“Being involved in sport changed my life!”

The Mintridge Foundation’s inspirational Ambassadors have all experienced many things along their sporting journeys, including incredible highs and tough setbacks where they have learnt some valuable lessons. Therefore, they are great role models for the young people we work with and the perfect people to inspire them to be the best they can be.

The Mintridge team had the pleasure of taking the amazing Jade Windley to visit the staff and students at Bardney Primary School for a very special Bowbridge Homes Programme. We were delighted to be able to visit Bardney Primary School with our former Wimbledon competitor Jade Windley, thanks to kind funding from Bowbridge Homes, who donated this programme as part of their support for the charity and their support for the local community that they are developing in.

Jade spent the day with the students inspiring them to be the best versions of themselves and shared her stories of setbacks and how that shaped her positive attitude towards challenges.

Jade said….”I spent hours and hours practising my tennis skills. Even when I was injured, I still found a way to keep training even if I couldn’t move. Sometimes it is easier to give up, but that won’t help you to reach the highest points and achieve your goals.”

With years of experience competing in tennis, Jade shared with the students how her journey through tennis relates to the journeys they will take through school and outside of school in their passions and goals.

The students were also very excited to see Jade’s tennis skills in action as she showed them her lockdown tennis tricks and also some fun tricks on the courts during their coaching sessions too.

The students had a lot of fun trying to beat Jade in the tennis challenges and on the tennis courts and Jade showed them what it takes to be the best of the best during our day. At Mintridge we believe you cannot be what you cannot see and we showed the students how to be an elite tennis player and a determined, motivated person during our day with Jade.

Bowbridge Homes kindly supported this programme for the students as they feel as a company it is important to build a legacy for the families and young people they are developing houses for. Their partnership with The Mintridge Foundation is the perfect way for them to do this through our programmes and Ambassador visits. We are pleased that two members of the Bowbridge team could come and see our programme at Bardney Primary School in action this time, and witness the impact they have helped create.

At the end of each of the coaching sessions, the students at Bardney Primary School had some great questions to ask Jade. Here were some of the best ones:

When you first started was there anyone that really inspired you?

How do you win or lose a game in tennis?

How many competitions have you been to?

What clothing did you wear at your competitions?

How did you get the patience to wait all that time to become a professional?

Can you hit a ball across the whole playground?

Have you ever made a hole in your racket?

Can you still play professional tennis?

What was it like playing in front of everyone at Wimbledon?

What made you want to play Tennis?

How long have you had your racket?

Tennis can be a very difficult sport for a beginner and Jade celebrated those in her sessions that kept persevering and trying hard when the challenges got tough. Every student walked away with a signed autograph card and Jade also handed out a medal and certificate for those who adapted well to her sessions.

We are so grateful to the staff at Bardney Primary School for allowing us to visit them and for helping to organise this incredible day with Jade Windley.

 Jade is local to Bardney Primary School and during our visit encouraged all of the students to get involved in a tennis club near them to enhance their tennis skills further.

Here are the details for Tattershall Tennis Club which Jade highly recommended to the students and staff during her time at Bardney Primary School

Click here to find out more about joining this tennis club: https://www.facebook.com/TattershallTennisClub

At The Mintridge Foundation, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to hear the stories and experience the power our exceptional Mintridge role models have on the young people we work with. We know that having a role model who can support you, influence you and offer you advice, can help you on your own journey and pathway to success. This is why the support from Bowbridge Homes has been invaluable for this programme as it has helped to raise the aspirations and ambitions of the young people we worked with near their current development and therefore helped to support the community surrounding their development too. Thank you Bowbridge Homes for your continued support.

If you are interested in a Programme with Jade Windley 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.

If you would like to understand more about our mentoring programmes with our Mintridge Ambassadors and how they can support the young people at your school or club, please also contact Katie.

The Mintridge Foundation is dedicated to helping young people find their mental fitness superpowers. Following research conducted by Loughborough University, Mintridge successfully replaces any negative notion of pressure around physical activity with fun, breaking down barriers and levelling the playing field. That is exactly what Jade Windley did during her visit on Tuesday 13th September 2022.

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.

The Mintridge Foundation

Unit 4, Shieling Court

Northfolds Road

Corby

Northants

NN18 9QD

Tel: +44 (0) 1536 447106

info@mintridge.org.uk 

www.mintridgefoundation.org.uk

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