Hey, we are here to take you through a year of incredible experiences, milestones, and growth that our Team Leaders have had. It’s been a jam-packed year from training and personal development to nationwide events and camps. But don’t just take my word for it—let’s hear from some of our amazing Team Leaders themselves as they share their stories and highlights, from this past year. From leadership skills to unforgettable experiences, let’s dive into what they’ve been up to.

First up, we have Ashley and Inaayah, who attended the Youth Sport Trust Learning Academy Connect Day in Loughborough earlier this month. It was an incredible opportunity for them to connect with other professionals in the field, learn new skills, and be part of a vibrant community of like-minded individuals. Let’s hear directly from them as they share what they gained from the experience and how it has impacted their work as Team Leaders.

“The Learning Academy Connect Day 2024 brought Athlete Mentors, Development Coaches, Tutors and Team Leaders together. It included presentations and workshops surrounding the theme of 'Tackling Inequalities', discussions around YST's objectives such as how to best support and empower young people while levelling the playing field, and guest speakers sharing their stories. The event provided a great opportunity for all of us to reflect on what we do and connect with one another to understand different perspectives, which is particularly important as we all work together towards one common goal of "improving the education and development of every child through play and sport". Lois' speech was the highlight of the event for me; she's one of our Team Leaders who started her journey with YST by attending one of the camps when she was young. Her journey reminds us of how big of an impact we can potentially make on each child and the purpose behind what we do.” – Ashley.

“It was a great day for all YST partners to get together and talk about tackling inequalities in sport and the world of PE, activity and play. For me, the most important thing I took away from the day was the importance of engagement and collaboration when tackling inequalities, as well as acknowledging themselves before being able to do anything about them. If you can’t acknowledge that inequalities exist, how are you supposed to work towards removing them? My favourite part of the day was chatting with all the athlete mentors and seeing how they’re doing and what they have been up to.” – Inaayah.

Next, we have Jasmine and Guto, who had the chance to attend some of the Wales Young Ambassador Regional Conferences this year. This event brought together passionate young leaders from across Wales to share ideas, build connections, and enhance their leadership skills. Let’s hear from Jasmine and Guto as they tell us about their experience at the conferences and how they helped them grow both personally and professionally as Team Leaders.

“For the 2024 YA Gold Ambassadors Conference, the main purpose was to inform a new generation of young leaders how to facilitate, grow, learn and apply their skills to be able to make change in their schools/colleges and be the voice of others. Coming back for, I think, my 5th year of the YA Conference, I still learn and grow each year. My favourite part had to be the opening ceremony; it’s so nice to see how it’s grown over the years and to see all the new faces and some familiar. I feel privileged to see this change over the past few years and can remember the impact these events had on me when I was attending the YA Conference for the first time as a nervous 14-year-old and now to be able to present this conference and reflect on how much I’ve grown and changed as a person.” – Jasmine.

“I attended the event in Coleg Sir Gar, Llanelli, to educate the newly promoted Platinum Ambassadors on what roles and responsibilities they now have. I was able to learn a lot as a Team Leader in the Mentor Workshop. Some of the things that stuck out to me were understanding the difference between: Inactive, Disengaged, Disadvantaged and other terminologies. It was great to see the new Young Ambassadors putting this into practice and it made me think “what are the participants in my session going through back home?” and what barriers they may be facing. It was easy to pick out my favourite part from the day as I loved the horse-riding energiser! A bit of fun to kick start the workshop and understanding that we can all be active in various ways instead of just ‘exercises’. Us as coaches and leaders can disguise the harder exercises by putting a fun twist on the activity!” – Guto.

Now, let’s hear from Beth, who had the chance to attend the Girls Active Lego Event back in October. This event was all about inspiring and empowering young girls through activity and creativity, with the unique twist of using Lego to explore new ways of thinking and problem-solving. Let’s listen as Beth shares what she took away from the event and how it’s helped her inspire others as a Team Leader.

“I had an amazing experience as a Team Leader at the Girls Active Primary Day. The aim of this event was to inspire the young leaders to become excellent role models to the other girls within their schools. It allowed the girls to focus on key themes such as empathy and inclusivity whilst reflecting on how they could ensure that everyone has a place within sport in their schools. For me, I had never attended an event with primary pupils before and I was blown away by their enthusiasm and creativity! This shone through especially during the Lego workshop, where the girls had to design a game using the Lego, which was my favourite part of the day as it was great to see the girls working so well as a team. I think my main take away from the event would be to recognise the importance of youth voice and responsibility in sport from a Primary age in growing the confidence of the leaders themselves and the other girls within the Primary schools.” – Beth.

Finally, Lois had the incredible opportunity to attend some of the Allianz – Move Now events, which followed on from their partnership with the GB Paralympics. These events were all about promoting inclusivity in sport and encouraging individuals to challenge their limits.

“The event that I attended was part of a series of 20 events across the country that all had the purpose of making sport and play inclusive for all. The events connected local Primary Schools and SEND schools together with a high school or college in their area, to host a day full of fun and activity. The activities were run in a carousel style structure so that participants got to experience a range of different paralympic sports with each station being led by the High school/College’s sports leaders. It was great to see the Young Leaders take control of their activity and grow in confidence as the day went on. I found it interesting to watch them adapt their activities to suit the needs of the individuals at that time and come up with creative ways for all to feel included. My favourite part of the day was helping two girls in powerchairs learn how they can be

involved in the football station by positioning the ball by their front wheeling and turning their chair to simulate a kicking motion.” – Lois.

And with that the 2024 year comes to an end. It has been a year filled with exciting opportunities, growth, and valuable learnings. We're grateful for the dedication and hard work of everyone involved. As we look ahead to 2025, we can't wait to see what new opportunities and challenges await our Team Leaders. Here's to another amazing year!