Top Athlete Inspires Students To Achieve Their Dreams

Top Athlete Inspires Students To Achieve Their Dreams

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Professional footballer Christian Roberts, who made his debut for Cardiff City at the age of 17 and went on to play for Wales with the U-18s and U-21s, visited Grace Academy Solihull to show students how to achieve their dreams on and off the pitch.

During the session, Christian Roberts, an athlete mentor for Sky Sports Living for Sport, taught Year 9 students some new football drills, and delivered advice on how to improve their mental toughness, hunger to achieve, and ability to work as part of a team in their sporting and professional life.

The idea behind the initiative which is free for secondary schools and run in partnership with the Youth Sports Trust, is to help young people reach their full potential with support from top athlete mentors.

Student Thierry Nichol, who took part in the training session, said:

“Today Christian was a great example of a good footballer. He taught us many things like win with your mind as well as your skills.”

Student Rosie Allen added:

“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I thought he was a great coach. I would love to do this again sometime.”

During his career, Christian Roberts made over 300 appearances for Cardiff City, Exeter City, Bristol City and Swindon Town, and he commented:

“Everyone needs a role model and someone to look up to.  My role model was my father and one of my mentors was Peter Kay from Sporting Chance who gave me a new lease of life when I was having difficulties. It is about winning. We all want to be successful and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s how you do it that counts.

“Young people have to make a decision to focus.  If you look at my history as a person, I’ve achieved my dream but I have battled injuries and illness on and off the pitch and also lost my parents.  I’ve learned that the mental toughness and discipline you learn on the pitch can be applied to life.

“You need a tough mental attitude and the ability to work in a team.  It’s not all about your personal achievement but about the support behind you from a whole team of people.  This is important to realise whether you are at work, in your family or at school, you are still part of a team.

“People like to know their dreams are achievable.”

Talking about the success of the initiative, Ernest Addo-Boateng, Grace Academy, said:

“We see that our students have a different focus after the sessions, and even after the athlete mentor is gone, they try to model their lives on what they have seen.”