As an athlete mentor on the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, I had a fun day on Wednesday in Big Wood School, Nottingham on the ‘Aspiring Minds’ project.
Skills and positive attitude are taught via interactive activities delivered by a team of trained communicators and athletes.
Big Wood School’s Year 9 pupils certainly grasped the opportunity to learn. The Aspiring Minds day is made up of various workshops involving equipment such as batak boards, rowing machines and even equipment that measures how fast you can kick a ball.
We ended the sports psychology lesson learning to juggle – in less than four minutes for the 13 year old volunteer in my group, very impressive!
As an athlete, I am well aware that attitude is central to success. Even though some pupils were shy at first, everyone finished the day with a positive ‘have a go’ attitude and a big smile. I set out to inspire and came away feeling motivated myself – it is amazing how inspirational young people can be.
Anna Turney (center-front)
