Encouraging young people to give more to become more

Richard Norman, CEO of Sports Leaders UK, blogs about their campaign to inspire the next generation of leaders through sport.

I recently took over as Chief Executive of Sports Leaders UK.

Many of you are probably already familiar with our work and keep telling us that we’re the best kept secret in sport.

I tend to agree.

Which is why having been involved with Sports Leaders UK while I worked for the Sport and Recreation Alliance (‘Hello’ to anyone that remembers me) up until the end of 2011, becoming Chief Executive was an exciting opportunity.

And only a few weeks into the role, we’ve launched our Give More. Become More. campaign which has been sent to every secondary school in the country.

The whole philosophy of sports leadership is about developing those intangible, soft-skills that it is impossible to be taught:

The ability to motivate others. To inspire and encourage peers to achieve more. To be more confident in your own abilities.

But we don’t tell the 130-140,000 young people per year completing our awards and qualifications how to do these.

We empower them.

We help to guide and shape their views and approaches but, ultimately they find these leadership skills themselves.

And of the 100s of 1000s if not millions that have completed our awards in the last 30 years or so, there are countless stories of achievement against the odds; of re-engaging disillusioned young people with education; of people finding a way to express themselves that they had never had before; and, growing as individuals.

Most of our work is currently delivered through educational establishments. Schools and Colleges recognising the added value that our approach brings to a curriculum.

But, if the BBC’s Nick Robinson is calling the upcoming General Election the most unpredictable in most of our lifetimes, we have to plan for all of the potential changes to policy and funding that sit just over the horizon but will be here before we know it, and are a danger to us all.

We at Sports Leaders UK use sport as our ‘hook’ to develop leadership skills that benefit our learners for a lifetime. Often without them even knowing it.

But we, and sport in general, has to shout more loudly about the impact we individually and collectively have on millions of people’s lives, young and old.

And that’s what our Give More. Become More. film is all about. Share it however you can. We’d be very grateful.

And for those that do remember me, get in touch (rnorman@sportsleaders.org), it would be great to hear from you.

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