Inspiring the next generation of athletes

One of Team GB’s brightest stars, bronze medal winning hockey player Alex Danson is a keen advocate of school sport. She uses her personal and sporting experiences to inspire young people across the country through her work with free secondary schools initiative Sky Sports Living for Sport and the Youth Sport Trust.
    
Here, Alex explains her journey to London 2012, its impact and how her lessons learned are now being used to encourage pupils nationwide to get involved in sport.

Returning to form
“Immediately after the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the whole Great Britain ladies’ hockey team recognised that we needed to make radical changes to return to winning form. Fortunately, we received strong support from UK Sport which subsidised our team. This gave us a huge boost and meant that suddenly we were all able to totally commit to playing hockey for Great Britain.
    
“From the outset, there was a palpable difference in the team. We were all living in Bisham Abbey, training together four days a week, really getting to know each other off the pitch and working towards a common goal – London 2012. The desire for gold began to shape everything we did as a team; we developed the mantra ‘gold mentality’ meaning that any decisions we made were focused on helping us to achieve that medal.
    
“Immediately, our hard work started to pay off. We improved consistently and so much that our world ranking increased from seventh to third, and we went into the Olympics feeling confident in our ability as a team. A home Games meant so much to me personally, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Winning bronze
“Having gone to London dreaming of a gold medal, I was inconsolable when we lost our semi-final against Argentina. We still had the chance to earn bronze, and I went into that match full of determination. I remember leading 3-1 with only a few minutes left of the match; in that moment I realised that we were on course for a medal. I couldn’t stop smiling; I was totally overcome with the elation of having won bronze! I knew that as a team, we had performed to our very best, with the best preparation, and we couldn’t have tried any harder. To win a medal of any colour was a huge achievement; it’s something I am incredibly proud of.
    
Role models
“When I was growing up, I never dreamed that I could earn an Olympic medal. Yet after four years of dedication, commitment and very hard work preparing for London 2012, I was able to stand on the podium at my home Games claiming bronze. I think that’s a hugely important message for young people today: with hard work you achieve things you never dreamed of.
    
“I am lucky enough to meet a lot of young people through my work with Sky Sports Living for Sport and the Youth Sport Trust’s Young Ambassadors programme and Step into Sport camp. Young Ambassadors is all about developing young people as role models and Step into Sport is supporting young disabled people to be leaders in sport, Sky Sports Living for Sport encourages young people to develop important life skills through sport. To be able to share my story and experiences with students across the country is a real privilege.
    
“When I visit schools, I share both my sporting experiences and life experiences that have come with them. It is very easy to be put on a pedestal as an Olympic medal holder but I remind pupils that I am just a normal person, and that everything I have achieved has come from hard work.
    
“I truly believe that there is some element of sport that everyone can enjoy. The wide variety of physical activity that schools offer helps pupils to find the right type of involvement for them. This is something I try to add to in my visits to schools as an Athlete Mentor; leadership, organisational and planning skills are important life skills that can be learned through sport.

Skills off the field
“As I have grown as a hockey player, I have also started to realise that I can achieve other feats that I hadn’t considered before. I am currently studying for a degree with the Open University, despite never being academically gifted in my youth, sport has opened my mind. Everything I have learnt in life has come through sport, and I passionately feel that school sport has real cross curricular value, something which I am delighted to see more and more schools harnessing.
    
“Sport has transformed my life, helped me to achieve things I could never have imagined possible, and aided me in the development of important life skills. If my PE teacher had not encouraged me to pursue hockey, I would not be where I am now. The importance of school sport should not be underestimated.”

Further information
www.youthsporttrust.org