The School Run

I used to love watching Scott Murray flying down the wing at Ashton Gate (Bristol), so to speak with him was an absolute pleasure and privilege.  I was a little star-struck!There is only one thing I wanted to surmise here and that is that Scott went back to work at the fish factory in his local town, AFTER, yes after he signed his first professional deal with Aston Villa.  He didn't have to but felt that it was the right thing to do given the support they gave him with time off pursuing his dream of becoming a professional footballer.This tells me how humble Scott is and appreciative of his grounding in his hometown.  His family clearly instilled some really important values in him growing up, which was amazing to hear, what a story.Scott's enthusiasm for the game shone through, but not just for football but all sport, and this was infectious listening to him describe the benefits of playing in team sports growing up.I really enjoyed speaking to Scott and I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it.

Building Failure and ResilienceNeil is such an inspiration and what came across during the interview was his attitude towards failure.  He said during the interview that he believes in failure, which might sound a strange thing to say, but what he meant was the way he dealt with losing, setbacks and failure helped him to build resilience and that competitive edge that has helped him to win 19 gold medals, including gold at the London 2012 Paralympic games, with hopefully more to follow this summer in Tokyo.Neil said that he struggled in his teens, coming last a lot and losing confidence.  His attitude towards this was remarkable, instead of competing against the other athletes, he set out to beat his personal bests.  He kept a journal of his times, so he could measure his progress.  To do this at this age, with no coaches this is fascinating and very impressive.  Even into his professional career, he was released from Team GB following Beijing 2008 as a sprinter.  Neil then suffered from depression, before remodeling his career and becoming a cyclist!!  To then winning gold in 2012.  Phenomenal.  I found Neil's mindset around his visual impairment, attitude to his craft, utterly inspiring and I can't wait for you to hear this episode.

To find out more about Neil and to get his book check out the links below:

Website - https://earn-your-stripes.co.uk

Book - Earn Your Stripes - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Earn-Your-Stripes-insights-business/dp/1781334080/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Twitter - https://twitter.com/neilfachie 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/neilfachie/

Please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast and I would love to send you a FREE copy of my new #1 bestselling book, 'The Happy Healthy School'.

Just drop me a message on my social media or email [email protected] and we will get one sent out to you or your children's school. 

Also, please share this episode and podcast with someone you think will benefit, to help us get more children and schools active.

Thank you for listening.

Everyone can enjoy sportFollowing a conversation with Somerset cricketer Max Waller, it made me think and reflect about my own experiences of sport.Thinking back, despite playing to an ok level, being a semi-professional footballer, the most fun I ever had was playing football and for that matter, any sport after school and in the holidays with my friends.  No care in the world, just out having FUN.Isn't this what sport and physical activity should be about at a young age?I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Max didn't just play cricket growing up, in fact, he didn't start bowling leg-spin until he was 12.  I could clearly see the passion he has for cricket, but he simply loves sport, he still plays tennis, golf amongst other things, and playing lots of sport was a big part of his childhood.  He said that it is important children play and experience all matter of sport and physical activity.  Team, individual, or just anything outdoors, building dens, exploring, this is what childhood should be about, and I can't think of a more fun time in my life.If I think of my sport, football, it is a dangerous obsession for some children, there are other sports out there!!  97% of children that are part of a football academy, don't become a professional, and by 21 they stop playing altogether.  It is a flawed system, no doubt, but my point is around playing lots of sports.  Some children only want to play football, but there is so much to gain from playing and taking in lots of different sports and activities.  Meeting new people, gaining new skills that are transferrable, and not putting all of your eggs in one basket as it were.I know that not all children will have the same opportunities at home, but they can at school...  During this time when children are at their least active, when they all return we need to provide as many opportunities as we can for them to be active and have fun.

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/m10tcw/ 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/MaxTCWaller 

Please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast and I would love to send you a FREE copy of my new #1 bestselling book, 'The Happy Healthy School'.

Just drop me a message on my social media or email [email protected] and we will get one sent out to you or your children's school. 

Also, please share this episode and podcast with someone you think will benefit, to help us get more children and schools active.

Thank you for listening.

You need to feel the heartbeat of the team.One of my favourite conversations with the brilliant Katie Alder, the captain of Wasps Ladies.I loved hearing Katie talking about leadership and her role as captain.  I think society has changed and the typical leaders of the past, loud, lead by being vocal, this is definitely changing as society does.  Katie talks so well about understanding her teammates and knowing what makes them tick.Beware the quiet ones!How can this relate to parenting and teaching?  Well it goes without saying that we differentiate work to suite the children that we teach, so that everyone has the same chance of succeeding and achieving success within the lesson.  From a behaviour perspective, shouting all the time does not, work, but giving choices, making lessons fun and knowing the children you teach or parent is vital.  With my daughters, I know exactly what they love, sometimes I will use this as an incentive, but also when doing some homework, or playing in the garden, thinking about what makes them tick and planning around this helps so much.  Praise, positive feedback, praise those behaviours you want to see more of.Katie talked about a really close match, which her team lost, but gave everything!  This then helps the team to reflect, as effort is something you can control and nobody can take that away from you.  My eldest has struggled with fractions this week and has got quite anxious about Maths.  I've supported her this week, helping her to understand the ways to work the sums out (even though I found them tough myself, she's only 7!!), but the resounding message I wanted to get across to her was that you can only ever do your best.  If you tell me that it's hard but you have tried your best, then I will be so proud of you, but if you haven't and give up, or choose a way out, then I will be dissapointed.My Dad's favourite message to me growing up "you only get out, what you put in."  It has stuck with me ever since.

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/katealder13/ 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/_katiealder 

Please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast and I would love to send you a FREE copy of my new #1 bestselling book, 'The Happy Healthy School'.

Just drop me a message on my social media or email [email protected] and we will get one sent out to you or your children's school. 

Also, please share this episode and podcast with someone you think will benefit, to help us get more children and schools active.

Thank you for listening.

Pain and Getting Back UpIt was amazing to speak to someone that I watched playing in an England shirt and has had such an interesting and challenging life.As you will hear in the interview on 'The School Run' podcast, it started a little frosty and it took a while for Adam to open up and relax into the conversation.  This is completely understandable, I've never met Adam and giving the life he has had, I'm sure he gets asked questions about the tragic loss of his brother and losing all of his money frequently.  But I didn't want to go there, this was about Adam's childhood and how his experiences shaped him to be the sportsman he became.  Adam himself said he was 'loose' growing up, into plenty of scrapes along the way, but sport and the outdoors were his fuel and he loved playing cricket with his brother Ben at home, as well as rugby and Adam's passion for boxing and MMA shone through.Sport was always Adam's passion and his Dad was his biggest influence, his best mate, and someone that was, and is still always there for him.  His Dad challenged them both, not letting them win, not because his Dad himself wanted to win, but more for the lessons that could be learned.  Adam said that he and his brother only ever won if they deserved it.  If they had displayed a certain work ethic, or skill acquisition, something that their Dad recognised and something that should be praised.As the conversation went on, Adam brought up his losses, I guess as I had built up some trust as I genuinely wanted to know about his childhood and school.  It is an awful thing to happen and clearly Adam misses his brother very much.  Adam also lost his best friend and then in his adult life, all of his money.  But it was his reaction to this that was inspiring.  'What else can I lose?'  Adam has bounced back from all of these setbacks and it is a lesson to all of us, that we have to keep going, no matter how tough something gets, because we will be stronger for it.  It is really difficult to take this viewpoint, but Adam has done it and I will use this and reflect on his story in my own life.

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adamhollioake/ 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/adamhollioake 

Please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast and I would love to send you a FREE copy of my new #1 bestselling book, 'The Happy Healthy School'.

Just drop me a message on my social media or email [email protected] and we will get one sent out to you or your children's school. 

Also, please share this episode and podcast with someone you think will benefit, to help us get more children and schools active.

Thank you for listening.

Should there be girls-only clubs?

Florence talks brilliantly about her take on the Ireland Rugby Team's Women's Kit launch and how they messed this up, using models instead of the actual players!  

Also, we talk a lot about FUN.  Sports, PE, and physical activity have to be fun, don't they?

Think back to your childhood...When did you have the most fun growing up?For me, it was on the playground, either before/after school, or during the school holidays.My friends and I used to get to school early to play sport before the school day began and then again after school.  I would get home, grab whatever food was there, usually unhealthy to be honest, biscuits being my snack of choice and I'd be straight out the door with the instructions 'be back for dinner from my Mum, or 'be back before it's dark!'During the holidays, of course, I remember playing on games consoles, an amiga, and then later Nintendo (yes, I'm that old!).  But most of all, I remember being out.  Out exploring.  Mostly my friends and I would be at my Primary School which was an open site.  We would play sport, or tag, or whatever game we had made up that day.  These were my most enjoyable moments growing up.Why? Because it was FUN!The reason for me sharing that story is that I firmly believe that fun has to be at the center of everything we do to get children active.  Of course, we want children to learn, and we ask our staff to deliver high-quality lessons, but not at the expense of making the lesson fun.  Because ultimately, if it isn't fun, what is the point?You can have the most detailed scheme of work, progression of skills, assessment tools, but if it isn't fun, all of that is secondary.  As a nation, the children are at their most inactive ever in history, we HAVE to help as many children as possible LOVE PE and being active.  Our goal is for all the children we teach to find a sport or activity that they continue to enjoy beyond Primary School, in secondary, and into adulthood.  This I believe will be a game-changer to creating a more active, healthier society.  But it needs a whole school approach, everyone has to buy-in.