Talented Athlete Mentoring Programme
Nottinghamshire's Talented Athlete Mentoring Programme is one of the outstanding projects granted the London 2012 Inspire mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games.
For more information about the Inspire programme, please visit the Inspire programme pages or the London 2012 website.
What is the Nottinghamshire Talented Athlete Mentoring Programme?
Nottinghamshire's Talented Athlete Mentoring Programme is a sports mentoring project for potential London 2012 athletes using mentors who are former Olympians, Paralympians and athletes that have competed at the highest level. The Olympians and high performance athletes have gone through comprehensive mentoring training and support from Sport Nottinghamshire to enable them to provide goal setting, advice and support to the potential London 2012 athletes. Only the most committed young athletes are accepted on to the scheme following nominations from their National Governing Body and a rigorous selection process.
Who's involved?
The Mentors
Bryan Steele
During his time as one of Britain's top track riders, Bryan won four World Championship Silvers (2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004), a World Championship Bronze (2002), a Commonwealth Games Silver (2002) and an Olympic Bronze. A Silver medal in the Individual Pursuit at the National Championships in 2003 reminded everyone of his talent riding solo.Riding in his fourth Olympics in Athens in 2004, Bryan improved on the Bronze medal from Sydney to win silver in the Team Pursuit. Bryan retired from sport after the Athens Olympics and now works for several Charities and Associations, whilst leading on the Nottinghamshire Talented Athlete Mentoring Programme.
Sharon Gibson
Sharon is a retired javelin thrower who represented Great Britain in the women's javelin throw event twice in the Summer Olympics in 1984 and 1988.
In 1994, Sharon also competed at the Commonwealth Games, where she became a Bronze medal winner. She was affiliated with the Notts Athletics Club and is now a mentor for talented young athletes signed up to Sport Nottinghamshire's Talented Athlete Mentoring Programme.
Richard Whitehead
Richard Whitehead is a congenital double amputee, Paralympian, who now applies his determination and natural athleticism to long-distance running.
Richard is the current world record holder for leg amputees in both the half and Olympic marathon distances. He is also the first ever leg amputee to complete the marathon in under 3 hours.
Richard's most recent victory was achieving the BBC East Midlands Disabled Sports Personality of the Year at the 2009 BBC East Midlands Sports Awards.
The Young Athletes and their views
There are currently 7 young athletes taking part in the scheme, 5 triathletes and 2 athletes (discus and hammer & javelin specialities). All of these young athletes are competing nationally in their respective age groups with hopes of being selected to compete in London 2012 or Rio 2016.
Sam Parker - young triathlete
"The mentor programme has been really helpful for me. It's great at breaking down your sport into the basics and setting achievable goals that give you the motivation and clarity as to what you're going to achieve and how you're going to achieve it - this is often the hardest part!
The mentoring programme is now a crucial part of my own programme as it gives me that extra confidence that every thing I am doing in training is for a reason.
I also think that it's a great way to encourage talented young athletes in Nottinghamshire to keep competing as it gives the athlete the ability to break down their training, racing, school/work and social life down into manageable chunks and gets rid of the worries and stress that often lead to an athlete quitting, allowing the athlete to train harder, and most importantly have more fun doing it."
Interested in getting involved?
Are you a former elite athlete who would like to find out more about becoming a mentor? Are you a young person with aspirations to make the London 2012 or Rio 2016 Olympic or Paralympic Games and feel you would benefit from working with one of our mentors? Would you like to find out more about becoming a mentor to help young people in your sports club? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then please e-mail info@sportnottinghamshire.co.uk telling us a bit about yourself and why you would like to get involved in Nottinghamshire's Talented Athlete Mentoring Programme.
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