Last week, former Shiplake College pupil and Olympic gold medallist, Will Satch, came back to the College to give our elite rowers and sports scholars a motivational talk.
Will Satch stated that it was ‘a privilege to be back’ as he opened his talk to the gathered sports scholars and elite rowers when he visited the College recently. He went on to tell them that it was not all that long ago that ‘I was one of you’, before playing the audience a showreel which captured Will’s rise to the GB squad to achieve Bronze in the Pair at London 2012, be World Champ in the Men’s Eight in 2013, 2014 and 2015, then win Gold at Rio 2016.
Will, however, had a very clear message for the young athletes and this was that they will face adversity as they work to achieve their goals, and that success will not be possible if they don’t put in the ‘grind’.
Will joined Shiplake as a rugby scholar and he recognised that his mum and stepfather had provided him with a real opportunity to be at Shiplake; he urged those present to recognise this for themselves. It was at the College that Will started building the stepping stones to help get him to where he is today – likening this to a pyramid where ‘the bigger the base, the higher the peak’. Having converted from rugby to rowing, Will admitted that he and his crew lost most of their races over the five years he rowed; yet he had a passion for it and the support that his teammates gave one another was instrumental in ensuring he continued with the sport.
Another stepping stone in Will’s journey was the opportunity to join Leander Rowing Club, yet his dreams were shattered at the age of 17 when he lost at Henley Royal Regatta in the Leander vs Marlow race. Here Will had to deal with anger management and he learned from the experience – he admits that the win of the Thames Cup the following year still means more to him than Gold at the Olympics!
Setting small goals will help you achieve a big target and Will talked about how whilst for four years he had 14 August 2012 set in his head, looking back it was much more about how he got there rather than the day itself – and that he actually felt nothing as he crossed the line as an Olympic medallist. Despite missing out on attending weddings and his friendships and relationships, ‘it’s the best feeling in the world’ to have been part of such a journey.
This idea of ‘setting small goals’ had an impact on one of the school's rowers and future Head of College, R Ash “Will said that his way, was to set small goals until he reached the big, long term goal, which is something that I have taken away.”
Yet, since Rio, Will has had to ‘overcome his ego’ as he was hit with the need for heart surgery for a condition called atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate. This left him seriously considering his future in the sport; even more so when a year later he ruptured his shoulder. The pupils were struck by Will’s honesty as he spoke about going through such a dark stage in his life, including a long-term relationship breakup which, coupled with not being able to train, left him very alone and struggling with anxiety and his mental health.
Will reassured the listeners that dark days do make for good days and reminded them to try and enjoy every day, build friendships and to ‘put in the grind’. Will said it was his love of the sport and the thought of letting his teammates down that made him get back on the water and start training for Tokyo 2020.
Director of Sport, Mr Mark Griffiths, said after the talk “It was a pleasure to welcome and listen to Will Satch, when he came to talk to our Sports and Rowing Scholars. It was a privilege to be there to hear such an honest and inspirational delivery. All of the boys and girls there were fixated with the video he showed and the talk he gave. Some of the boys came and found me to say how inspired they felt! For an old boy who has achieved Olympic glory and who is so grounded and genuine, we all learnt a lot!”
Good luck to Will this weekend as he returns to the GB squad after his six-month break, rowing in the second men's four in the World Cup in Poznan, Poland.
