“Every person who you deem to be ‘successful’ at something, was just someone who chose to never give up!”

Wow! What a day for the students at Westwood Primary School!

They invited Team Mintridge for this very inspirational programme, with Paralympic gold medallist Laura Sugar MBE and Commonwealth Gold Medallist and Olympian Nekoda Davis OLY, and we LOVED IT!

We were delighted to be asked by the staff at Westwood Primary School to spend the day with their students; as Laura and Nekoda are both inspirational role models who could inspire their students to be the best versions of themselves. It was a jam-packed day full of light bulb moments, guided discovery and breaking down barriers for the Westwood students, and we were so pleased to be a part of it.

“Whenever you have a down moment, and something is hard or difficult, you must remember there will always be a way back to the top and overcome that challenge.”

With years of experience competing for Wales and Great Britain, initially as a hockey player, then moving into Athletics and now competing as one of the world’s best Paracanoe athletes, Laura was the perfect person to speak to the students about chasing their own journeys to success.

Just like Laura, Nekoda shared with the students in the assembly and in her coaching sessions, what it is really like to compete in Judo on the world stage. Nekoda also shared the highs and lows of the mental and physical game, especially when you step onto the mat to compete for a medal. During our assembly, the students loved watching both Laura and Nekoda in action in the videos and supported the action replays with some brilliant cheers, ooo’s and owww’s.

During our day, both of our Ambassadors shared the importance of seeing the setbacks and the support network that helped them both achieve their highlights reel and the medals, as it is important for the students to learn this for their own journeys to success.

“Every day, I just try and do something to make me better, however small that is, as it soon adds up.”

During our day at Weswood Primary School, Laura and Nekoda put the students to the test in the gym and taught them their warm ups and activity sessions they would practice in their gyms and training centres. We loved seeing all of the smiling faces during the sessions and the students working hard with each other and respecting the coaching points from both Nekoda and Laura. The students were equally as pleased to see their class teacher’s helping out in the Judo demonstrations too!

At the end of our day, we were so excited to meet our two new Mintridge mentees! They will be mentored by Nekoda for a period of six months following this programme and they are going to learn so much from Nekoda. We can’t wait to see these mentoring relationships grow and develop.

We are so grateful to the staff at Westwood Primary School for enabling us to visit them and for helping to organise this incredible day with Laura and Nekoda.

At The Mintridge Foundation, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience our exceptional Mintridge role models' superpowers and learn from their amazing stories. We know that having a role model who can support you, positively influence you and offer you advice, can help you on your own journey and pathway to success.

If you are interested in a Programme with Laura Sugar MBE or Nekoda Davis OLY, or any of our other Mintridge Ambassadors, or you are interested in a virtual or physical Programme with one of our team of inspirational Ambassadors, then please get in touch via the Mintridge website or with Katie.

#TeamMintridge

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.

RELATED POSTS