Young Volunteers

I am currently the Young Volunteer Representative for the London & South East Regional Netball Association.

Why I volunteer…

I volunteer because netball is such a powerful tool for empowering and connecting women and girls. I love to lead exciting projects which bring out the best in young people and encourage creativity, personal development and fun.

In my role as Young Volunteer Representative, I chair bi-monthly meetings with my Regional Working Group, represent the youth voice in the region and organise initiatives to improve the experience of being involved in netball for young people. I was drawn to the role as I’m passionate about making a difference to the lives of young women through netball, and magnifying the positives of being part of this fantastic sport. I am extremely well supported by both the members of the Working Group and the Regional Coordinator, along with our Regional Chair and the rest of the Regional Management Board.

I have learned so much from volunteering for the Regional Management Board, and it is so inspiring to hear the thoughts of the young people in our region and their ideas for developing and growing the sport. Being a volunteer has challenged me and I have had to focus on developing my listening skills as well as managing a group of young people and staying organised. My proudest moment was organising a mental health webinar for young people in our region during the lockdown which was attended by over 100 participants.

I love being an active member of the Netball Family and being able to give back to a sport which has given me so much joy.

I currently represent England Netball on the National Youth Sport Trust Forum as a Young Representative. I am also a member of the National Cross Sport Youth Leadership Team and represent England Netball as their young volunteer, working in collaboration with Young Volunteers from the LTA and Swim England.

Why I Volunteer…

My main drivers for volunteering are knowing that I am helping to make a positive difference in other people’s lives. Sport and physical activity would not function without volunteers and being part of the ‘volunteer family’ is fantastic. I think on the whole volunteers are pretty selfless people and this helps to create such an inclusive and nurturing atmosphere between us all. I’ve made some great friends through volunteering!

Everyone has that one person in their lives who has truly helped to inspire them or spark that flame. For me, it was my PE teachers at school – Hayley Athey and Jayne Roach – and because of their dedication and commitment to providing sporting opportunities for all, they gave me the belief I needed which allowed me to develop, and I would love to have that positive impact on people who I coach or teach.

Volunteering is so valuable as it teaches you a multitude of skills, such as how to interact and communicate with people from all walks of life. I’ve learnt so much through my volunteering such as adaptability and proactivity. Being able to offer people the chance to be physically active is something which drives my motivation, as without volunteers sporting opportunities and physical activity just wouldn’t happen. Volunteers truly are the lifeblood of many organisations. My proudest moment would probably be when I won the National UK Coaching Young Coach of the Year award as it meant so much to be recognised for the hard work and dedication I had given to our sport.

I currently volunteer at White Cross Netball Club in Humberside where I coach young children aged 9+. I was also recently appointed as Chairperson for Yorkshire Netball Youth Board.

Why I volunteer…

I volunteer because I am passionate about giving back to the sport that I enjoy the most. Seeing the enthusiasm expressed on the faces of the children I coach is what encourages me to continue with leading sessions. It is fulfilling to be able to provide something which creates a passion so similar to my own; I thrive off seeing people develop a love for sport in the same way I do. Within my netball club, I provide weekly training sessions and encourage the young athletes to live a healthy life and engage in good wellbeing practices. Most recently, I set up a Young Leaders pathway to help promote more leaders and build on the legacy of volunteers within netball.

I believe that I was driven to volunteering through the support and positive influences I have had around me. Both my netball coach and PE teachers when I was at school were both equally positive role models to me. They would encourage me to get involved with as many opportunities that I could. For example, leading sessions at after school clubs or helping out at club competitions. As a volunteer in netball, I hope I have portrayed myself as a positive role model like those I experienced growing up to encourage other young leaders to get involved.

Through volunteering I have gained lots of valuable experiences. It is extremely rewarding to see young people change and develop as they build confidence, overcome fears and make new friends. Becoming a coach has taught me how to motivate students and encourage them to become successful and has also strengthened my ability to communicate and liaise with people from a variety of groups. However, the best part of volunteering is knowing that you have given people the opportunity to get involved and make the difference whether that be physically, socially or even mentally.

I am currently the Youth Representative for the South West region.

Why I volunteer…

I volunteer within the South West because I want to be able to use my position to celebrate and champion netball across our region, embracing all the wonderful things that young people do. I want to support young people to stay involved on their journey within netball, understand how valued they are and encourage them to take the plunge and be pioneers within the sport and volunteer throughout the sport wherever they can.

I want to be able to work with young people across the region to give them a champion the way I was from my PE teachers and club to take the path that I have done within the sport. They provided me with the support and role model that showed me the positive impact that commitment, resilience and passion has to support young people and grow their confidence. Their contribution to netball inspired my coaching philosophy and overall outlook on being a proactive member of the netball community.

My experience of volunteering has shown me how quickly a community grows, the importance of being selfless and how invaluable the relationships you build within this sport are. This position and working with the volunteers in netball has inspired me and grown my passion to continue working hard and being a driving force behind the sport and inspire others to begin this journey also. It has allowed me to meet so many like minded people and create relationships with so many people within all walks of the netball community that without working on the Regional Board I’d never had the opportunity to work with.

My proudest moments was winning the South West Young Volunteer of the Year award in 2019, as well as rolling out and developing my mental wellbeing workshops to support over 100 young girls all across our region to understand the importance of understanding their mental health and how netball can support them.

Whilst I am formally a volunteer in the East, I travel to support events and communities much further afield. I also represent England Netball on the National Youth Sport Trust Forum as a young member.

Why I volunteer…

The driving force behind my volunteering is my passion for netball and desire to forge a path for future generations of sporting Asian youngsters. I work hard to turn the negative experience from the behaviours I faced into a positive change for the future.

Much of my volunteering takes the form of being a visible role model as Asian youngsters need to see someone like them who understands the challenges they face, to encourage, motivate and inspire them. Whilst I started by participating in more traditional volunteering, supporting England Netball, regional, international and Superleague events, I now also visit schools, join and run community training sessions, write and feature in articles, use both media and social media to raise awareness, I love being hands on and creative through innovative training drills, recording podcasts, talking to coaches and educating youngsters and parents. I recently co-authored a children’s book, Aisha’s Netball, to encourage conversation from a young age about diversity, inclusion and sport whilst giving society a light-hearted introduction to the challenges from Asian home life.

I believe I have and want to continue to change perceptions to make netball more accessible to girls from the Asian community to enhance their health and enjoyment through sport. I enjoy helping others, making a difference and life better for those I meet through sport from a young age, beyond PE at school, and supporting ways to make it more accessible.

Netball and volunteering have helped me develop a network of kind-hearted and supportive individuals, to become more disciplined, organised and helped me develop my people and communication skills. It is a heart-warming feeling seeing the same kids return, see their faces light up and the joy when they see me, it’s not something you can capture through words.

My proudest moment is being honoured with the Medal of the Order of the British Empire in the Kings New Years Honours List. Also, representing England in the England NETS U21 squad at the 2019 World Indoor Netball Championships, winning the ONE Awards National Young Volunteer of the Year 2022, being a Highly Commended winner at the 2020 Asian Women of Achievement Awards and receiving the Recognition Award at the 2022 British Muslim Awards, Sports category. These nominations are important to me as it means the messages are being received in a positive way by my community which makes the hard work worthwhile.