Stephen Miller MBE

As a former Paralympian, I know from personal experience that one of the biggest challenges for elite athletes is not just performing in sport — it’s navigating what comes next.

Sport gives you so much: resilience, discipline, adaptability, teamwork, the ability to perform under pressure. But translating those strengths into a new career can still feel like a huge step.

That’s why I’m really proud to share that applications are now open for Centrica’s 2026/27 Athlete Talent Placements.

This 12-month programme is designed to support athletes as they transition into a new career, with:

• a £50,000 salary
• real project and transformation experience
• a dedicated mentor
• a buddy from Centrica’s athlete alumni community
• access to Centrica Employee Networks

For the June 2026 intake, roles include:

• Change Delivery Manager (x2)
• Partnerships Manager
• Commercial Analyst
• Business Architect Analyst

Having made my own journey from elite sport into the world of work at Centrica, I know how valuable the right opportunity and support can be and I highly recommend this programme.

There is so much talent in the athlete community, and programmes like this help open the door to what’s possible next.

If you’re an elite athlete thinking about your next chapter, search “Athlete” at lifeatcentrica.com

Date night with the weights

What a night at the NUDSA Christmas party! 🎄⚽️

Brilliant to meet Dan Burn, who picked up the NUDSA Male Player of the Year for last season – joining a very exclusive list.

We also made history by presenting our first ever Female Player of the Year award to Shania Hayles.

So proud of everything NUDSA is achieving for our members. 🖤🤍

🎉 It’s SMILE Through Sport Boccia Open Day! 🎉

Today is what it’s all about – community, competition and serious Boccia action! 🔵🔴

Athletes of all ages and abilities are hitting the court, proving exactly what we believe at SMILE Through Sport:
sport should be fun, inclusive and for everyone. 💙

Huge good luck to every player taking part – whether it’s your first ever game or you’re chasing another medal. 🏅
Massive thank you to our incredible volunteers, officials, families, carers and supporters who make days like this possible. We literally couldn’t do it without you. 🙌

If you’re here today, share your photos, stories and favourite moments and tag us – we want to see the SMILES! 😄

We’re at Manor Walks today!

Come and join Smile Through Sport for a fun, inclusive taster session running from 12–2pm

Whether you’re new to disability sport or just want to have a go, everyone’s welcome — come along, say hi, and get involved! 💪😁
Manor Walks Shopping Centre

A poem

💙 Last day of the Behavioural Science Masterclass with Cowry—and my head’s buzzing.

Here are the three provocations I’m taking back to work:

1) People don’t resist change—they resist friction.
Make the right action the easy action. If they need to think hard, we’ve designed it wrong.

2) Architecture beats arguments.
Order, defaults, timing, and messenger often move behaviour more than extra words.

3) Test, don’t guess.
Measure behaviours (clicks, completions, calls avoided), not opinions. Tiny experiments > big assumptions.

What I’ll do next:

Rewrite one customer email so anyone can answer “What do I need to do, by when, and why?” in 5 seconds.

Remove one step from a journey and see if it cuts avoidable contact.

Share results—good and bad.

👉 Your turn: What’s one small change you could make this week to remove friction for your customers or colleagues?

1 year today.
No throws.
New arena.

Today marks a year since I joined Centrica —and just over a year since I retired from elite sport. I haven’t picked up a club since my last competition. Not because the love has gone, but because I took that journey as far as it could go. I left everything on the field.

What carried over from sport:

Discipline → Delivery: show up, do the reps, move the needle.

Marginal gains → Continuous improvement: small, honest tweaks beat grand promises.

Pressure skills → Go-live readiness: clarity, calm, team trust.

Where I’m pouring energy now:

- Helping customers and partners navigate complex change with clear, accurate communications.

- Making our comms simpler and more digital-first, so they genuinely help.

- Building relationships that turn “projects” into shared wins.

Reinvention isn’t forgetting who you were. It’s redeploying who you are—into new challenges, new teams, and new impact.

Thanks to colleagues who’ve backed me this year—your support has made the leap feel like a landing. 🙏

What chapter have you closed—and which skill did you carry forward?
I’d love to learn from your experience.

World Para Athletics Championships – Dehi

Great to see the men’s F32 club throw still as competitive as ever — always one of the strongest and most exciting events on the programme.

Massive congratulations to Fransek Serbus on finally getting his first major global medal — it’s been a long time coming and so well deserved! 🥉🙌

But while some events remain world-class battles, others are worryingly uncompetitive. The sport can only grow and develop with real strength and depth, and that has to start from the bottom up.

The foundation is classification — if that isn’t right, events risk losing their integrity and competitiveness. And let’s be honest, there’s no enjoyment in watching a procession.

Brilliant team training day last week!💪💛

I’m feeling so proud. SMILE Through Sport started from nothing – just a shared belief that disabled people deserve more opportunities to enjoy sport. To stand here now, surrounded by such an incredible team, all working towards that same purpose, is honestly humbling.

What we’ve built together is so much more than an organisation – it’s a movement of inclusion, passion, and possibility. Watching our team grow, learn, and support each other is a powerful reminder of why we started this journey in the first place.

Huge thanks to every single person who brings their energy, heart and commitment to Smile. We’re growing, we’re thriving – and we’re only just getting started. 💥