Our approach
For sport to change the world, sport needs to change
Why this matters
Sport has the power to change lives. It can bridge divides, create joy and improve health. But too often, it causes more harm than good.
The pervasive, dehumanising, win-at-all-costs culture of sport leads to bullying, burnout, low self-esteem, dropout, poor physical health, anxiety and depression: a total failure by sport to achieve its potential.
The answer isn’t just “more sport”. The status quo is not okay, and that’s why we’re a movement to transform the experience of sport.
"Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand."
Nelson Mandela
Our vision
And how we'll get there
01. Embody
We live and breathe the TAP spirit: open, inclusive, passionate, humble and kind. We practice what we teach.
02. Deliver
We create accessible programmes for organisations, coaches and athletes in every sport, from grassroots to elite.
03. Influence
We help shift the whole sector toward a more holistic approach to sport, through talks, research, writing and the media.
We integrate mindfulness, movement and mentoring into the delivery of sport, at every level from grassroots to elite.
Our work goes beyond results. We help athletes understand who they are and what they value, give coaches the tools to lead with compassion as well as expertise, and support organisations to build cultures where people can thrive. The result is sport that is kinder, more connected and more meaningful and people who carry those same qualities into every part of their lives.
Mindfulness
“Mindfulness is not just a ten minute breathing practice. It’s a way of life. It’s how we show up. How we listen. How we engage with difficulty and help others.”
Sam Parfitt, TAP Founder
Movement
We bring creative movement practices to the world of sport, making sport playful again, and supporting the performance and wellbeing of athletes and coaches alike.
Through movement, we help athletes develop adaptability and self-expression while supporting coaches and leaders to find movement practices that feel nourishing.
We want to shift the culture from move to perform to move for joy, curiosity and wellbeing, helping athletes build adaptable, resilient bodies that can support them throughout their sporting lives and beyond.
See it in action
Mentoring
Mentoring is proven to be among the most effective tools we have for enabling transformational growth and development in people. As leaders in running safe and effective mentoring programs, we’ve matched hundreds of young people with elite, Olympic and Paralympic athlete mentors.
Every year, we see mentees improve performance, feel better, take on big life decisions, and have hope for the future.
Changing sport from every direction
- Bottom-up
- Top-down
- Outside-in
- Inside-out
Lasting change doesn’t come from one place. Great coaching can be undone by a system that doesn’t support it, and new policies mean little if they never reach the playing field.
That’s why we work across the whole sporting ecosystem at once, so every part of it moves in the same way.
"TAP is one of the most interesting and important organisations in world sport right now"
