When 16-year-old Josh Arkell travelled from his small hometown to attend the Young Ambassadors conference in Hampden Park, he never imagined that he would be opening that same conference as part of the Delivery Team just a year later.
Growing up in Campbeltown in Argyll & Bute, Josh has always been enthusiastic about sport and the social benefits it brings, particularly in rural areas.
During and shortly after the pandemic, Josh noticed a decline in the attendance of extracurricular sports clubs at his school and was eager to tackle this. So, when his PE teacher presented the opportunity to become a Young Ambassador, he did not hesitate to say yes.
A new experience
“Going to the conference was quite surreal,” Josh told us,
“Hampden was even bigger than I thought it would be.”
Playing for his local football club all the way through juniors meant that a trip through to Glasgow wasn’t unusual for Josh. The scale of the event and the opportunity to mix with so many other young people, however, meant that it was a very new experience.
“That was the first time I’d spoken to so many people outwith my hometown,” he explained,
“Where I’m from, everyone is pretty similar to me, so it was great to meet people from different backgrounds and hear their perspectives and experiences."
Josh explained that attending the conference was both exciting and challenging. Coming from a school with approximately 350 pupils meant having to adapt and come up with ways to make ideas work on a smaller scale. He said:
“I guess it wasn’t as easy for us to start up a new club or host a large event, so it was really a case of downsizing on some of the ideas we were discussing with YAs from much bigger schools.”
Getting back on track
When Josh returned to Campbeltown he wasted no time, meeting with his YA partner, PE teacher and Active Schools coordinator the day after the conference to brainstorm.
“The decline in after school club attendance post-covid was something I was really passionate about tackling so that’s where our discussion started,” Josh told us.
Having attended many sports clubs himself throughout primary and secondary school, Josh said it had been hard to see them become so poorly attended.
“I made so many friends outwith my year group by going to extracurricular clubs so I really wanted to make sure that younger pupils would have that positive experience too,” he explained.
During that initial meeting, Josh and his YA partner came up with a points system idea that would reward pupils for attending after school clubs. There was a prize of a smartwatch for the pupil with the most points at the end of the year, providing a great incentive to keep going along.
“We wanted to get as many pupils as possible involved and I think we achieved that pretty well. The points system ended up being a big hit and we saw a huge boost in participation.”
Reaching his potential
After a successful year as a Young Ambassador, Josh wanted to continue his journey so put in an application for the Delivery Team.
“It sounded like such a great opportunity,” he said.
“I have always enjoyed taking on new opportunities, experiencing new things and meeting new people.”
Working with a group of 25 other current and previous Young Ambassadors, Josh said that it was great to have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with new people his age and that he remains close friends with many of those he met through the Delivery Team.
During the 2-day Delivery Team residential at the sportscotland National Centre Inverclyde, Josh put himself forward to open and close one of the conferences which meant speaking to a crowd of over 100 new Young Ambassadors and their mentors.
“That was the first time I’d spoken in front of that many people, so it was a big thing for me,” he expressed.
“I was pretty nervous right beforehand but after I’d finished, I felt brilliant and was so glad that I’d put myself forward to do it.
“It really felt like I’d gotten over a massive hurdle in terms of building up my confidence and that has definitely helped me with what I’m doing now.”
What’s next? Continuing the journey
Now working full-time as a quantity surveyor and attending college twice a week to work towards his qualifications, Josh has recently taken up an exciting opportunity with the Youth Sport Trust.
Wanting to continue on his leadership journey after his time on the Delivery Team, Josh was referred to a 2-year volunteering programme for young sports leaders.
Earlier this month, he was down in Doncaster for the Youth Sport Trust’s MultiSport Camp for young leaders where he delivered sessions to hundreds of school pupils over three days.
“A lot of the work I’m doing now is very similar to what I did with the Delivery Team, just on a bigger scale so it feels like a good natural step,” Josh said.
For Josh, he is now more than confident to put himself forward for new opportunities and deliver to large groups of people.
“There’s no way I’d be where I am now without the Young Ambassadors programme and all the invaluable skills and experience that has given me,” he said.
Josh is now looking forward to delivering at several upcoming sporting events and we are more than certain that he will continue to excel in this new role.
Find out more
- For more information on the Young Ambassadors programme, visit: Young Ambassadors - sportscotland the national agency for sport in Scotland
- Follow the Young Ambassadors dedicated Instagram page: Young Ambassadors (@yascotland) • Instagram photos and videos
