OK, so this isn’t strictly about coaching, but I am a female coach and becoming a coach was all inspired by a very special woman – my Mum.
My Mum is a strong woman. Born in a small town in the North of England, as a teenager my Mum looked after her very poorly Dad whilst emotionally supporting her Mum. She went on to train as a nurse and over the years has saved hundreds if not thousands of lives, affecting every person she meets in the most magical way. She works more hours than she should (as we all tell her!) and she puts every bit of energy in to every task she performs – with no complaints.
About 8 years ago, my Mum started volunteering for a charity that travels to the World’s poorest countries to undertake medical operations and health care that would otherwise never take place. Every year for the last 8 years, she has travelled to Malawi, one of Africa’s poorest countries and performs life saving and life changing operations. She would hate me to say this, but my Mum is the oldest medic in the group that travels and one of only two women. They travel to some very remote places that have very little resources and very little in the way of hope for a better future. She also spends time mentoring the doctors and nurses teaching them new skills and ways to look after their patients. These skills get passed on from hospital to hospital after my Mum has gone home, allowing hundreds of poorly trained and equipped medical staff to learn new life saving procedures – meaning that my Mums legacy will live on in Malawi forever.
It makes us all incredibly proud and as I write this, I well up thinking about just how proud of her I am. My Mum loves her family and my Dad and every year it is really tough for her to leave us behind. It is also very hard for us to know she is spending time in a country that is not the safest place for her to be. But like any super hero, she has a job to do.
As you can imagine, this incredible woman has had a huge influence on my life, teaching me that if you want something, then work hard for it and smile whilst you’re doing it. For a woman who suffers daily with severe chronic back pain, she never ever complains and she never lets it hold her back. So, when I am struggling with an issue, or doubting my capabilities in a certain task, I think “What would my Mum do” – and the answer is always – she would just get on and do it.
I pass this knowledge on to my athletes. I tell them, if they want that PB or they want to win that race, then they have to make sacrifices and they have to work hard for it. You aren’t gifted things in life and you can’t let anything hold you back.
My Mum has made me a better person and a better coach because I know that I was blessed to have her as a Mum and blessed for the type of person she is.
And that is why my Mum is my hero.
