Kieran Sharpe is Head of Education and Curriculum Design, Wellbeing Fitness Education Centre
From grass roots to world class performance, local authority and international training venues Kieran has vast experience in roles at all levels of Sport, Leisure and training and a passion for supporting others wishing to enter this career path.
Kieran is experienced and has a long history of success managing and creating curriculums in all areas of Sport, Sport Science, Sport Therapy and Injuries, Forensic Science and Public Services. This has involved Kieran being on secondment to a variety of institutions to offer support and advice on smart teaching systems and curriculum management to attaining KPIs with all necessary stakeholders. Successes have included outstanding rating from Ofsted, Outstanding teaching provision in subject specific curriculum management with a variety of awarding bodies.
When we look back on 2020 we may reflect on different emotions we experienced, with the majority perhaps not being so positive. Heightened levels of anxiety and frustration, control being taken away, depression and general low feelings.
The football Euros came at an earlier interval and, with the positive performance of the England team, it was perceived to be an opportunity for healing and that ‘things’ were getting back to ‘normal’ whatever those terms are perceived to mean.
Now the lead up to the Olympics and as such its opening ceremony may have by passed some of us by, but the stories that emerged surely do sum up what has been a challenging couple of years for all of us. There was the conflict between the IOC and Japanese government officials as to whether the events should or should not take place. There was the relevance of the games and impact they would have without spectators. The poignancy of the 2020 Olympics taking place in 2021. Time itself seems to have dragged or in some cases, even halted.
For myself, I had a raised eyebrow regarding the inclusion of skateboarding within the events and was curious to how this would be received. Diversity of sports within the Winter games appears to take place with little or no resistance, but the summer games.
In fact, it raised the phenomenal story of Sky Brown who became Team GB’s youngest Olympic medallist.
Before winning her bronze in Tokyo, Sky had come through a year of trauma. In June 2020 Sky had what can only be described as a stomach-churning accident falling in between two ramps at a massive height and subsequently being air lifted to hospital. She suffered 11 fractures and sustained serve head injuries as she landed headfirst on the floor. Sky’s father caught the entire event on camera.
When you read a story like this, all the previous thoughts and considerations fall away, and you are left with a journey you can perhaps empathise with.
Consider you are on a pathway, a schedule set, goals, and objectives to be completed and to have this all taken away in an instant. The mindset that a 12-year-old has to set to assess their current difficult circumstances and set a pathway to continuing their dream, diversifying, adapting to change and overcoming barriers is something we can all relate to.
You may sit on the fence between whether you support mega sporting events or not or whether you think these types of events make a positive impact on society and the changing world.
Prior to the games and these stories emerging I discussed the issues of altering schedules for peak performance athletes and what considerations support coaching and therapy staff would take. What potential negative impacts would occur from moving the margins by 12 months.
Reviewing the previous personal best times of track athletes and performance at the Olympic games there has been a dramatic increase in performance. What can we take from this? As with often returning from long term injuries having space and time for physical and mental reflection will in the long term increase our own life performance.
This was further cemented by Simone Arianne Biles, USA gymnastic champion who withdrew from individual competitions and was put in a position where an athlete with a combined 32 Olympic and World Championship medals defends her decision to withdraw from Olympic competitions, explaining that she is still struggling from what is known as the “twisties’.
Mindfulness and self-care may fall into the categories of clichés that we won’t give a second thought to in a couple of years’ time. Hopefully we will remember the journeys we have all come on, no matter the inconvenience and adaptions we have had to make. We will also see the similarities in others of our own battles and challenges.
Sport, sporting events and mega sporting events still have a true nature and relevance to reflect and influence wider society.