In the second episode of this series, hosts Paul Griffiths and Luke Johnson are joined by Alex Wallace and Katie Smith from The Mintridge Foundation.

Who is Alex Wallace?

Alex is the Founder and Managing Director of The Mintridge Foundation, a charity that uses the power of positive role models to impact lives.

Her passion is to give all young people equal sporting opportunities, and Mintridge achieves this by working with Olympic, Paralympic and elite athletes to deliver unforgettable experiences to children and young people.

Alex has been recognised for her achievements by several high-profile organisations, including being awarded the Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year award in 2018 in the grassroots category.

Who is Katie Smith?

Katie is Operations Director at The Mintridge. Foundation. She has a background in education, physical activity and health, being a keen netball and lacrosse player.

She is a qualified PE teacher and netball coach and has led of a range of sport participation programmes across the country, working in challenging environments and with people of varying ages and abilities.

Katie is using her skills and experiences to help the development of mentoring programmes at The Mintridge Foundation.

What is the podcast about?

• Alex shares her experience of failure at a young age and how it planted the seed for her to support young people.
• Katie talks about how such a diverse range of athletes allows them to inspire many children, compared to the few role models in the spotlight when she was growing up.
• We discuss how encouraging children and young people to celebrate successes and failures equally is key to lifelong participation in physical activity.