"There is not a 'perfect' way to look as an athlete. If you look after your mind, body and nutrition, you have a great foundation for success!" - Heather Fell OLY visits Prior's Field School
Prior’s Field School Sports Scholar Bronze Presentation Programme with Heather Fell OLY
“Looking after your mind, body and nutrition can be the key to overall success…you are a person and an athlete and there is no set model for what you should look like as a successful athlete!”
We were delighted to be back with the Prior’s Field School sports scholars for another inspirational morning with one of our amazing Ambassadors, Heather Fell OLY. Heather is an Olympic silver medallist in Modern Pentathlon and current Global Triathlon Network presenter and spent the morning inspiring the students at Prior’s Field School as part of an amazing bronze programme designed to support them all on the road to success.
Throughout their morning, the students gained essential top tips, words of advice and useful tools from Heather, as she told them her journey into Modern Pentathlon but also the lessons she has learnt along the way as an individual athlete, and the challenges that come with competing at the top of your game in five different disciplines.
Heather was able to share some valuable insights with the sports scholars about how they can manage their training and nutrition to make sure that they are getting the best out of themselves when they take to competing in their fields. At this crucial age, Heather explained the challenges she had trying to fit into the stereotypes that others thought she should fit, to be their version of ‘successful’, when actually she needed to look after her body, mind and nutrition to make sure her talent and hard work could shine through.
As young people who are already competing in their sports at a high level, the sports scholars learnt a lot from Heather about how to manage their lifestyles, to communicate with teachers and coaches to get the best support possible and how to make sure that they are controlling the controllables that are in front of them.
As an individual athlete, Heather was able to share a different perspective with the sports scholars, to that which they gained from our previous visit with Eboni Usoro-Brown, netball Commonwealth gold medallist. For the sports scholars, it was incredibly important to hear these messages, as they plan ahead to hopefully a successful pathway in sport but also planning for life outside of performing, especially if they become injured or not selected during their careers so far.
Here are some of the questions that the students asked during the morning that helped the students gain a deeper understanding of what it is like to perform at the elite level.
Have you ever had any horses play up for you?
What is your favourite discipline?
How did you find the time you needed to balance all of the training for each sport?
Did you do anything to measure your performance or anything that really helped you look after your body?
Did you ever struggle with the shooting element?
How did you make sure you were fuelled enough for competition?
Did you ever have any points in your career when you lost motivation?
When talking about her setbacks in sport and the journey to an Olympic silver medal, Heather shared a lot of the unseen challenges she faced on that journey and how she dealt with them at the time. It is so important for the sports scholars to hear how the setbacks really shape the success later down the line, as they provide such valuable lessons for the athletes at this stage.
It was a wonderful morning for Team Mintridge, Heather and the staff and students at Prior’s Field School. The sports scholars from Prior’s Field took a lot from their time with Heather and really enjoyed meeting her and seeing her Olympic silver medal at the end of their presentation.
As part of this day, Prior’s Field School chose to support their local primary school, Queen Eleanor’s C of E Junior School, by enabling them to also meet Heather who joined them for the second part of our morning. This was incredibly well received by the school and the perfect opportunity for Heather to inspire more young minds to get involved in sport and take on challenges that they face along the way.
We look forward to being back with the sports scholars at Prior’s Field School very soon for one more inspirational presentation from another of our Mintridge Ambassadors before the end of the summer.
To see any of the photos from our morning, please contact the staff at Prior’s Field School.
#TeamMintridge
If you are interested in a virtual or physical Programme with Heather Fell OLY or any of our other inspirational Ambassadors, then please get in touch via the Mintridge website at www.mintridgefoundation.org.uk or with Katie at katie@mintridge.org.uk.
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.
