Hey, I am Luke, a Lecturer in Sport Business Management at Sheffield Hallam University, and I was a Team Leader from 2013-2015. There is so much that I loved about being a Team Leader: the community of like-minded student-aged young people who saw the value of sport and the feeling of making a positive contribution to the lives of young people with different experiences. I also loved the exposure to working with young people from different backgrounds, based on the different residential themes (Girls Active, Inclusive Futures, Talent Identification Programme, Leadership programmes) and gaining unique experiences at a crucial time in my journey as a student, pre-career.

I believe that being a Team Leader helped me progress in my career, as well as being a Lecturer at University, a part-time role that I have with Major Sporting Events. To me these feel like YST Team Leader Residentials on a MAJOR, global scale - including going to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi (whilst I was still a TL), Rugby World Cup 2015, London Marathon 2018, Commonwealth Games 2022 Birmingham & the Olympic Summer Games in Paris 2024 - all using key skills such as organisation/communication and determination that I developed as a YST TL. My advice to anyone who is a Team Leader or considering it would be that you get out what you put in & the juice is always worth the squeeze!