A talented sportsman, particularly in football and cricket, Ben Field has worked his way through the ranks with Sport Pembrokeshire and is now the highly-respected manager of a dedicated group of workers who is also highly respected in sports clubs across the county.

Having first taken up a part-time role as a Cricket Development Officer, Ben progressed to working as a 5x60 Officer at Sir Thomas Picton School, before taking a Sports Development Officer position and finally being appointed as Manager.

Ben now oversees the day to day running of the sports development service, including strategy, service planning, staff, finance and relationship management.
 

Experienced participant in a range of sports

The service is funded significantly from external sources so working closely with partners and stakeholders is a necessity – and carried out so well as he calls upon his experience gained over so many years.

Having played football for both Bristol City Centre of Excellence and Swansea City in his teenage years, and represented Pembrokeshire and Dyfed for both football and cricket, Ben has won medals galore and played alongside the likes of Simon Jones (former Glamorgan and England fast bowler) and Simon Davies, the Wales international footballer who has played for Spurs, Everton and Fulham.



 

Pivotal to young people’s development

Having played as a youngster in a range of sports and progressed to a high level in some of them, it is no surprise that Ben sees sport (and music, another service he manages) as “absolutely pivotal in the development of children and young people.”

He added: “Not only does sport and music develop a child’s physical well-being but also their mental health and skills such as communication, confidence and personal resilience.

“It’s also no coincidence that any school that places sport and music at its core is generally a high-performing school.

“Grass roots community sport is so important, not just for the health and social benefits but to also in providing those opportunities for talented performers to progress within their chosen field. Community club sport is the starting point for all of our national sporting heroes.”


 

Enabling and supporting school and youth sport in the community is a key theme for Ben.

He added: “It’s my hope that school sport and physical activity will continue to be a high priority for Pembrokeshire Schools, particularly during the recovery from the pandemic, placing a huge emphasis on the importance of physical and mental health.

“There’s also no doubt that the inclusion of ‘Health and Wellbeing’ as a one sixth of the new curriculum for Wales is a significant boost for sport and Physical Education and places a statutory emphasis on all of our schools to focus on the subject.”