William and Kate go head-to-head in netball drill

The Prince and Princess of Wales laughed and joked as they tried to score hoops for opposing teams
Tony Jones12 October 2023

The Prince and Princess of Wales went head-to-head in a netball drill as they joined young athletes and their parents being coached on building up mental resilience.

William and Kate, known for their competitive natures, laughed and joked as they tried to score hoops for opposing teams, with the prince joining mothers and fathers and the princess welcomed by their children.

The future king said he has been instilling positive sporting messages in his children about “how you can lose well and win well” and to “respect your opponent, respect the decision”.

The casually dressed couple attended a mental fitness workshop run by SportsAid at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre in Berkshire, where parents learnt about the importance of mental resilience while their sons and daughters reflected on how they cope under pressure.

When William first spotted the middle-aged parents in a sports hall, he joked about “grown-ups dunking hoops” as Kate said “I’ll go to the back and watch what everybody does” and gestured to her husband to join his group.

William and Kate visited the Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre in Marlow on Thursday (Suzanne Plunkett/PA)
PA Wire

The teams first practiced shooting hoops, then tried to score while under pressure, to mimic playing conditions, with William and Kate – joined by Paralympic champion swimmer Ellie Simmonds – distracting opposition players by waving their arms.

Despite still having two fingers strapped up as a precaution after a recent trampoline accident, Kate was eager to take on her husband, and the session ended with the princess trying to score as William defended the hoop, though she missed four times.

During the visit, the prince sat with parents and discussed supporting their children’s sporting careers.

He said about his own young family: “I try to talk to them about how you can win well and lose well. I think that’s really important.”

He told the group, which included Sir Matthew Pinsent, a four-time Olympic rowing champion, SportsAid trustee and father of three sporty teenagers: “They need to understand they’re not going to win everything.”

William went on to tell the parents: “It’s not just sport, they’re lessons throughout your life – winning, losing, competing… relationships, whatever it might be.

“For me it all started with sports.”

The prince and princess have spent the week raising awareness about the nation’s mental health, travelling around the country to highlight different aspects of the issue, from the support for first responders to the problems faced by young people.

World Mental Health Day 2023
The Prince of Wales went head-to-head with his wife in netball drills
PA

During the visit, the couple joined a workshop as young sportsmen and women discussed resilience and coping with stressful periods, with one competitor telling Kate how, after initially feeling upset when he suffered an injury during a major championship, he was able to learn from the experience.

The princess said being able to change “mindset” is a “really important skill”. adding: “It’s a skill we could teach our youngest kids that would help our children later in life.”

When asked by the workshop leader about being resilient, William said: “For me it’s mindset – I have to get myself in a certain zone.

“When things start going a bit wrong I click into a different gear. I see the end goal and I try and work out a path, like a maze, to get there, and I prioritise.”

The couple ended their visit by putting on blindfolds and trying their hand at goalball, a visually impaired Paralympic sport in which players try and score by rolling a ball filled with bells into their opponent’s goal.

William failed in his bid to score but Kate had the bragging rights after her shot evaded the blindfolded goalkeeper.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in