Playground to Podium

With the Olympics and Paralympics recently being shown on TV, I've been thinking about an experience I had at age 14. This was the year before London 2012 and I was invited to join the Playground to Podium scheme.
A charismatic guy called Mr Field (who definitely saw the humour in his name), visited me at school one day and asked if I liked sports. At the time, I was playing in the netball and rounders teams, with a growing interest in tennis. When I explained this, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Well," he said, "I've got an exciting opportunity to run by you!'

From what I understand, the aim of Playground to Podium was to scout talent for future Paralympic games. I attended two assessment days alongside other young people with a range of disabilities. One of these took place at a local stadium where professional athletes train. Unfortunately, there were no gold medallists around that day, but I did get a free t-shirt!

Initially it was nerve-wracking turning up to the assessments. I've never performed well under pressure and the idea of being observed by various experts was scary. However, the atmosphere was so welcoming and friendly. It didn't take long to settle in. I also had my dad with me throughout for extra reassurance. Overall, it was just a 2 day "get out of school free" card- with fun activities, good company and even a McDonalds breakfast. Although I did question why a fast-food restaurant was built right next to a centre of sporting excellence.

The two main highlights for me were the table tennis session and the wheelchair basketball. Both of these sports were not very compatible with my visual impairment, being more geared towards others in the group, but I performed surprisingly well. This unexpected success proved to be a little too much to handle. My overenthusiasm triggered a sudden adrenaline rush and I chased a basketball into the wall at full speed. Bouncing halfway across the court and spinning like a waltzer is a moment that's always stuck with me.

It's a real shame the Playground to Podium scheme doesn't seem to be running anymore. It appears to have disappeared not long after the 2012 games. This is the issue with many programs for people with disabilities- after a couple of years funding dries up and the project gets abandoned. Hopefully P2P is still continuing under the radar as I believe it was a valuable experience that greatly boosted my confidence. The coaches soon discovered I'm not gold medal material, but they helped me realise my athletic ability is perfectly average. Competing with able-bodied students at school had given me the false idea that I was completely hopeless at everything. This change of perspective affected my self-esteem in the long term, which is why my participation in sports has continued with blind tenpin bowling.