“What can you control on your path to success? How can you respond in the face of adversity? Who can support you on your journey and help you be the best version of yourself?”
Oundle’s Sports Scholars not only found out some of the answers to the questions above, but they were also challenged beyond their comfort zones during a recent inspirational Deaf Football programme with Fil Kamps.
During his session, Fil shared his sporting journey and explained the challenges, setbacks, and lessons he has learnt along the way, such as the differences between Deaf Football and mainstream football, use of sign language on the pitch and standards in the US. He also challenged the pupils’ own ability to adapt to different communication styles with an alphabet sign language test.
The pupils embraced the new perspectives that Fil introduced and enjoyed developing new communication skills.
With aspirations to compete at the top of their game, these budding sportsmen and women also gained an insight into how they can deal with their failures to come back stronger and communicate more effectively in their future training environments.
The afternoon’s programme was delivered in the lead up to Mental Health Awareness week, and the department was delighted that Fil could share the power of sport and offer a role model for how to deal with setbacks and anxiety.
Fi is a retired international football player and Olympian who has competed in ten countries across four continents.
