paul - broadbent

rugby league

What was your sport and how did you get into it?

My sport was rugby league, I started playing in school but my Dad was a big fan and he’d take me down to my local club and that’s where I really got started.

Tell us about the highlights of your sporting career?

Highlights of my career were definitely playing for England and Great Britain and captaining Sheffield Eagles when we won the Challenge Cup down at Wembley. I’d watched that match with my Dad on TV every year as a kid so it was pretty special to go down and there and win it.

What were some of the challenges you experienced and how did you overcome them?

From my early days, people expected me not to achieve anything. I wasn’t particularly gifted, I didn’t have a wealth of skills when it came to sport and I wasn’t particularly athletic. I had to work really hard to get the strength I needed to play and also to gain the skills I needed to try and become the player that I wanted to be.

What have been your highlights while working at the Trust?

Making a difference and feeling like you’re giving something back. Some of the young people we work with have real challenges in their lives. One of the highlights for me over the years at the Trust would be working with a young lad who had a stammer, and because of this had become quite withdrawn. He got up on stage and spoke in front of 300 people which was absolutely outstanding. Regardless of what sport you’ve been  involved in, that’s one of the bravest things I’ve seen.

While that was probably the standout thing I remember, there have been lots of smaller highlights over the years which have been just as powerful in their own ways. For some young people, talking in front of their group has been a massive step forward or participating in group activities which they wouldn’t have done previously. I remember one lad who started the programme and he was about 24 stone, but really wanted to get active and lose weight, by the end he was down to 14 stone which was pretty incredible to see.

What do you do now alongside working for the Trust?

Alongside working for the Trust I still do some coaching at Sheffield Eagles and I also have my own building business that keeps me pretty busy.

What life advice would you give a young person?

What experience do you have of working with corporate organisations? 

I’ve been involved in rugby league coaching at international level with Italy and also in the Super League and the Championship. I think that what you get from being involved in sport and physical activity stands you in good stead for whatever else it is you want to do away from sport. That’s why you see so many successful people from sport being able to transfer their skills so well. It’s the drive, the discipline and the organisation that comes from sport that stands you in good stead in other walks of life.

What does Being Me mean to you?

I’m a believer that you’ve got to be comfortable in yourself and you’ve got to be true to yourself. A lot of young people think they need to be different people to who they really are, in order to fit in. What they don’t realise is that people will probably like them better for just being their true selves. Once you’re happy with yourself and you can look in the mirror and be happy with yourself, that’s the key to being comfortable in your own skin and living the life you want to live on your own terms.

Competitive Record

1998

Challenge Cup winner with Sheffield Eagles

1995

World Cup Finalist

Paul played eight times for Great Britain and five times for England.

He spent 11 years playing for Sheffield Eagles.