GDST Sport Scholar Day with Mintridge Foundation

Written by Natasha Bennett, Evie Smethurst & Nicola Hewitt

On the 11th February 2022, a range of NHEHS athletes took part in the GDST Sport Scholar Day doing a range of activities to support their development in sports Natasha and Evie Yr 9 and Nicola Yr 10 told us about their experience

I (Natasha) attended the Visualisation workshop as well as strength and conditioning and athletics The Athletics workshop was run by Marilyn Okoro an 800 and 400m runner who has participated in the Olympics. She shared with us a few drills to practise technique, talking through the importance of each one We did a few running exercises followed by some dynamic movements and a plank off She then did a short Q and A where she shared some aspects into what her life was like as a professional athlete and the mental battles she has had to face One important thing I learned was how an 800-400m runner trains differently to how an 800-1500m runner would, and how by doing the shorter distances she could build up her endurance She also shared how she copes with nerves before racing and her nutrition. The next workshop I went to was a strength and conditioning one In this workshop I got to talk to other girls from GDST schools as we practised exercises to prevent injury using stretch bands and jumping. I learned that by using resistance bands to stretch your shoulder and leg muscles, you can prevent injury

As well as Natasha, I (Nicola) also attended the athletics session as well as a swimming workshop run by the swimmer, Jazz Carlin who competed in endurance freestyle events at the Olympics representing Great Britain. In the session, we focused on the stroke, freestyle and she broke down the key movements of this stroke We experimented with many drills to have a better understanding of the stroke. This session was very interactive and interesting. My final workshop was also the self visualisation which was run by the British archer, Danielle Brown She talked through the mental challenges in which an athlete will face and how to overcome these Danielle Brown gave us many techniques to get rid of the self doubt and anxiety in which athletes face, whether it is before a competition or the disappointment afterwards. She taught us that by self visualising yourself succeeding, it brings more positivity to the mind

On the day, I (Evie) Attended 3 workshops run by highly trained professionals with my peers The first workshop I attended was a Nutrition workshop run by Jodie Redgrave, she taught us how to ensure your body is fueled whether training, competing or resting Jodie Redgrave works with the Mens GB Goalball team I also attended a workshop on women's bodies and how to train without problems We were given ways to deal with change and pain in our bodies.

Overall, we all found the day incredibly inspiring and had a lot of fun. It was so nice to see other girls our age from other GDST schools, so passionate about sport and to have athlete's give advice and tips to help us improve our own sports.