From the Head of Cocurricular

One of the greatest benefits I gained from my involvement in co-curricular as a young person were the skills I was able to transfer into other areas of life. Some of these skills included psychological strategies for maintaining focus and motivation and getting in the zone for optimal performance, which I have applied across other high-pressure situations. Emotionally, I developed skills in emotional regulation and awareness of and responding helpfully to the emotions of others. Furthermore, I learned how to apply understanding of nutrition, skill acquisition and physiology in ways that have empowered me to maintain my health and wellbeing. I was fortunate through my co-curricular involvement to have people dedicated to supporting me in utilising and developing the skills in these areas, such that I used the experiences of co-curricular as a means for practising and applying them.

This article, How Athletes Can Use the Power of Breath to Improve Performance, provides a very helpful overview of the benefits of breathwork and some strategies we can implement to improve our use of breath. Whilst the article focuses on the sporting context, these same breathwork strategies apply across our co-curricular activities as a means for improving emotional regulation and enhancing performance. I encourage you to share and practice these breathwork strategies with young people so they can draw upon them in any situation for which they are helpful.

Jess Morrish
Head of Co-curricular