Sporting role models go back to school

With more young people affected by the national obesity crisis than ever before, the role of school sports in promoting healthful living has never been more crucial. It’s important for pupils to be aware of the benefits sport can bring in terms of health, co-ordination, improved concentration and making friends through team activities.    

The 2012 Olympics provided a big boost to schools and sports clubs, and work is ongoing throughout the length of the country to carry this legacy forward. Through the work of initiatives like the Living for Sport mentor scheme, children from all socioeconomic backgrounds are seeing significant gains in fitness and their enjoyment of life both inside and outside the school gates.

Inspiring students
As schools up and down the country prepare to usher in the new academic year, 12 more sporting stars have been named as Athlete Mentors for free secondary schools initiative Sky Sports Living for Sport.

The team of new athletes joins national ambassadors, London 2012 Gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill, Olympic sprint legend Darren Campbell, and history making Olympic Gold medal winning boxer Katie Taylor, who is Sky Sports Living for Sport Ambassador in Ireland.
    
Now in its 11th year, the scheme is delivered in partnership with national charity the Youth Sport Trust, and uses sport stars and sport skills to improve the lives of thousands of young people across the UK and Ireland.
    
Already 79 Athlete Mentors visit schools across the UK and Ireland and use their personal stories of success to inspire students. Now a dozen more are joining the team; each hand-picked by the Youth Sport Trust because of their unique personal journey.

Encouraging pupils
Hockey star Alex Danson, who recently won silver at the Commonwealth Games for Team England and has been an Athlete Mentor for the Living for Sport initiative since 2007, commented: “It’s fantastic to see Sky Sports Living for Sport continue to grow, and I am excited to welcome these outstanding athletes to the Athlete Mentor ranks. To work with such a talented group of fellow athletes is always enjoyable, but to see the work that we do with young people truly change their lives is even more fulfilling. I can’t wait for the new school year to get underway.
    
“Sky Sports Living for Sport is such a rewarding initiative to work on because it really helps and inspires young people. In the last seven years, I have seen projects focussed on developing gifted and talented students, encouraging pupils with low confidence and self-esteem, engaging pupils with special educational needs (SEN) – all projects designed to bring out the best in pupils across the academic spectrum.
    
“Our Athlete Mentor visits give students the opportunity to hear personal accounts from athletes and relate our stories to struggles they may be going through in their own lives. This helps pupils to realise that they can achieve whatever they want to with the right attitude and focus. It’s a great thing, and something I would have benefited from as a teenager.
    
“When I was growing up, it was my PE teacher who encouraged me to pursue my sport, and commit myself to hockey. If it hadn’t been for her recognising my talent and supporting me, my life could be completely different now. I have to commend the teachers involved in Sky Sports Living for Sport; they are so enthusiastic, and as they see the effect that sport can have on their pupils’ lives, their excitement for the initiative grows. I look forward to continuing to work with Sky Sports Living for Sport and the Youth Sport Trust to help the next generation of young people broaden their horizons, better themselves and change their lives through sport.”

The keys to success
Indeed, in recent years, projects run by schools participating in the programme have been increasingly diverse. The initiative has welcomed projects that explore nutrition, sports science, coaching and mentoring, rather than focusing on sport in practice. These have been hugely successful, allowing pupils who do not have the confidence to participate in sporting activities to still be involved in the project and enjoy benefits such as increased teamwork ability, developed social and communication skills and friendship building.  
    
The scheme advocates the British Athletes’ Commission’s ‘Six Keys to Success’ which include: people skills, planning for success, hunger to achieve, breaking barriers, mental toughness and sports knowledge. Recognising the benefits of these key skills across the curriculum, recent years have also seen projects which are focused on enhancing English skills. One example this year saw pupils tasked with writing a poem, utilising the planning for success and people skills Keys.
    
In schools which have opted to run practical sports projects, there has been a marked increase in the popularity of less mainstream sports. Through these projects, pupils are being introduced to boccia, dodgeball, tug of war, sitting volleyball, Aussie Rules football and a whole host of often overlooked sports.

Each project chooses a different element of sport, and sportsmanlike behaviour, to focus on to encourage disengaged students to participate.
   
Changing lives
Whether it be through officiating, organising, timekeeping or taking a sporting role in the project, pupils develop transferable life skills which may not have been accessible to them under different circumstances.
    
Sport has the power to change lives, behaviours and ambitions. Sky Sports Living for Sport and the Youth Sport Trust, along with their expanded team of outstanding Athlete Mentors, are working hard to harness the power of sport to transform the lives of pupils across the UK and Ireland.

Further information
www.youthsporttrust.org