Mentorship

Delivering tailored, world-leading advice and support when it’s most needed

Senior Leadership is Lonely.

Scaling is Hard.

We offer confidential 1-on-1 mentorship for leaders and founders working across community sport, sport for development, and sport for diplomacy — people navigating the specific challenges of scaling a grassroots or mission-driven organisation, building cross-sector partnerships, or working at the intersection of sport and international relations.

This isn't generic executive coaching. It's grounded in having done it: co-founder Tom Williams helped grow parkrun from four events in one country to 2,500 across 23 countries as its Global COO, and has informally mentored community sport leaders for several years. Co-founder Chris Lomax brings over 20 years as a UK diplomat, including as Deputy Ambassador to Eritrea and specialist in multilateral negotiation at the UN — experience that shapes how he mentors leaders through complex stakeholder relationships, governance, and the diplomacy of working across cultures, sectors, and governments.

Sessions are matched to what you're navigating and structured around your real priorities — growth strategy, volunteer culture, funding, governance, partnership-building, or navigating the geopolitics of sport-based initiatives — with ad-hoc support in between as things come up.

We also work directly with boards and trustees, helping them build a genuine understanding of the operational realities of running mission-driven sport organisations, alongside their own development as a board.

The Mentorship Approach

Monthly 1:1 Mentorship Sessions

Focused conversations to clarify goals, solve challenges, and set next steps.

Sessions adapt to what you need most: confidence building, leadership development, partnership challenges, or navigating complexity

Between‑Session Support

Priority WhatsApp access, quick check‑ins, and feedback on documents or plans.

Priority WhatsApp access means you can reach out when something comes up — a quick decision, a draft you want feedback on, or a challenge you didn’t expect. Short check‑ins and voice notes help maintain momentum and keep you accountable between sessions.

Network Access

Introductions, opportunities, and connections

These introductions open doors, strengthen your professional network, and help you build relationships that support long‑term growth. You’ll also access global sport‑for‑development networks and opportunities.

Book a free discovery call to explore whether this mentorship is right for you.

Highlights

UK Sports Diplomacy

We provide strategic advice to the UK Foreign Office and Department for Culture, Media & Sport on how to leverage community sport for social development and soft power, sitting alongside representatives of professional sporting associations on the Government's strategic working group.
Run With Us

Working with the Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development alongside Emirati and international colleagues, we co-designed the award-winning Degayeg programme. Targeted at inactive communities but open to all, this also included a free weekly timed 5k event, Run With Us, operating in parks and open spaces across the Emirate.
Griot, Kenya

We provided a roadmap for engaging UK community sport practitioners with communities across Kenya to deliver social programmes that supplement the work and aims of Griot - an environmental and clean water production consultancy.
Leeds Summit on Community Sport for Development & Diplomacy

Together with The University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University, we co-hosted the inaugural Summit on Community Sport for Development & Diplomacy, attended by over 80 leaders in sport and resulting in the 'Leeds Declaration' and call to action.
2030 World Cup Legacy Planning

Hosted by the UK Government, we provided advice on how to create social legacy resulting from the 2030 World Cup during a UK Morocco trade and investment summit in Rabat and Casablanca.
Wilton Park / Embassy of Qatar

Participating at a Wilton Park and Government of Qatar event to think strategically around how community sport can be a force for diplomatic soft power and global good, alongside UN and University colleagues.
Community Sport for UN Diplomacy

We have worked with the United Nations to include community sport as an element within their sport diplomacy strategy and contributed to their Masters programme for diplomat practitioners.
This Woman Runs

Working closely with the Founder and CEO of This Woman Runs, Mel Bound, we delivered a full review of their impact and operations. As a result of this we supported their recruitment of a full-time operations manager, and the development of a more scalable and sustainable programme design.
MOVE Against Cancer

We supported their Chair, Founders, and executive team through a successful recruitment process for a new Chief Executive, David Henderson. Once David was in post, we then provided ongoing strategic support to MOVE Against Cancer around future direction and programme design.
Tim Holtam

Tom has supported Tim over a number of years as he has supported, grown, and developed his brilliant community initiative, Brighton Table Tennis Club. This process has focussed on effective decision making, culture change, identifying values and priorities, and strategy development.
ParkPlay

Working with Board and executive team at ParkPlay, we carried out a full programme review, reflecting on everything from charitable objects to detailed operational processes. This work is ongoing as we support strategic decision making aimed at delivering sustainable impact at scale.
Park Yoga

Supporting Park Yoga’s Executive Director, Cathi Farrer-Michel, through regular one-to-one calls and contributions to strategic leadership discussions with board members and other key stakeholders.
The Sunday K (Australia)

Working with the leadership team at The Sunday K, we provide ongoing support around the challenges faced (now and in the future) when taking a local grass-roots community sport initiative to national (and perhaps one day international) scale.
The Man Walk (Australia)

Working closely with The Man Walk Founder and CEO, we provide ongoing support across all areas of strategic and day-to-day decision making, with a specific focus on participation data capture and analysis.