The tennis coach had always found conferences intimidating – until a workshop on women in sport inspired her to step outside her comfort zone

During the 2012 Olympics in London, I went along to a female coaching workshop in London. I had just started as the captain of Great Britain’s Fed Cup team and I took a few colleagues with me. It was the first time I had been at a coaching event that was dedicated to women’s sport and women in sport.

Sport is such a male-dominated world that every workshop, conference or certification course I had previously attended was an intimidating environment. It is never easy being in a minority. I would always find a seat at the back or in a corner; I never ventured to ask or answer a question; and I dreaded being singled out for a demonstration.

This audience was predominantly female and the atmosphere was totally different. There were no egos and there was a genuine desire to network and share ideas. There was no fear of humiliation and it made me realise the power of bringing together women who have a common passion or cause and creating a positive learning environment.

The closing speaker was Caroline McHugh, a Scot who describes herself as a “baby Buddhist” and runs an incredibly successful business as a motivational speaker in the UK and the US called IDology.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Caroline McHugh, the founder of IDology at a conference in 2017. Photograph: Daniel L Smith/Getty Images

I was blown away by her words and her presentation. I literally had goosebumps from start to finish. She talked about “the art of being yourself” and why we should not try to be what someone else wants us to be or what we think we ought to be in order to fit in, that we should be the “star in the movie of our life”.

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I stayed behind and joined a queue to meet her after her talk. I was gobsmacked that she knew who I was. It turned out she was a big tennis fan: “I love your boys, hen.” Let’s just say she understands the world according to women and she inspired and encouraged me to speak out, to share my story and my coaching philosophy. Like many women, I had an absolute terror of standing in front of people and speaking. “You have a voice and you should use it,” she told me.

So I did. I stepped right out of my comfort zone and I am not sure I have shut up since. That presentation, our conversation and her book, which I bought subsequently, gave me the confidence to stand up and speak up, to try to be a role model for female coaches and to promote the playing and delivering of women’s sport.

Thank you, Caroline.

Judy Murray is a tennis coach