“I can’t think of many ways that my disability has held me back” - Jordan Jarrett - Bryan Visits The Vyners School with the Mintridge Foundation
“I can’t think of many ways that my disability has held me back” - Jordan Jarrett - Bryan Visits The Vyners School with the Mintridge Foundation
Through presentations and interview “Back To You In The Studio” challenges, the Mintridge Foundation Ambassador, Jordan Jarrett – Bryan had a fantastic day at the Vyners School in London to help share his sporting and media journey and mentor the different year groups throughout the school.
According to Mentor’s research, it confirms that quality mentoring relationships have powerful positive effects on young people in a variety of personal, academic, and professional situations. Ultimately, mentoring connects a young person to personal growth and development, and social and economic opportunity and here at the Mintridge Foundation, we hope that visits like this one to Vyners will help and impact that.
Jordan made his way between year groups throughout his day and openly shared the highest and hardest points of his career with students. From “wasting time in school” through to having no regrets of not going to university and always sticking to your values.
“I will also stick to my values when interviewing - be authentic and be fair. It can be uncomfortable and it can be awkward. ”
Jordan spoke passionately about his career in wheelchair basketball which was great, particularly for the PE students who were keen to learn the differences between basketball and wheelchair basketball.
The TalkSport host and Channel 4 News Sports Reporter shared that having his media career running alongside enabled an easier transition from the sport, which is something that we are very passionate about here at the Mintridge Foundation as we work alongside brilliant organisations like Switch the Play. So many transferrable skills are learnt in sport that Jordan has taken into his career and beyond which he gladly shared with each group:
1) Taking on new challenges – In Jordan’s case: Kizomba Dancing with colleagues
“Think big. There’s a big world out there – you need to smell it, you need to taste it, you need to experience it. ”
2) Diligence – Preparation for work (despite Jordan saying that he is very critical upon himself, maybe more so than his biggest critic, his Gran?)
“We are not robots, you can be forgiven for messing up a line or a stutter, but you can’t be forgiven for not preparing. ”
3) Interacting with people & taking an interest in them.
“Do I get nervous interviewing famous people? No - they’re just human. Don’t put people on a pedestal. Anthony Joshua was the best interview that I have done, he was humble and kind, what you seen on the camera is the same off it. ”
4) Being a team player – Being an interviewer isn’t about you, it is about your audience at home and in Jordan’s case, for Channel 4, it is the social issues that his viewers care about when hearing about sport.
5) Overcoming regret – Not jumping on YouTube quickly enough.
6) Learning from difficult situations – Jordan used an example from his early career interviewing Kanye West for SMTV Live. The very mention of SMTV Live made us all rather nostalgic at Mintridge HQ, but that’s another story!
7) Hunger for Success – Jordan shared that despite many high profile individuals in his roster, there are still plenty of athletes that he would like to interview, one of which is the one and only Serena Williams. We cannot wait for this one!
“Don’t underestimate your personal values”
So many of the students were empowered by Jordan to join him at the front, to step up and “give it a go” which was a running theme throughout our day. Jordan put the students in the spotlight, giving them various scenarios for interviews within the sporting world. These students did incredibly well and were rewarded to some brilliant resources and goodies from Blakademik (a platform founded by Jordan with a central purpose, to elevate and celebrate Black culture. Blakademik is a network with a number of shows and top content aimed at giving Black people a voice to say what the mainstream won’t allow us to). Thank you very much to the Arnold Clark Community Fund to enabling this to happen.
What a whirlwind of a day we had, but a whirlwind where so many were able to learn from one of the very best in their field. Thank you very much to the staff at Vyners School for welcoming the Mintridge Foundation to support your students.
“I just wanted to thank you both again for last week. I’m not sure that Jordan’s visit could have gone any better. ”
It is great to know that there are plenty of wheelchair basketball clubs close to school for those inspired by Jordan’s story. One such club is London Titans, a short drive from the school gates.
If you would like to understand more about our mentoring programmes with elite athletes and how they can support the young people at your school or club, please contact Katie Smith.
If you are considering supporting the Mintridge Foundation as a business, organisation or as an individual, head to our SUPPORT US page below.
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.
The Mintridge Foundation
Unit 4, Shieling Court
Northfolds Road
Corby
Northants
NN18 9QD
Tel: +44 (0) 1536 447106
www.mintridgefoundation.org.uk
