For Finlay Menzies, sprinting didn’t begin with a grand ambition or a clear end goal. It started, like many good things do, by chance. Around 2013 or 2014, still in primary school, Finlay found himself part of an activity group aimed at supporting people with autism and other learning difficulties. It was there that something […]
For many elite players, the journey into their sport begins in structured environments — academies, junior leagues, carefully mapped pathways. For Sophie Gibbs-Nicholls, it started with a lunchtime walk to the pub. The England international and world champion first picked up a cue at a small secondary school where students were allowed to leave the […]
Some players talk about ambition. Others simply carry it with them. Craig Waddingham falls firmly into the second category. When he speaks about pool, there’s no grand performance or exaggerated claims — just the steady tone of someone who sees competition as the natural order of things. Calm, direct, and quietly driven to improve. Originally […]
For many football coaches, working inside a professional academy is seen as the end goal — the destination after years of graft on cold evenings and unpaid sessions. For Temisan Williams, it turned out to be the starting point for something else entirely. Having coached at Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, and worked with more […]
For Dave Gibbs, American football has never been just about playbooks, formations, or what the scoreboard says at the final whistle. It’s always been about something bigger. About building a sport, shaping a culture, and creating something people genuinely want to watch, support, and feel connected to. That outlook has carried Gibbs from a childhood […]
In non-league football, opportunity has always depended on who you know. That’s never been a secret. But in recent years, another issue has crept in alongside it — young players being asked to pay for access. Pay for trials. Pay for introductions. Things that, at their core, should never come with a price tag. Billy […]
Claire Morrison never set out to become one of the most respected performance coaches in Paralympic sport. In fact, her journey into boccia began with a quiet realisation rather than a grand ambition. After finishing university, Morrison was working for Scottish Disability Sport, delivering training courses and introducing others to sports such as boccia. The […]
Like many players of her generation, Gemma Hayter started throwing darts long before she understood quite where the sport could take her. Growing up in a family of pub landlords and county players, darts was simply part of the wallpaper. A battered board on the shed wall of her parents’ pub became her first practice […]
Rob Morgan’s introduction to CrossFit came just a few years ago, though he laughs now at how unprepared he was for it at the time. A semi-professional footballer plying his trade in the non-leagues, he had just returned to Stamford AFC after a short spell at Barwell and was training in a regular gym with […]
Ryan Vessey’s darting journey began in his bedroom, like so many before him – having recently made his Super League debut, the Farnham thrower has his eyes set on playing for the county. “I must have been about 14 or 15,” he told Fen Regis Trophies. “I used to have a dartboard in my room. […]
