Player's goal to push sport

Published 15 Aug 2012 07:00 0 Comments

READING hockey star Alex Danson, whose goals drove Great Britain to an Olympic bronze medal, is aiming to become a PE teacher to pass on the inspiration which made her a star.

The 27-year-old hopes to play her own part in the legacy of London 2012 by boosting the development of hockey in schools where she learned the game herself.

Showing off her treasured bronze medal, and speaking about her future to reporters at Team GB House in Stratford on Saturday, Danson said: "The reason I want to teach is that I was completely inspired by my PE teacher when I was at school.

"My PE teacher loved sport and she loved hockey and I remember from the moment I went into my first PE class I thought it was the best thing ever.

"Everything that she was I wanted to be. It's an unbelievable honour to have a medal around our necks, but part of our work must be about inspiring the next generation and I think that's something that these Games have encapsulated so perfectly."

Danson's words came after British Olympic Association chairman Lord Colin Moynihan had urged the Government not to waste the inspirational Olympic heroics of Team GB and increase funding for grassroots participation in sport.

Danson, who scored GB's first school in the 3-1 bronze medal victory over New Zealand to take her tournament total to five, added: "How much people have got behind us has been incredible. As a sport we have worked so hard and tirelessly to get as many young people as possible to get involved in our sport.

"I think I have the greatest job in the world at the moment but when I do finish playing hockey it would be an honour for me to go into teaching, and if I can have the same impact on one person that my PE teacher had on me I would be very happy because sport has made my life so fantastic."

Tweet

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.

Follow @rdgchronicle