We meet a woman now involved with a fourth different international sport as we continue series two of the podcast.
As a talented teenager, Jane Powell dreamt of representing her country at hockey and cricket. That dream was to come true in impressive fashion, but it was while training to be a PE teacher that her sport took on a totally new perspective.
Investigating her twin sister Jill’s new Christian faith led to Jane also putting her trust in Jesus as she realised the truth of the gospel. Instead of defining herself by her sporting performances on the field, worrying whether she would live up to her own and other people’s standards, Jane discovered that her identity was now found in Jesus.
She said: “Suddenly it took all that pressure of the sport off and then I could just express my sport because I knew it gave God pleasure.”
Having played badminton for England as a junior, Jane went on to represent her country at hockey and the cricket. Although she missed out on the chance to be an Olympian as Great Britain’s hockey teams boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow, she went on to head up her country’s coaching at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
In between, Jane’s cricket career included a Test match century and captaining England in the 1988 World Cup final before eventually coaching the national team. Since 2013, she has been performance director for England Lacrosse.
Listen to the podcast as Jane talks about:
- Choosing which sports to play (1min 43secs)
- The importance of her Yorkshire roots (2.45)
- Her ambitions growing up (4.35)
- Leading England out for the World Cup final in Melbourne (8.05)
- How she became a Christian (12.48)
- Coaching hockey in Iran (24.10) and at London 2012 (18.36)
- Representing Jesus throughout her sporting career (27.03)
And much more…
Produced by Effie Productions
