Athletic Ambitions: Stories of Tomorrow's Champions

Chloe Sheppard - alumni athlete

Chloe joined CASS & Friends when she was 16 and had been selected for the GB performance academy programme for rowing.....she only just made the cut, but thank goodness she did! Less than two years later, she was in the GBR U19s team and off to compete in Paris. Since then, Chloe has gone to university in Washington, at one of the best rowing universities in the USA and in her freshman year was selected to go in the varsity boat.....quite an achievement to say the least!! In this podcast, she talks all about working with her CASS & Friends mentor on her mental skills and how she has transitioned from a runner and swimmer to a potential rowing Olympian. We hear all about the brutality of training at the elite level and how fantastic the facilities and the support systems are at her university.  She has so much talent and potential and is full of grit and determination to succeed. We are loving following her on her exciting journey. If you would like to find out more please visit www.cassandfriends.org Instagram @cassandfriends

Nia Suardiaz - Wingfoiler

Nia is an 18-year-old Spanish athlete competing at the highest level in a relatively new sport called Wingfoiling. She adores her sport and that shows in her results, winning all of the disciplines in the 2025 GWA World Cup Tour.  Nia has a fantastic website and Instagram profile, which has helped her to obtain some super sponsors - always important when competing at such a high level due to the travel and costs involved with competitions.  I hope you enjoy our conversation and are tempted to try it out for yourself if you get the opportunity! I would also urge our CASS & Friends athletes to check out her website!  If you would like to find out more please visit www.cassandfriends.org Instagram @cassandfriends

Max Hinds - Alumni athlete

In the latest podcast Max Hinds talks about his cycling career, making his way from the Junior World Championships to racing with the GB team and being part of the Olympic Development Squad. His mindset is so strong and he has a clear vision of where he wants to get to, setting himself lofty goals - this is his "why" and what drives the commitment to long, hard sessions when he is already near exhaustion. We delve into the marginal gains in cycling and how watts can be shaved from so many aspects of the sport, all leading to incremental improvements, efficiency and ultimately speed.  Max is a fantastic ambassador for CASS & Friends with very good advice for our younger athletes; to have fun and nail the basics - it's a long journey in elite sport, so he says it's good to remember to enjoy the ride. If you would like to find out more please visit www.cassandfriends.org Instagram @cassandfriends

Lucinda Evans - alumni athlete

Lucinda is a "legend" - her uni friends say that to her, and they are right - a SportsAid athlete who came to CASS & Friends, and we have loved supporting her, watching her steely determination and desire to succeed in whatever she sets her mind to. She loves her sport, telling us about her shooting "family" with the friends she has made since she was talent spotted as a young girl. Now a student studying veterinary science, she is focusing on her career and academics while slotting in as many competitions as possible with her heart set on competing at the Olympics when her studies are over. There is so much to learn from the way she trains - using feel rather than scores and numbers when she practises with no bullets and how training with more intention and purpose due to time constraints at university has improved her performance.  I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed hearing Lucinda chat away and share her story. She's one to watch.  If you would like to find out more please visit www.cassandfriends.org Instagram @cassandfriends

Ellie Wheeler-Smith - alumni athlete

Ellie is one of our fabulous alumni athletes who achieved the qualifying time for the U20 European Championships. Lockdown prevented her from competing and she never quite found her form after that due to injury.  This episode is an honest and open conversation about Ellie's journey; through competing as a teenager, the joy and passion she had for sprinting and then the impact of covid, starting university and being affected by anxiety.  Ellie managed to balance her school work with training, went to the University of Bath to study one of the best Sports Science degrees in the country and is now embarking on her career as a sports physiologist. One day she may be a sports psychologist....you never know.  She is young, determined and very bright with a fantastic future ahead of her. Thank you, Ellie for sharing.  If you would like to find out more please visit www.cassandfriends.org Instagram @cassandfriends