Paralympic champion Frankie Allen celebrates Behind Every Kick graduates
What a golden ending to the year. On Thursday, Harris Academy St John's Wood and Harris Academy Tottenham students were joined by Team GB rowing star and Paralympic champion Frankie Allen to celebrate completing the Behind Every Kick programme.
Frankie had certainly done her homework and spoke inspirationally about how the different topics the young people have covered this term contributed to her glittering achievement in Paris this summer. Frankie explained that joining a winning team, unbeaten in competitive races for 14 years, came with a boatload of pressure. Choosing not to sink beneath it, Frankie adopted a growth mindset that enabled her to frame her time on the team as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity rather than a threat. "That sort of pressure is a privilege", she explained. How many people get the chance to do what they love on the world stage?
Frankie also explained how effective communication was a cornerstone of her team's triumph. "Different people respond in different ways. You have to understand everyone in your crew and ensure you communicate in a way that gets the best out of them and you." This chimed with the model young people learned during the Behind Every Kick programme, encouraging them to consider their message (what are they saying), audience (who are they saying it to) and delivery (how are they saying it).
Among the many excellent questions Frankie was asked by the captivated audience was, "How do you balance life as an elite athlete and physiotherapy student?" "I've had to make sacrifices, and so have my family, who took me everywhere I needed to go when I started rowing. Getting up early so I could be on the water at 7 am each morning was tough. There were birthday parties and nights out I missed, but my friends understood I was pursuing my dream. And I've been sure to build in breaks from rowing and found time to see the people I want to."
Perhaps the most crucial message Frankie wanted to impress upon those listening was the life-changing potential "of saying yes". Frankie was invited to train with Team GB without any promises about where it would lead. In fact, one of her old rowing coaches even told her not to bother, as "she wouldn't be good enough" to secure a seat at the Paralympics. Thankfully, Frankie used his prediction as motivational fuel. She soon got to work on proving him wrong. An initial two-week trial was extended and eventually, after a lot of hard graft, led Frankie to the start line of the Paralympic final. 6 minutes and 55 seconds later, she crossed the finishing line in first place. None of that would have been possible had Frankie said "no" to that initial opportunity to join training.
Hopefully, those young people who have just completed the programme will adopt the same mantra as they join the Behind Every Kick Connect network, where, in the new year, opportunities for work experience and career insights will come their way.
A wonderful evening was rounded off with the presentation to the students of their well-earned certificates and the chance for them to snap some selfies with Frankie and the night's other star attraction - her gleaming gold medal.