“Understanding my journey from a thirteen year old with no sporting talent to a scholarship at Shiplake College and then hopefully onto Harvard is an improbable story,” James Briggs told us at Senior Assembly this morning.
“My school reports read “able but must try harder” and when my friend asked me to join his window-cleaning business when I left school, I contemplated it. At that time his company consisted of him, a sponge, a ladder and a bucket,” said James.
One evening on Scarborough beach another friend invited James to have a go at rowing. Five months later James stood on the podium at the National Indoor Rowing Championships with a medal round his neck.
“When the offer of a sports scholarship to Shiplake came I had to think long and hard. It was 260 miles away and my friends were concerned that I would become a soft southern pansy.”
“Looking back it is strange how luck, destiny or fate can shape such pivotal moments in our lives. But we must have the determination and perseverance to make the most of those opportunities. When I am asked to do a 5km ergo I have a choice. But to achieve we have to remove ourselves from our comfort zone, to broaden our outlook and to move on. Never say never.”
“My school reports read “able but must try harder” and when my friend asked me to join his window-cleaning business when I left school, I contemplated it. At that time his company consisted of him, a sponge, a ladder and a bucket,” said James.
One evening on Scarborough beach another friend invited James to have a go at rowing. Five months later James stood on the podium at the National Indoor Rowing Championships with a medal round his neck.
“When the offer of a sports scholarship to Shiplake came I had to think long and hard. It was 260 miles away and my friends were concerned that I would become a soft southern pansy.”
“Looking back it is strange how luck, destiny or fate can shape such pivotal moments in our lives. But we must have the determination and perseverance to make the most of those opportunities. When I am asked to do a 5km ergo I have a choice. But to achieve we have to remove ourselves from our comfort zone, to broaden our outlook and to move on. Never say never.”
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