A former athlete at GB Hockey’s Elite Development Programme (EDP) is campaigning for an increase in lifestyle mentoring for young hockey stars after she cut short her bid to become an international player over mental health concerns.
Katie Knight, a promising goalkeeper who plays for Exeter University, left the EDP earlier this year. The 20-year-old has since been prompted to launch a petition after receiving an overwhelming response from a blog post she wrote on the pressures young athletes face.
“Why are so many young athletes coming to me and feeling the same way? It proves I’m not alone in this and something needs to happen,” Knight told The Hockey Paper.
- Support and sign the petition here
“There’s not enough support for young athletes who are trying to manage everything. I don’t know whether it’s an issue at the universities or through England Hockey as a national governing body.”
She is set to write to EH in a bid to change approaches to lifestyle mentoring for young athletes. But she hopes the message spreads to other sporting NGBs and also wants to help others who are suffering from health issues.
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