When a chance arises...

... say "yes".

About a month ago, I was approached by the head of sports volunteering in Nottinghamshire. He told me that during the opening ceremony for the Nottinghamshire School Games on 5th July, an annual level 3 sporting event in the region, there would be a few athletes interviewed and he asked if I would like to be the one doing the interviewing.

Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity; that is something that I have always done.

My journey into sport started when I offered to volunteer at West Bridgford Colts Football Club in 2009, as part of my Duke of Edinburgh Award, a role which I carried on until leaving at the end of last season. Since that moment, I have been offered various different opportunities, but the key is that I have always said "yes". I have since undertaken many different roles in sport, some fun, some not so fun.

One of those opportunities was to become part of the Youth Sport Trust Young Ambassador programme in 2010. When I first started on the programme, I had no idea what being part of it meant or what it could lead to. Then last year, following an interview process, I was offered a place on the programme's national Steering Group - all that from just saying "yes" when asked if I wanted to find out more about it.

The opportunity to interview the athletes at the opening ceremony of the Nottinghamshire School Games was offered to me because of my role on the Young Ambassador Steering Group. I have also been offered the opportunity to volunteer during the first two days of the first Ashes test at Trent Bridge as a 'reward' for the work that I have done in sport in the area and for representing the county on a national level.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is this: Even when something doesn't necessarily seem that appealing at first (which, if I'm honest, the Young Ambassador Programme didn't), you should stick with it and eventually, you will start to see the benefit; if you jump at opportunities, opportunities will eventually jump back at you.

Return to Blogging!

My first post for over two years - so here goes! There are a few reasons I've decided to make a return, the first being that, having now finished my A2 exams, I am faced with a summer during which there will be times that I am doing very little, so thought that this could be something to keep me occupied. Secondly, I have noticed that a few of my friends have started blogging, so I am basically re-jumping on the bandwagon!

The third reason forms the premise for this post; the fascinating weekend of sport that we have just witnessed.

A perfect example of why to always believe...

Ken Duke's Sunday was a remarkable one. He started the day, the final day of the Travelers Championship, on -8, two shots behind leaders Bubba Watson and Charley Hoffman. He shot -4 for the final round to finish the day level at the top of the leaderboard with Chris Stroud on -12 - but that doesn't tell the full story. In what was a remarkable final few holes, 'The Duke' repeatedly looked to have blown his chance, only to scramble a result - such as on the last, where his experience certainly helped as he played a lovely 8 iron out of thick rough on the last that rolled up to the side of the green, leaving him a chip and a putt for par - a par that looked to have won him the championship. That was until Stroud managed to chip in for birdie on the last and take it to a playoff. He did, however, manage to eventually win the competition on the second playoff hole, putting a fantastic sand wedge to four feet, before tapping in for birdie and the win.

At 44, Duke was able to win his first ever PGA tournament. For me, this is one of the reasons that golf is one of the best sports around - the psychological aspect. The mental strength that Duke has shown this weekend to get his first win, whilst nearing the end of his career was excellent. He has shown it not only in the desire to keep playing despite no previous career wins, but also on a day where everything seemed to be going against him, only for him to come up trumps in the end.

Strange decisions at the top...

I'm not going to pretend to know the first thing about cricket seeing as, quite frankly, I don't. But one thing I couldn't help but notice from the ICC Champions Trophy final at Edgbaston yesterday was this: the refusal from the ICC to let the game continue past half 8 at night.

Not only does daylight last until around half 9 at this time of year, but Edgbaston is equipped with a perfectly functioning set of floodlights - so why couldn't they have let the game go on much later, instead of reducing it to a 20 over game?

Spare a thought for an Aussie...

Whilst rugby is not my sport of choice, I do enjoy watching the odd big game or two from the comfort of my living room. So naturally I tuned in to watch the Lions in the first test match against Australia on Saturday. And whilst, as a Brit, I was obviously delighted with the outcome of the match, I have to say that I felt sorry for a certain Australian kicker.

Kurtley Beale's slip in the lead up to his missed penalty attempt in the dying seconds handed victory to the Lions and, whilst that will probably be the moment the game is remembered by, it could be argued that his miss a few minutes earlier from an easier position, was the moment that in fact won the match and gave the Lions the advantage in the test series.