The Habs Talented Athlete Pathway

We spoke to three boys to find out about the way the School supports them, from balancing fixtures to bespoke nutrition plans and specialised support. 

‘The person who’s really helped me the most was Mr Hewitt. He used to play professionally and still plays for Middlesex County. I’ve trained with him every lunchtime. Mr Kerry too – he’s so passionate and wants to see his players succeed. Mr Kyriacou of course, who set up the pathway in the first place, mostly as a way to help balance out your life.’

Currently on exam leave for GCSE, the need for balance has never been so important. But it’s not exam stress that Joe needed help the most with.  Instead, he mentions a time where he was feeling extremely anxious about his entry into Middlesex County Cricket – and how Mr Kerry and Mr Kyriacou guided him through this difficult time. In fact, he mentions how regularly the pathway offers him support:

We leave Joe to his GCSE revision and head off to talk to Benjamin about his experience.

 A keen javelin thrower, Benjamin’s made full use of Mr Kyriacou’s personalised training. With his aim to enter the English School competition once again this summer, he needed to identify any areas of weakness. Having problems with his shoulder, Benjamin’s worked hard to improve his mobility, as opposed to focusing on power and strength alone.

Wishing Benjamin all the best for his forthcoming training, we finally talked to one of our Sixth Form, Tolu, about his experience with the TAP.

 ‘The main thing I’ve got from the pathway is that it’s allowed me to be very independent. It’s mostly about getting me into the pool, getting me into the lengths, and allowing me to focus on myself.’

Of course, he hasn’t done this alone and has Miss Brandon’s help and support to thank for coaching him along the way. ‘She’s there every Monday and Friday after school and it’s helped my swimming get a lot faster. She’s told me to improve my turns, which is the most important part of the 50m. A race is won or lost at the start and at the turns, so if you master the turn, you win the race.’

Like Joe, Tolu is currently in the middle of examinations, and balancing his sporting commitments around his AS Levels has certainly been a challenge. However, he echoes Joe’s sentiments about the pathway’s ability to help find a work life balance, especially in the early seminars about organisation:

‘Discipline really helps in both sport and academics. Whenever I’m doing well academically, I’m doing well in both swimming and running. So the organisation discussions at the start of the year have helped me with that a lot.’

Although all the boys have different things to say about the TAP, one thing that remains the same is just how supported they feel by the pathway offered by our sports department.