LOCKDOWN & CHALLENGES

Jaymie. Age 12.

The advice I would give another dancer is:

1. Always try new stuff – even if it’s hard. There are tricks that I had to train for years before I got them. But if I didn’t kept on trying, I wouldn’t have known I could do them.

2. Be grateful. There’s always going to be bad days, or someone better than you. You are not always going to win. You shouldn’t let any of that get to you.

3. Be passionate. When you are passionate everything is more fun, it’s easier to work hard and you feel happier.

Aimee. Age 16.

You train in ballroom dancing and clay target shooting, which are two very different activities, what do you love most about them?

I love that despite them having such a stark contrast I can incorporate both into each other, and there is a lot of overlap. For example, my dance and shooting movements are very similar. And while dance is a team sport and shooting is not a team sport in competition, there’s a team around you. The mindset you have to have to train both is very similar too; you have to be confident.

In clay target shooting competition is not divided by gender or age groups. Could you tell me a bit more about that?

In shooting women and men compete in the same category and you are also competing with people of different ages too. So I may have a junior on one side, but on the other a shooter that is over 60 years old. You develop more when you are shooting with more mature shooters as everyone has different knowledge. So you can pick and choose what you like and what works for you – and you wouldn’t be able to do that if you weren’t shooting with everyone!

Could you mention three great habits you got from training that you can apply to other aspects of your life?

Discipline. Sticking to a goal when it gets tricky or you are sick of it. I don’t enjoy training all the time but I understand that it has a purpose and that it will improve my skills.

Appreciation for those who helped me. I’ve been helped a lot through both sports. I couldn’t do it by myself. So I really appreciate what people do to help. The coaches, my family and even just people saying ‘well done’.

Patience. You can’t get good at either of these sports – or anything – overnight. There’s no rush in dancing, in shooting or in life! So you have to be patient and understand that results are going to come.

Not being able to do something now doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do it in a month or a year’s time. Never give up.

Rachel. Age 14.

Getting strong through gymnastics will help me in the future as I want to be a firefighter. I always wanted to be one.

Strength isn’t something that you build overnight. You need to work for it, it’s a process.