On Wednesday I donned my red and blue Team GB (Great Britain) kit to Longcroft School in Beverley. But this time my role was different. Rather than preparing to jump into a sand pit (I’ve actually never had the chance to do that in this particular kit due to injury) or, as I’ve been doing a lot of late, standing up in front of the children and inspiring them through my athletics highs and lows, they inspired me and several other athletes – Dan Gardiner (long jump) and Tom Somers (U20 200m sprinter). They inspired us through their entrepreneurial exploits at only 11/12 years of age (Year 7, first year of high school). Their task was to create a viable sports drink product, identifying their USP (unique selling point), thinking outside of the box, and also coming up with valuable market research (Google) to assess the viability and worthiness of this new creation!
The winners were ‘Power on the Go‘ primarily because their marketing strategies were genius and the confidence displayed by the whole group during presentation was astounding. They also had vibrant colours on their bottle design and hit all the criteria successfully. First runners up were ‘Natural Energy’ who uniquely specified their drinks’ content would be sourced locally which would reduce the logistical costs and also would be a healthy energy drink alternative because of all the natural goodness contained within! I ADORED this idea also so it was a struggle to decide the winners really, but that’s always the problem with competitive projects….there can only be one winner. Third podium position (their name has sadly fallen out of my brain bank!) had really great, clear and clean-cut packaging (I loved the colours!) and a solid marketing strategy also! I’d be very encouraged as the teachers in that school working with such a fabulous bunch of entrepreneurial students; the teachers are doing a job well done and the students will certainly leave there with bundles of wisdom and positive experiences like this that will impact their future for the better. I’m glad I too was able to be a part of such a fun, productive day!
This post started off as one thing and became something else – being inspired and encouraged by the young talent of the next generation. And I’m glad it took this upward turn. I hope you too are encouraged that your schools across the UK are truly championing children’s rights and prospects for creating a better, more abundant future for themselves and the world.
What have you noticed in your day-to-day interactions with children and young adults lately that has made you smile and be encouraged?
