Sport Industry Nextgen 2020 Gets Off To An Inspirational Start

Sport Industry NextGen 2020 kicked off in inspirational fashion with a Development Afternoon and a Celebration Evening that brought the newest members of the programme together with Leaders from each of the previous five years.

The 2020 cohort were initially put through their paces by Inspirational Developmeng Group (IDG) in central London, with a number of challenges and exercises designed to promote leadership and teamwork. Sport Industry NextGen coaches led sessions and worked with the leaders on personal development initaitives, helping them rethink their approaches to leadership.

Olympic gold medallist and Chair, UK Sport, Dame Katherine Grainger; Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ama Agbeze; London Legacy Development Commission CCO Joanna Adams; Howard Kennedy Partner Lois Langton; Inspirational Development Group (IDG) Senior Consultant Johanne Malin; Sport England board member Chris Grant; sports consultant Leon Mann; Inspired Leaders Network CEO Rene Carayol, and Sport Industry Group Chairman and Benchmark CEO Nick Keller were the Coaches who led the Leaders on their first steps on the programme, hosted at the Howard Kennedy HQ.

The cohort then decamped to Brigade Bar + Kitchen, where the 148-strong wider network came together to meet the new intake of Leaders and take part in the inaugural Sport Industry NextGen quiz.

Hosted by Senior International Relations Advisor at UK Sport, Clare Barrell and Managing Director at Matchday Media, Matthew Cook – 2016 and 2018 Leaders respectively – the quiz featured questions on general knowledge, sport and even the Sport Industry NextGen programme itself. 

It was hotly contested by the ten teams, each one consisting of Leaders from across the various cohorts, with the night ending on a dramatic (and now legendary) tiebreaker.

The highlight of the evening, though, was a guest appearance from Billy Monger, the British racing driver who had both of his legs amputated after a crash in a Formula 4 race at Donnington Park in 2017.

Monger spoke openly about his accident and the impact it has had on his life and career in a short Q&A to kick off the night. 

Interviewed by Sport Industry NextGen Leader 2017, Gemma Davies, the driver shared the inspirational story of his recovery and his fight to get his career back on track after injury. Explaining the process of adapting to life as a double amputee and learning to drive again with hand controls instead of using feet, Monger also spoke of the struggle he and his family undertook in lobbying the FIA to allow disabled drivers to race in single-seater championships.

At 20 years of age, Monger has his whole career in front of him despite already having been through a lot. His story of resilience and overcoming adversity is a relevant one to the Leaders in the 2020 NextGen cohort, but Monger’s positivity and optimism may have helped him early in his journey just as much as his determination, something that will stand him in good stead as he seeks to push his career even further and rise higher up the motor racing ranks.

“After the accident, mentally, I felt exactly the same, but obviously, physically, I wasn’t,” he said. “Little things like just being able to get around the house would wind me up, but my dad adapted the house to make sure I could get around in a wheelchair. It’s so important to surround yourself with positive people. 

“I was so blessed to have friends and family who were there for me day in, day out. They never really allowed me to sit there and feel sorry for myself, they were always moving forward. The focus was always on things in the future, rather than what had happened, and that for me was the main thing that kept me moving in the right direction rather than getting to a stage where you start to think about the smaller things too much, which holds you back.”

As the Sport Industry NextGen 2020 cohort look to the future of their careers, they too can draw on a network of supportive Leaders from the programme’s alumni, while Monger’s affability, resilience and advice wise beyond his years will surely be a source of inspiration too.

In the year to follow, the 2020 Leaders will receive a Leadership Package featuring two sessions delivered by legal experts Howard Kennedy on various issues in law to help equip Sport Industry NextGen Leaders for the challenges ahead; a Spartan Stadion Obstacle Course Race, Twickenham Stadium to foster team-building; a 24-hour Leadership Experience with the Inspirational Development Group at Sandhurst; and more training opportunities to be announced throughout the year.