Mintridge Bronze Netball Programme with Pamela Cookey – Roedean School, March 2023

“You won’t always win, but you can always give it everything you’ve got to try and be better next time.”

WHAT A DAY!

It was another fantastic day for the Mintridge team and the inspirational Pamela Cookey for our Bronze Netball Programme. We had the pleasure of being invited back to Roedean School for another year for their Netball taster session day. It was great to meet so many students from the surrounding area that were invited to participate.

It was lovely to see the smiling faces of all the students taking part in the day as our Ambassador, England Netball legend Pamela Cookey, greeted them all for a fun day of netball skills and top tip sharing.

Pamela challenged the visiting netballers on the court during the netball games and developed their attacking and defending skills, just like Pamela would practice when competing for England.

The students loved learning some new top tips that they could put into their games. Everyone worked hard to show Pamela their skills and also worked on a short S&C programme during their morning too. 

Pamela shared snippets of her career in netball and her double life off the court with the students during our day. Pamela has been a successful player and captain for England on the court but has many talents off the court too, especially in the world of business. It was great for the students to learn about Pamela’s journey to success, as it helped them understand more about how they can balance their academic work and sport simultaneously.

“Communication with your parents, teachers and coaches is key. They are all there to support you, but they need to understand the challenges you are facing to be able to help you on your journey.”

During Pamela’s presentation, the students all took a moment to write down their aspirations and questions to post in our golden post box. Some of the best questions from our day were:

Were you good in your first-ever match?

Did you have a special diet?

What did you find hardest about playing netball?

How many goals did you score?

How did you manage all of your clubs at the same time?

What was your favourite match?

What was your toughest match?

Did you ever feel like giving up on netball?

What is your favourite colour?

How many hours did you train a week?

Were you sad when you played your last match for England?

What was your favourite match to commentate?

After a brilliant presentation from Pamela, the students showed off their match skills in the games they played in the afternoon, and Pamela took this time to support them on the courts. It was amazing to see everyone enjoying themselves and supporting each other in their mixed matches.

Pamela and Team Mintridge enjoyed our day at Roedean School, and we are so pleased to be invited back to help inspire the next generation of young athletes. As part of our day, we were pleased to share signed autograph cards from Pamela and certificates and medals for the students to keep as a memento from their special day. Pamela was also delighted to award three special awards for excellent play on the court during the matches.

Thank you very much to the staff and students from Roedean School and the students from their neighbouring schools for welcoming us to Brighton for a brilliant day of netball.

To see the photos or video from our day at Roedean School, please get in touch with the staff at the school.

If you would like a programme with Pamela Cookey or want to learn more about our mentoring programmes for your school or club with one of our inspirational Mintridge Ambassadors, please contact Katie Smith.

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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