Mintridge Bronze Netball Programme with Pamela Cookey, Wells Cathedral School, March 2020

There were no dampened spirits at
Wells Cathedral School on Saturday 14th March despite the rain trying
to cause havoc with the fixture list and a global pandemic causing much
uncertainty for everyone. How can there be dampened spirits when the one and
only Pamela Cookey was making her way to the beautiful school with her Mintridge Foundation team to
share her wealth of experience with the Wells netballers. With a grand total of
114 International Caps in the red dress of England, Pamela couldn’t wait to get
started.

First up on the agenda was a very
successful 1st VII, eagerly anticipating the session that the Ex
England Netball Captain had in store and they were not disappointed. Throughout
the day, Pamela led a coaching session with every netball team in the school.
Each session had an attacking focus, looking at ways to deliver the ball
confidently into the circle. Hints and tips were given on an individual basis,
suited to the position on court to help them in the remaining fixtures of the
season.

Pamela’s illustrious career has
not only been on the netball court and part of our Mintridge programmes, we are
always keen for the athlete to share their educational journey as well. With
this in mind, we allowed a short amount of time at the end of each session for
a Question & Answer session. Pamela was able to go into lots of detail about
her career to date:

“What was the best game of your
career?”

“What did you study at
University while still playing netball?”

“What were you able to do during
your injuries?”

“Do you ever feel like giving up?”

“How do you build confidence
and morale in your team?”

After these fantastic questions
from each year group, a Mintridge programme is never complete without a photo
and autograph session which everyone loved – particularly the teachers! Wells
Cathedral School staff have a digital album showcasing the images from the day –
please ask a member of school if you would like to see them.

To watch the video footage of the
day, please visit the Mintridge Foundation YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uorccZ_DvkU

Thank you very much to the
students and staff at Wells Cathedral School for welcoming Team Mintridge so
warmly, we had a brilliant day with you, and we look forward to working with
you again in the future.

If your school or club is interested
in a mentoring programme with Pamela Cookey or any of the other extraordinary Mintridge
Ambassadors,
please contact Alex Wallace.