Olympic Gold Medallist Shares her Keys to Success

Published on isbi School News dated Tuesday 4th of July 2017

On 28th June, Bishop’s Stortford College welcomed ex GB hockey captain and Olympic gold medallist Kate Richardson-Walsh, for an afternoon of high intensity training with Sports Scholars and an inspirational talk to Senior School pupils. Kate, who represented Great Britain and England 375 times during her career and competed in 4 Olympic Games, winning bronze in London and gold in Rio, spoke to pupils about her journey to Rio. She focussed on 3 central themes which she believes helped her to achieve her gold medal ambitions: vision, challenge and strength. In her passionate delivery she shared how important these theme are, not just in hockey but in any area of life, encouraging pupils to aim high and not to let disappointments prevent them from reaching their goals. She also answered varied and inquisitive questions from the audience of pupils and teachers. Head of Girls’ Hockey Nick Prowse commented, “It was an inspiring experience for all involved and the pupils were full of admiration for Kate and the sacrifices she made to reach gold.” One Fourth Form pupil commented, “Kate’s speech was inspiring, not just to hockey players but everyone who has an interest in in succeeding in what they want to pursue. She made everyone feel like they could achieve anything.” Kate also led a training session for the top hockey players in Years 7 to 10 which focussed on ball carrying skills and decision making under pressure. The pupils enjoyed this intensive training, with one of the scholars commenting, “The session was truly inspiring – she not only helped us out of our shells, but really explored improvisation and communication with our teammates. It was amazing to be coached by such a high level international player.”