What is confidence and how do we develop it?

Why is it important to be kind to ourselves and to others?

Can being in your comfort zone hold you back from finding out what you are capable of?

These are some of the questions Danielle Brown MBE asked her two Ingham Primary School mentees during their recent Silver Mentoring Programme. We are delighted that Ingham Primary School chose to support this brilliant inspirational mentoring programme for their two students with Danielle Brown MBE so that she could help support and inspire these two mentees to be the best versions of themselves.

Our Mintridge Mentoring Programmes are designed to inspire, develop and nurture the young people that we have the pleasure of working with and this is exactly what Ingham Primary School set out to do when they selected this bespoke Mintridge Mentoring Programme for their two mentees.

This programme has been a great success and both mentees have gained so much more self-awareness, confidence, and top tips for being successful in the path they choose while working with Danielle, who also helped them to set goals that they can achieve and work towards in the long term.  During their fortnightly mentoring calls, Danielle has challenged her mentees to think differently and work towards their own personal goals and challenges. They have discussed areas such as power posing, how to act more confidently, how to step outside of your comfort zone and the importance of gratitude.

Danielle has helped to guide her mentees on this journey and encourage them to be comfortable being uncomfortable, especially as they learn to work with new people in teams and progress through school.

As a double Paralympic gold medallist, Danielle Brown MBE has come up against many challenges during her own journey to success and has shown her confidence in different ways when competing, which is something that was really important for the mentees to hear. They now know that not all confidence comes in the form of loudness or being an extrovert.

Danielle is also the author of two books, which focus on how to take control of what is in front of you and respond in positive ways to set backs and make positive motions towards goals that you set yourself, which has been a great supporting tool through this programme.

Danielle worked really well with her two mentees to help them try and focus on the positive things in their lives as well as what they could do to build a growth mindset and challenge themselves, which we know will really help them in the future.

During this programme, Danielle has worked incredibly well with her mentees and guided them through these calls to work on areas that they want to develop and challenge their thinking along the way. Danielle said after one of her calls, “ My mentee is growing so much in confidence and I felt that I got a lot more out of her during this session. We talked about the importance of practice and how to work well in a team as well as positive affirmations. From this call, we have agreed that she will put together a positive affirmation poster for the next call. My second call with my other mentee was also really positive and we spent some time talking about mistakes and what you can do when you’ve made one to recover from it. My mentee always asks some very insightful questions and we talked about how to let frustrations go by staying in the moment and focussing on the process.” 

It has been amazing to see the journey Danielle’s mentees have been on during this programme and they have both received some brilliant support from her. We know that with Danielle’s help and lasting tips through this programme, both mentees will definitely do very well in the future when aiming to achieve their goals.

Mentoring programmes just like this are created to support young people in school and at home and provide them with inspirational role models for them to listen to, seek guidance from and also build a positive relationship with. These mentoring programmes demonstrate the benefits sport can have on all areas of your life and show the values you can learn through having a role model to support you on your own path.

We have really enjoyed following this mentoring journey and we are very grateful to Ingham Primary School for their support and enabling these two students to work with Danielle during this mentoring programme. When asked what her favourite part of the mentoring programme was, Danielle’s mentee said,”Talking to a Paralympian! Danielle was lovely to chat with, very approachable, open and warm.”

If you are interested in a Programme with Danielle 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.

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