Living For sport
Living For Sport Mentor -
Andrew Bridge
Andrew Bridge participated in many sports during his time at school. He started playing basketball at 12 years old after joining in a session when his football training had been cancelled. At the age of 16 he began to focus all his attention on basketball after discovering he had true talent.
Andrew attended university in Leeds and during this time he was offered his first professional basketball contract by the Sheffield Sharks. After three years Andrew signed for the Newcastle Eagles and was a core member of the team that won 17 Championships in a seven year period. He won two further Championships with Sheffield for a total of 19, making him the most successful player in the history of the British Basketball League.
Andrew was also part of the England basketball team that won a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. After 10 seasons with Newcastle, Andrew returned to Sheffield for the 2012 season where he continued playing, alongside his role as a Sky Sports Living for Sport Athlete Mentor.
Andrew retired from basketball in the summer of 2013.
Living for sport is a national programme ran by Sky and the Youth Sport Trust. The programme uses the motivational power of sport to inspire young people.
Students are invited to join the programme by Form Teachers and Heads of Year for a variety of reasons. The main aim of the programme is to support students to further develop one or more of the following skills; self-confidence, self-esteem, attitudes to learning or social skills.
The thirty six students involved in the initiative recently attended a Living for Sport Key Skill workshop ran by former Newcastle Eagles Basketball player Andrew Bridge, at Tyne Met College.