As part of the Year 8 Willow Tree Sports Ambassadors Programme, our Year 8s were tasked with writing a blog inspired by sport. Here’s Natasha B’s take on the role of sport and social media during the lockdown.

By Natasha B, Year 8

During this third lockdown, keeping up sport has become even more difficult. With all sports cancelled and training with others not allowed, training in lockdown has been a bit lacklustre for lots of people. However, since watching events was the only way I saw my favourite athletes compete, I thought of another way I could see my favourite athletes through social media. Even though some elite sports are back such as Athletics, Football and Rugby, watching it without the crowd supporting and with coaches and officials being seen wearing masks, the events do not have the same buzz. Since watching events was the only way I saw my favourite athletes compete, I came up with another way I could see my favourite athletes through social media.

With running and athletics being my favourite sport, I first looked into runners such as Laura Muir, Jemma Reekie, Dina Asher-Smith, Keely Hodgkinson and Laura Weightman. All of their social media accounts showed them training hard in lockdown and shared Instagram stories on events they took part in. I find it inspirational looking at these because watching them still passionate and determined in lockdown makes me want to continue my own training with as much willpower. Thinking that these athletes were facing some of the same problems of training in lockdown as we were definitely helped. Also knowing that they were just the same as any other young girl with a passion for sport who trained hard and made her dream come true by getting to the top really gives me an energy boost to continue with my training and to motivate me.

It is not just runners who have motivated me during lockdown. Team sports have been hit hard by the restrictions but it has been great to see top netballers and clubs sharing skills drills and what they are up to through their social media, even though there has been very little netball played over the last year. Considering the toughness of these times, it is nice to see athletes doing their sport in ways where it can help others struggling to do sports in a realistic way.

So why are elite athletes so important to younger athletes? Elite athletes inspire the next generation. They give passion to younger people and can show that anything is possible if you put your mind into it and try hard. Following stories on social media when people can’t see them do sports in the same way really gives an insight into training that motivates. With social media platforms getting bigger each day, posting can also draw in new people curious about the sport which will lead to a bigger interest in sports overall.

I have found following some of my favourite athletes on social media a really great way to get inspired during lockdown and below I will share the links for some of my favourite Instagram accounts in case they can inspire you too.

Laura Muir 

Jemma Reekie 

Dina Asher-Smith 

Keely Hodgkinson 

Laura Weightman