?

Did you ever doubt yourself after not being selected or injured and how did you gain confidence?

Do you have any regrets in your career?

What was your favourite shot?

How do you keep a clear head in a match?

What are your lockdown learnings?

We really enjoy working with the Prior’s Field Sports Scholars and we know that there are a lot of key messages and things that they take away from our presentations and Q&A’s with them. It is also great that the students are taking some time to reflect on what they have learnt after the programme, to really help them on their own journeys.

You can see some of the great reflections below.

Jade was really impressed with the questions asked and how well the students interacted in the session and their contributions throughout this programme.

Thank you to the teachers at Prior’s Field School for helping to organise another wonderful programme. We are really looking forward to our next presentations with the Prior’s Field Sports Scholars, which will be delivered by Laura Sugar and Liz Cann.

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The Mintridge Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing life skills in young people through sport. We provide a support network for young people by harnessing the power of positive sporting role models. The Mintridge Foundation assists young people of all ages, abilities, and physical capabilities to develop confidence and resilience, and creates awareness of the importance of mental and physical wellbeing through sport.

Our team of Ambassadors - Olympians, Paralympians and other professional sports stars from over 20 sports, both team and individual - work with young people in schools, clubs and academies across the UK. Starting with visits including assemblies, coaching clinics and classroom sessions tailored to each organisation’s requirements, our ambassadors can then provide one- on- one remote mentoring in a safeguarded environment, delivered via technology such as FitSwarm and Playwaze to build a lasting legacy for individuals.

The Mintridge Foundation’s successes demonstrate the incredible power of sport; from a mentee’s selection to represent Great Britain in their chosen field to enabling disabled children to find confidence and happiness just through participation. Understanding life after sport, we also support our Ambassadors in their transition from active sport to the next stage of their careers.

To find out more about the Mintridge Foundation, please contact Alex Wallace.

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