Mintridge Presentation and Q&A Programme with Liz Cann at Prior’s Field School.

“Fail you way to success”, was one of the main themes that Liz Cann mentioned throughout her presentation and Q&A programme when we went back to virtually visit the Sports Scholars at Prior’s Field School. As part of our series of presentations with the Sports Scholars, Liz covered a range of topics to help support the students on their own journeys.

The Scholars have already met the amazing Emma Wiggs MBE and Jade Windley, who they could relate to in a number of ways. So now it was Liz’s turn to share her sporting story but also the key messages and learnings that she has been able to use and experience throughout her career and now in her life after sport. Liz reflected on some incredible stories about her playing career, that really resonated with the Scholars at Prior’s Field.

As a former professional badminton player and having competed at the Commonwealth Games, Liz has experienced some incredible highs in her career and has often had to change the plan or fail a lot on her journey to be successful. During her youth, Liz had to work with a very small network in order to progress in her sport and also rely a lot on her family to get her to competitions and training. This was certainly something that the Scholars at Prior’s Field could really relate to and something that allowed them to recognise how the people around them influence their life and sporting success.

However, like most successful journeys, Liz’s hasn’t been without challenging setbacks to balance out the incredible highs. Liz, like many athletes, missed out on medals at major competitions, has experienced increasing amounts of pressure at major tournaments and struggled when dealing with external influences on her performances. Liz was perfectly placed to chat to the students about how a change in mindset and controlling the controllable elements of your game, can really help and positively influence your journey and the outcomes along the way. Lots of the students could relate to Liz’s feelings and the nerves she felt in a medal winning play off, and how the negative thoughts can sometimes get in the way of your performance. It was incredibly beneficial for the students to hear how Liz has overcome those feelings and setbacks to achieve even greater things on her journey.

“There is a difference between motivation and inspiration. When you find out what motivates you and you really harness that and then surround yourself with people that inspire you, you will go on to achieve whatever you set your mind to.”

We loved that the students took the opportunity to ask Liz lots of brilliant questions during this programme. Some of the best ones were;

“Who was your biggest competition on court?”

“What age did you start playing badminton?“

“If you could choose a different sport to take part in, what would it be?”

“During your career what was your lowest point and how did you come back from it?”

“How did you prepare for a big match or competition?”

“What do you do to stay motivated?”

“Did you ever doubt yourself after not being selected?”

“Do you have any regrets in your career?”

“Who was the hardest opponent you played against?”

“How do you keep a clear head in a Commonwealth Games match?”

Liz gave some excellent answers and words of advice to the students in response to these questions, and we are so pleased that they could benefit from Liz’s incredible experiences.

We have really enjoyed working with the Prior’s Field Sports Scholars on these fantastic presentation and Q&A programmes, and we know that there are a lot of key messages and things that they take away from our time with them and our inspirational Ambassadors.

Liz was really impressed with the questions asked and how well the students interacted in the session, as well as their contributions throughout this programme.

Liz really wanted the students to think about some key questions that she put to them, that can hopefully help them when they are faced with a high pressure scenario or doubting themselves at a major competition.

What is the worst that could happen if you don’t succeed?

Is it that bad? Is it really?

How likely is it to happen?

What could you do to overcome it?

What are you putting off doing that you want or need to do?

Is it the fear of the unknown that prevents us from taking action?

If you don’t take action, what impact will that have on your life?

Secret – the life you want is on the other side of the unknown and on the other side of your ‘discomfort zone’.

Thank you to the teachers at Prior’s Field School for helping to organise another wonderful programme. We are really looking forward to our next presentation with the Prior’s Field Sports Scholars, which will be delivered by the brilliant Laura Sugar.

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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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