Opportunity to join TAP’s 2021 global mentoring program

The True Athlete Project (TAP) has created an opportunity for young athletes (aged 15-24) to be mentored for one year by an elite/Olympic/Paralympic champion.

In addition to the nurturing, one-to-one support provided by their inspirational mentor, mentees receive a year of training across the following themes, designed to broaden and deepen who we are as athletes:

• Performance
• Identity & Values
• Mindfulness
• Community Responsibility
• Nature & Connectedness

So, if you’re a coach, organiser, or parent, and you know of a young person who may benefit from this type of support, please tell them about the opportunity. The deadline for applications is October 31st.

There is no criteria to be considered as a mentee, other than being:

• aged 15-24
• committed to your sport
• open to a holistic approach to your personal development

We have already seen how special the year is for both mentor and mentee. In 2018, the program won the World Olympians’ Partnership Award for its social impact. Since then, we have moved from strength-to-strength; our current cohort brings together 34 athletes across 21 sports and 8 countries!

"I'm delighted to have found this way of giving back to the local community and to havediscovered yet another way in which sport can empower and improve people's lives" - Anna Ward, TAP Mentor and British Olympic fencer.

"My TAP experience has supported my development as both an athlete and a person duringthis year way more than I could have ever imagined" - Kitsy, TAP Mentee and American surfer and kayaker.

Recently, TAP was in the news for its holistic approach, which aims to bridge the worlds of performance and sport-for-change. We do this by cultivating compassionate, socially-conscious sports environments, which aim to nurture humanitarian-athletes (“true athletes”) who are passionate about using their growth, learning and platform through sport to help others.

Our first ever mentee, Souleyman (pictured at the top of the article), is a wonderful example of a “true athlete”. A partially blind British sprinter, during the program he developed a regular mindfulness routine, broke his 100m personal best, and has since spoken in over 100 schools, inspiring children with his story of resilience. He says, "I don't know where I would be without the TAP programme. All those pressures of performance, education, social media and peer pressure, with a disability to add to it! All it takes is for someone to listen and understand."

Our aim is to reach individuals who do not have access to personalised mental-emotional support, and who may not be able to afford the cost of the program. Therefore, TAP is also looking for organisations or individuals who would like to sponsor a young person’s scholarship, in their name. We offer a range of partnership packages for sponsors, which include receiving TAP’s workshops, classes and coaching, delivered by our team of athletes, clinical and sport psychologists, mindfulness teachers and leadership coaches. Click here to find out more.

We are so grateful to sportanddev.org for allowing us to share this opportunity with you, and we hope you will share it with young people in your communities.

The True Athlete Project is also looking for sponsors to help fund the participation of young people from low-income backgrounds on the programme. If you are interested, you can find more information here.