The Prince of Wales thanked sports coaching apprentices for “facing down” barriers and “positively impacting the lives of others” in a speech at a London sports charity.
Prince William and Kate, the Princess of Wales, celebrated the 10th anniversary of Coach Core at Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Thursday.
Set up by William and Kate’s Royal Foundation in 2012 in the wake of the London riots, the charity aims to train up sports coaches who go on to inspire their communities.
The Prince of Wales told the charity he and his wife are “both so proud of all the remarkable progress that has been made”.
While William showed off his boxing skills as he tried out the sessions on offer by the programme.
“We all face barriers and challenges in life, and these can sometimes take incredible bravery to overcome,” he said.
“Not only have you faced these down, you have positively impacted the lives of others along the way and inspired many more.
“We are incredibly excited to see what the future holds for all of you.”
Prince William said more than 750 young people have been supported through the programme, with 600,000 sports sessions delivered to eight million participants.
He finished his speech by welcoming “the most successful gymnast in our nation’s history”, Max Whitlock.
Whitlock, a six-time Olympic medallist and a Coach Core ambassador, said: “We’re helping a lot more kids involved in sport by providing good coaches, good role models and (helping) these people into full-time employment – which is incredible.“Two of the biggest problems in gymnastics – it’s the same in most sports – is space and coaches.
“Obviously Coach Core is trying to fulfil that need for more and more good quality coaches to support these children who are coming through.”
The royal couple met some of the young people with whom the charity worksas they received a taster of the sports sessions on offer and how these can change young people’s lives.
Coach Core was launched the same year that the Olympic and Paralympic Games were staged in the capital to contribute to the legacy ideals of the events.
