Leo Hjelde and Lewis Bate recently joined students from Carr Manor Community School to discuss the importance of resilience and how to tackle setbacks.

The young duo took time out after training at Thorp Arch to join an online Zoom call with a number of pupils that had been chosen by teachers at the school to discuss some important topics that included how you can plan for your future, even through periods of uncertainty.

Leo and Lewis had been asked to speak with the students around their own career paths to date, along with how they’ve dealt with setbacks and how they deal with various pressures, with some advice around working hard, enjoying your education and not taking anything for granted.

The call had been arranged through the work being done with the Leeds United Foundation, with coaches hoping to provide the students with an exclusive opportunity to talk to Leeds United players that may help them realise that even through challenging times it is important to keep trying and to never give up.

Matthew Skinner, the Personal Development and Wellbeing Lead at Carr Manor Community School, said: “‘Being part of this pilot with the Leeds Utd Foundation is a fantastic opportunity for us as a Leeds Community school. Ashleigh Martlew is our own dedicated Club Community Champion based in school with a focus on using the clubs reach and influence to enrich the Careers Advice offer every child receives.

“Ashleigh has quickly grasped what the school needs and has been proactive in linking up with opportunities such as the Careers Days at Elland Road, talks with players like today and used the club's community and professional partners to enrich our offer. She has worked face to face with children in the delivery of whole year events and has already impacted careers engagement for targeted cohorts of children to whole year groups.

“We can’t thank the players enough for their time with the students, some of the feedback has been incredible and they really have inspired them through some of the things they said. We now look forward to the next steps in this developing relationship and seeing the impact of the widened careers experiences of our children as they are inspired to work even harder to reach their aspirational and well-informed goals.”

For more information around the work being done with secondary schools and colleges through the Leeds United Foundation, please contact [email protected].