Archive May 16, 2025

Jordan Puente was 13 when he was first expelled from school. At 14 his anger and aggressive behaviour was so challenging, his mum feared he would end up in prison.

Then one day a sports coach and mentor called Roddy Slater began working with him through his school in Reading and set Jordan on a path that would transform his life.

“He started taking me down to the gym and he helped me use weightlifting as a tool to get away from that troubled life as a teenager, from being on the streets and getting in trouble with the law,” he told BBC Sport.

“I’d come in there with all these problems. He’d listen to me. In my head I’m just training, but then I’d come out of that session with a weight off my shoulders, being like ‘hang on a minute I know how to handle it now’. Suddenly you’ve just been mentored for an hour without even realising it.”

A decade on from that first session in the gym Puente’s life has come full circle, with the 25-year-old now working for Slater mentoring and coaching vulnerable young people at a time when the importance of positive role models is in the spotlight.

The release of the popular Netflix series Adolescence and former England manager Gareth Southgate’s Richard Dimbleby lecture have sparked a nationwide discussion about the issue of toxic masculinity and online influencers shaping young boys’ minds.

The Adolescence drama shone a light on the corrosive impact of social media and the dangerous stereotypes about masculinity some teenage boys see online.

In today’s digital age, providing an interaction with “real life” influencers is more important than ever, according to Slater.

“I think we’re giving them that space to actually see a role model face to face,” the 52-year-old said. “They can talk about what they want to talk about, and they’ll be listened to. A good coach listens first.

“I think so many of our young people today lack the ability to build those relationships. Their social interactions are limited. Everything is online, either on their phone or on the end of their PlayStation 5 or whatever.”

Mark Gannon, chief executive of UK Coaching, said the face-to-face role of sports coaches was particularly important in “trying to get young people to understand the reality versus what they might see on social media, particularly with [online] misogyny”.

Every day around 30 young people facing significant challenges in their lives come to the Raw Mentoring site in Reading, which Slater runs. They are given one-to-one coaching in different sports and activities, while at the same time being mentored.

Zeph, who is in year eight at school, has been supported here for three years, telling BBC Sport: “It makes me happy. When I come here, I don’t want to leave. I used to get into fights nearly every day, I’m much calmer now.”

It is something Puente can relate to, describing his weekly run-ins with the police and being “a silly teenager” who got into a lot of fights before turning his life around.

“When you’re young, your brain’s like a sponge,” said Puente, who now helps youngsters alongside his job running a personal training business.

“You just reflect everything that you see. And I think if you don’t have that strong role model growing up, you’re kind of just going through those transitional periods as a teenager a little bit lost and unguided.

“I think it’s underestimated how beneficial a structured role model and supportive person can be.”

Basketball coach Ryan Evans speaks about showing youngsters “the flip side” when trying to move them away from the influences of toxic masculinity.

“You can see [issues with toxic masculinity] from time to time, and it’s upsetting at first because we kind of look back at when we were younger – those trappings weren’t necessarily there or they weren’t the same as what they used to be,” said Evans, who works for Greenhouse Sports, a charity which partners with schools in disadvantaged areas to inspire young people through sport.

“So for me it’s, once I recognise them, not berating them for it, because at times it’s not their fault. It’s actually just the way that the world is constructed through their phones, social media, the influences of younger and older here at the school.”

“I think when we talk about toxic masculinity, the other side of it is allowing boys to express themselves and be themselves, and we need to give them that room to do so. Sometimes the solution doesn’t come from me. It actually comes from them, or it’s driven by something in their environment.”

Fellow coach Kiran Wiltshire, who has coached thousands of children in the Leicester area over 20 years, says people like her are “an important lifeline” for the youngsters.

“We’re a little piece of the puzzle in their big world,” she said. “But that little piece of the puzzle is the difference between them completing school and going to college and getting their GCSEs or joining the local gang.”

Venue: Wembley Date: Sunday, 18 May Kick-off: 13: 30 BST

Sonia Bompastor’s debut season hasn’t looked particularly difficult, with an unbeaten domestic season and a potential treble.

The Frenchwoman took over a Chelsea side that had won five Women’s Super League titles before moving on to dominate domestically under former boss Hayes.

Bompastor hasn’t let up in her debut campaign, and even when she arrived in August 2024, she had one job: to keep winning.

The Blues, who won another WSL title and finished the league campaign unbeaten, have had a near-perfect season, aside from a crushing Champions League semi-final defeat by Barcelona.

When they face Manchester United in Sunday’s FA Cup final, they are looking for a domestic treble with the Women’s League Cup already in the bag.

Catarina Macario, a Chelsea striker, told BBC Sport, “It’s never easy to follow someone like Emma, who has left a great legacy.”

Emma is a character, but Sonia is also a force to reckon with in her own right.

Hayes, the previous Bompastor, made the women’s national team in the US after winning 14 major awards.

Chelsea employs some of the nation’s top players, and she had established a reputation for being “mentality monsters,” making the club the pinnacle of English women’s football.

The club had a strong staff structure around the women’s team, and her side had gained leadership and experience.

These factors undoubtedly contributed to a much smoother transition for Bompastor, 44, who left French giants Lyon.

There were still difficulties.

From a personal standpoint, Bompastor had four children, all of whom had language barriers, who made seamless transitions to new schools and countries.

She had to make a strong impression on fans and players who had grown up with her predecessor’s management in order to replicate Hayes’ success.

Bompastor stated her goals from the first press conference to build on Hayes’ strong foundations, including winning the Champions League, which ultimately did not materialize this season.

Hayes gave her life to the club. She left the club in such a great position, Bompastor said in August, and the base is really good.

I didn’t expect anything else from her, she said. It would be nice for me to follow her because she is such a great manager and person.

“My perspective and philosophy are different. I’m just trying to capitalize on that legacy and find a way to oversee the players and staff.

To join this club, to respect everything that was built before, and to develop one’s own vision is what is really important. I’m hoping for success.

Bompastor added Keira Walsh, Lucy Bronze, and Sandy Baltimore to an already impressive squad, as she had previously said.

She successfully incorporated young midfielder Wieke Kaptein into her regular number one, helped convince American defender Naomi Girma to sign for a record-breaking fee in January, and helped her become Hannah Hampton’s.

Bompastor, who won the Champions League with Lyon as a player and manager, describes herself as a “simple person” who avoids alcohol, celebrates sparingly, and enjoys spending time with family.

She is a perfectionist who aspires to succeed.

Bompastor criticized her players for not being “ruthless” enough after winning the WSL game 4-4, while she claimed before the final league game of the year that she was “strengthening for perfection in the hope of finishing the campaign unbeaten.

She regularly attends other WSL managers’ press conferences to improve her English so she could speak with the media and was eager to deliver both on and off the pitch.

She repeatedly encourages her players to be self-assured of their possessions while also putting emphasis on accuracy in training.

She expects us to give our all in whatever situation, whether it’s through training or just being ruthless, Macario said.

She wants us to be ruthless in every way, even if it’s just a small game. She makes an effort to be flawless everywhere.

“Perfection cannot be achieved every time, sadly”!

Bompastor can be a “terrible loser,” according to Macario, and there have come a few instances where her composed demeanor has stung.

Bompastor drew a bottle of water into the hoardings in April when Chelsea was under pressure to draw 0-0 with Manchester United before Bronze’s winner triumphantly declared them champions.

When asked about the success they have had this season, she is reportedly thinking about the Champions League exit and is still thinking about it.

Bompastor was hired to try to win the trophy cabinet, but it is still Chelsea’s most flagrant omission.

Macario claims that the manager’s mentality keeps her team-mates focused and that they “never take their foot off the gas.”

“It’s appropriate to share frustrations.” We didn’t enforce ourselves in the way that we wanted to against Barcelona, Macario said.

She is obviously right to be frustrated, upset, and demanding more from us. We do the same.

Simply put, it’s knowing that we must work even harder to meet those requirements and expectations.

“successful” is the one word Macario uses to describe Chelsea.

Although that has been developed over the course of several years in England, Bompastor’s goal is to see Chelsea achieve European glory.

With more possession-based football and effective use of attacking wing-backs, there were indications of how she wants to play this year.

Although Bompastor believes there is a lot of work to be done, Macario claims the team are learning to adapt because their style is less direct than it was under Hayes.

According to Macario, “Sonia places a lot of emphasis on pride in keeping the ball and making us technical.”

She wants us to pass with the appropriate weight or with the right foot. Every single day, we hear it all the time!

We are unwaveringly working on it. We are aware of how to overcome pressure when we are under it. There will be some adaptation. “

However, the first indications are encouraging.

Before their final game of the season, Liverpool interim manager Amber Whiteley claimed Bompastor had elevated Chelsea to a new level.

And Marc Skinner, the manager of Manchester United, claimed that the Frenchwoman “adjusted her own subtilities and details” to the team of winners she had inherited from Hayes.