When the lockdown hit, you might have thought sport would have been put on the back burner. Not in the case of our Year 8 Willow Tree Sports Ambassadors, Dana, Jaspreet and Zoe who shared how they kept motivated for sport during these unprecedented times. Their blogs below form part of their submissions for the Willow Tree Sports Ambassadors Programme, where each girl has to write a blog inspired by sport, create a poster advertising sport/being active in school, find ways to volunteer in sport and create an activity or game that involves being active/exercise.

Dana N:

“When the second Lockdown came into force, it was difficult to find the motivation, time and space to maintain my training and training standards. This was because the lockdown happened during the winter months where the weather was often cold and rainy and it was also the off season for my main sports. NHEHS used innovative and creative ways to help motivate our athletes during lockdown so that we could become stronger and advance our skills. They did this through a number of practical methods such as: online sports clubs, the chance to set personal goals and sports challenges.

The online sports clubs that NHEHS provided during the lockdown helped me motivate myself to keep up with my own training as well as my school training. The clubs I virtually attended were: Netball club, Hockey club, Sports Quiz club and I also helped run a Netball club for Year 6 and a Cricket club for Year 5 and 6. In the Netball club, we were given the opportunity to advance some of our skills and also do live fitness sessions with our friends – this helped with motivation because we were given support, encouragement and set drills that were easy to do at home. We also were given the amazing opportunity to attend a virtual webinar with Kadeen Corbin, Zara Everett and Razia Quashie (who are netball super league players). This was an incredible experience where I was allowed to ask questions and hear from some of my sporting heroines. They each told us about their careers and gave us some insightful advice which I am sure will stay with me for my whole life.

The hockey club was productive as they gave us set drills to do with some more challenging drills. Although I did not attend all of the live sessions, I completed some of the drills on my own which allowed me to advance my skills at my own pace. The hockey club also provided us with the opportunity to participate in a live Zoom meeting with the GB player Suzy Petty, who ran a Tabata HIIT session with us and answered some of our questions about the lifestyle of a hockey player; she gave us a very positive insight into what it is like to be a professional athlete and inspired me to continue to do sports and push myself with training. The Sports Quiz club was a fun way to interact with friends and also compete over the title of who has the most sporting knowledge. Even though this wasn’t a physically active club, it allowed me to be aware of the current affairs of the sporting world and reflect on the past achievements of many athletes. We also were able to compete against some of our teachers and the sixth form students which made our student team more determined to win! Running the clubs for some of the younger years was an amazing opportunity for me to share the knowledge and passion I have for Netball and Cricket. Coaching other players also gave me the chance to understand the sports more and improve my skills. Overall, the sports clubs in NHEHS played a massive part in helping me keep my motivation up for training during lockdown.         

Other ways that NHEHS kept me motivated were through two projects set in our P.E lessons that were titled the “BeYou” project and the “BeYou4Tom”. In these projects we were given the opportunities to set sporting goals for ourselves that we would achieve over a set period of time. For my “BeYou” project I chose to set myself a target to cycle 20km over 4 weeks. To do this, I cycled 5km with my Dad every week – this helped me maintain my fitness as I was already doing home workouts but the cycling allowed me to get outside and exercise. I particularly enjoyed cycling for my project because it also allowed me to explore my area and enjoy the beautiful scenery in my local park. The “BeYou” project motivated me to maintain my fitness and remain active outdoors. For the “BeYou4Tom” project, there were various paths that you could choose and I chose the “together” pathway. This meant that I had to do exercise with a member of family or with a friend (socially distanced). Often, I would do home workouts with my Mum – that consisted of core workouts, leg workouts and upper body workouts. Completing the workouts with my Mum made the activity more enjoyable and also made me push myself harder. I also went on socially distanced walks with different friends which was nice because I do not get outdoors enough and walking with a friend makes the process more fun (even if it is socially distanced). I was quite surprised at how far we managed to walk each time because it felt like we were only walking for a short amount of time but the distances we walked were very far! Doing exercise with others motivates me to keep going and to work myself harder and I was very grateful that the NHEHS P.E department came up with these projects for us to do.

Additionally, the NHEHS P.E department organised a weekly sports challenge that covered all areas of sport and were fun to complete. There were a variety of challenges that were optional to complete but many did complete them and also gain points for their house by doing so. These challenges were a creative way that persuaded me to try some of them and see how well I did compared to my peers. Some particularly enjoyable ones were: the press-up hold challenge, the between the leg ball catches and (one that I helped set up) the trick shot challenge. Even though they were not daily challenges they were still fun and helped me motivate myself to keep training and become fitter.

Overall, NHEHS provided many accessible ways that we could creatively train at home during lockdown and gave us support and encouragement to motivate ourselves to do our own training as well. I will keep doing my own training and even as we emerge from lockdown I will still be motivated to do my own training and fitness at home.”

Zoe D:

“These past few months have been really difficult! I really miss being able to play hockey, netball, waterpolo and get back to playing competitive matches. I have been trying to motivate myself to get up and go for a run or a walk, when really I have just wanted to lie in bed!!

The truth is, I always feel better once I’m out and I have found fun ways to motivate myself and make my goals realistic. Sometimes less is more, even if you just get out and go for a 20 minute run or just a walk around the block. I have been incredibly lucky to have some amazing PE teachers and coaches who have supported me and kept me motivated by creating fun and engaging sessions. This is what I have been doing to stay active and motivated…

In Lockdown, I have been participating in lots of online sports clubs, including morning HIIT workout club, core workout club, hockey club, netball club and participated in the online sports quizzes. These clubs have kept me active and have been a good and fresh start to my morning, preparing me for a long day of online learning.

I have submitted entries for the weekly #NHEHSdailysportschallenge, which I have really enjoyed and I have completed online training for my Hockey Club (Ealing Hockey Club), which includes fitness, skills and a match analysis. In addition, I have completed workouts and gone on frequent runs and long walks. I have also inspired my friends and myself to keep active during lockdown as, unfortunately, we are unable to play and do sports with each other. Having strong friendships really helps you stay motivated, we have encouraged each other and urged each other on when we feel tired or despondent.

My school has launched a new programme called the #BeYou challenge. It makes online PE lessons more interesting as you get to practice your own sport! It encourages everyone to get involved in sport, no matter what your strengths are. I have absolutely loved participating in this challenge. It is a fantastic opportunity to practise skills based on the sports you love and sports you have always wanted to do, but have never had the time! I have chosen 3D hockey skills as I love playing hockey and want to improve on my 3D tricks. It is such a great opportunity to enhance my ball control and gives me something to work on in lockdown!

I have tried to keep active during this difficult period and hopefully, I will be able to adapt quickly and get back to playing matches with my friends soon!”

Jaspreet:

“We have had an amazing term with sports. We have had a vast range of clubs from HIIT sessions to Netball clubs and Daily Sports Challenges. The Clubs which I have participated in are Netball club, HIIT Sessions and Morning Core Workout. I have had the best opportunity to help my fitness. 

Our Netball club has had a range of activities which help with ball handling skills and stability in netball. Our teachers have put together Fitness sessions to keep up our stamina and our health. There are many new techniques we learn and we can really use this information in our game play.

Our Morning HIIT sessions are on Monday and Fridays. They are amazing to keep stamina up and fitness on point. These exercises are amazing. It is run by teachers in school which have come together to form this club. We do a range of exercises, such as holding a plank for a certain length of time and exercises to help our stability and balance. Sessions like this help everyone, from swimmers to those who don’t really do sport, to get up and do some exercise during lockdown.

Morning Core Club is also a really great session which helps you to control your core and strengthen it. This core helps with balance and the stability of your body. We have learnt many things about the core and how the core muscles must work in harmony with the surrounding muscles.

I also enjoyed getting involved in helping out with the Junior School sports clubs as part of my Willow Tree volunteering, especially putting together workouts for the Fitness Club.

As well as our clubs, we also have many challenges which challenge everyone in a fun yet athletic way. We have our Daily Sports Challenges such as the recent fun plank routine which helped the core.  The Daily Sport Challenge is not run by teachers, but by other pupils, so every student has the opportunity to challenge the school with a great sporting task. As well as this challenge, we have started participating in the #BeYou challenge where we have to set a goal and complete activities around that goal in order to fulfill the goal. I have seen some really interesting challenges; Running Chess and 50km Swimming. The Be You challenge also encourages you to try new sports. I know that people have tried Handball, Flag Football, Table Tennis and much more.

Sports have had an overall positive effect on NHEHS and there are more clubs that are being pulled in with brand new sports with hopefully new members. We love all the sports clubs, the challenges and the amazing opportunities we get from doing sport at school.”