The Power of Sport Changed My Life | Si Ledwith, VI Rugby

Tell us about your childhood

I grew up in and around Ipswich, it wasn’t the nicest of areas and I experienced a lot of bullying as a kid due to my height, weight and disability. You could say I was an easy target back then.

How long have you had your visual impairment?

I was born blind in my left eye and have always had impaired vision in my right. However, this limited sight has deteriorated due to an accident I had on the cricket pitch. I got hit flush in the eye by the ball, which caused a haemorrhage which left me completely blind for almost two weeks. I was lucky that the sight returned but unfortunately it didn’t restore to the level that I previously had.

How did you get into sport?

I was always into sport and my parents were instrumental in pushing me to take part in the activities that any other young person would. At times I was excluded from sport either because of a lack of understanding from organisers or I’d simply be told to sit out by other young people who refused to include me; this was particularly common when it came to football.

I always felt I was just as good as most at whatever I was doing and remember saying that to my Dad a lot as a kid. He entered me into a pool competition on holiday when I was about 7 years old, I really didn’t want to play as the kids were all a lot older than me. I couldn’t’ see the other end of the table but my Dad talked me through it, and I won. Since then, the pool table has always been somewhere I’ve felt quite confident.

When did the cricket become serious?

I was sent to boarding school when I was 11 to help with my education and to get away from the bullying that I’d endured to that point. It was here that I was introduced to cricket and within two weeks of training I was asked to play for the school and became one of the youngest players to have ever done so.

A couple of years later when I was 14 I’d established myself in the men’s league and was invited to trial for England at their training camp in Derbyshire. It was at this point where things got serious and I realised there were some potentially life changing opportunities ahead.

Tell us a little about your England cricket career – stats, highlights, achievements

My England career began properly when I was selected as part of the World Cup squad that travelled to India in 2002. I was 16 and at the time was the youngest player to ever feature for England. During my time as an England squad member I won three Ashes series and was a 3x World Cup semi-finalist (2 ODI and 1 T20).

There are so many amazing memories that I can draw upon when looking back at what the teams I was involved with had achieved and I was fortunate to play alongside some genuinely world class performers. A personal highlight was during our home series against India, who were the world champions at the time. I opened the batting and top scored, we narrowly lost the game but it was the one and only time that my Dad managed to see me play for England which was hugely special for both of us. He sadly died the following year so it was even more fortunate that the home series took place when it did for us.

How did the VI Rugby journey start?

Rugby was always a sport that I wanted to be involved with in a playing capacity so two of my colleagues (Alex Bassan and Andy Sellins) and I developed a format of the game that could be accessible whilst still retaining the fundamental elements of rugby. We used our position in sport for development as a platform to launch the game during the Lions Tour of New Zealand and announced the sport to the rest of the world. I captained a representative Lions side that took on New Zealand in a three test series; we were delighted to come away winning all three.

Most recently I vice-captained the England VI Rugby team that went to Japan during the World Cup last October. It was a hugely successful series where we managed to win all three tests.

What exciting things are next in the VI Rugby arena?

The game is developing rapidly both domestically and internationally which is great to see. Alex and Andy head everything up now and we are building towards a Six Nations next year and the Lions tour of South Africa. There may be some other overseas opportunities for the England team in due course depending on when we are through the current coronavirus crisis.

Your charity work has been fantastic.   Tell us more about it, how it came about and the success you had.

The short answer is that there was a period of my life where I made some bad decisions, fell out of sport for various reasons and became involved in criminal activity. It had affected all areas of my life including my mental health, fitness, relationships etc. Fortunately one of my greatest friends was there to save the day and gave me an opportunity to work with him at his charity as a sports coach. I messed it up on many occasions but he never gave up on me.

The turning point was when I was given the opportunity to run a brand new initiative for the charity in an area that they’d not explored previously. It was called Street Elite and I was tasked with engaging with young people in London who were involved with gangs and crime, engage them through sport and teach them how to become more employable and support them into a job.

It was tough work and didn’t come without its dangers, but I could relate, having been in a similar position to them not long before. The programme was hugely successful and was recognised as a global award winning initiative. As much as I’m proud to have helped so many young people, I realise that it was just as important for me. Street Elite genuinely saved my life in many ways and I’m really not sure where I’d be today if it wasn’t for my mate (Andy Dalby-Welsh) who facilitated my employee opportunities.

Aside from Street Elie I was lucky enough to work all over the world with the charity in places like India, Afghanistan, Ghana, Jamaica, Trinidad and many more.

How did your charity work help with your current job?

I became an expert mentor during my time as a youth worker and I’d facilitated talented young people into football and boxing but they’d always get let down by useless agents who were playing at the game. The skills I had and the wasted talent I’d encountered led me to start a sports agency with a conscience, one that had the athletes development as the absolute priority. Being an International athlete means that I know what it takes to get to the top, I know how it feels to fall down the pecking order but more importantly how to dust yourself off and find the motivation to succeed again. That experience can be vital if used in the right way to support young athletes with their development.

How has the coronavirus affected your training/fitness?

It’s been a really tough time both mentally and physically for me. I eluded earlier that I’ve suffered and continue to suffer with mental health issues as many others do. The gym and training is my medicine and without it I’ve had to find new coping mechanisms which I’m still getting to grips with. However, I’ve focussed on writing my own training plans and adapting them each week to ensure I’m remaining strong, fit and sharp – fortunately I’ve always been self-motivated and have never needed others to inspire me to train or achieve the things I want to in sport or in life.

I’ve been trying to help others to stay focussed and motivated around their training whether they’re ardent gym goers or using this period of lockdown to get back in shape. Whether I send them videos of what I’m doing, post on social media or write personal programmes for people depending on individuals needs it all helps to stay occupied, accountable and improve mental fitness.

Sporting heroes – male and female?